Hustling Hip-Hop Article #02

   The Star and Bucwild Empire: A Recipe for Hustling Hip Hop

The purpose of this article is not to judge or criticize Star (AKA The Hater) but to use his career as an example in helping you to understand the essence of hustling. In researching this article I can't help but be reminded of Britney Spears, because before there was the rise and fall of Britney, there was the rise and fall of Star. For those who don't know who Star (Troi Torain) of the Star and Buc Wild Morning Show is, let me quickly recap his story.

The Star and Buc Wild Story

Star and his self-described stepbrother "Buc Wild" began their career as publishers of their own magazine, "Around the Way Connections," from 1993 to 1997. It was an urban youth magazine which saw limited success in the northeastern part of the US. They then went on to write a monthly column, "Reality Check" in The Source magazine from 1995-1998. They soon started producing and directing their own Star and Buc Wild TV show on public access, informally titled, "Universal Playerhaters" in 1998. From there the duo became the hosts of MTV's "Beat Suite" show from 1999-2000.

In March of 2000 Star became a radio show host for Hot 97 in New York City along with Buc Wild and Tarsha Jones aka "Miss Jones" and that is when the infamous Star & Buc Wild Morning Show began. His platform was one of admitted hate. He viciously ridiculed the many dysfunctional aspects of the hood and pulls no punches in his critique of various aspects of hip-hop, all while providing pop culture and other news stories. The show proved to be very popular, however they soon gained negative attention in 2001 for playing sound effects of a plane crashing along with screams while reporting the death of R&B singer Aaliyah. Star was temporarily suspended with pay for the incident. Star went on to apologize to listeners, an apology he said was forced and which he would later take back.

Nonetheless, Star & Buc Wild began to gain a huge listener base, once even beating rival shock-jock Howard Stern for the #1 spot on morning radio in New York, a feat achieved by no one else during Howard Stern's reign. However, in 2003 Emmis Communications who owns Hot 97 and Star parted ways on bad terms. Soon thereafter, Star signed a lucrative deal with Emmis Communications' rival, Clear Channel. The show however, would not be heard in NYC for quite some time as a contractual non-compete clause with Emmis was in effect. In the meantime, the show was broadcasted from Hartford, Connecticut on Power 104.1.

By this time the show no longer included Miss Jones but did still keep sidekick "Crossover Negro Reese" and would later include, "White Trash Helene" and other characters who made brief appearances. The show again drew attention in 2004 for an on-air prank call to an outsourced Indian call center in which Star apparently harassed a call center operator. He called the woman a "filthy rat-eater", and threatened to "choke the f out of" her. The show received a one-day suspension by one of the radio stations that syndicated the show because of this incident.

The Star & Buc Wild Show's eventual return to New York from Hartford in 2005 was more than triumphant. By that point the show was syndicated (meaning it aired in multiple markets) in Philadelphia, Hartford, Atlanta, and other areas and had over 5 million listeners daily. By less than a year into his comeback to New York, Star's inability to control his feud with rival DJ Envy from Hot 93.7 brought on his downfall. If comments such as, "Did you hear me when I said that I wanna put mayonnaise in the ass crack of your baby girl and take a bite?" weren't enough, Star went on to offer $500 to anyone who provided him with information on where DJ Envy's daughter attended school and further insulted his wife by calling her a "slanted eyed whore". These remarks eventually lead to pressure being put on Clear Channel to fire Star by an Asian New York Councilman, John Liu.

In May 2006 Star was fired and the show was taken off the air. Star was later arrested on charges of harassment and endangering the welfare of a child but the charges were shortly dismissed.

Hatefully Hustling Hip-Hop

If there is one subject besides hate that the show continuously revolved around it was hip-hop. Despite the fact that Star claimed that the Star and Bucwild Show was "not a hip-hop show"…it was. Now, it may have been more than that, and I hate to pigeon hole it but I will for simplicity's sake.

Star is more of a rock fan than a hip-hop fan yet being a smart man first and foremost, he must've realized that being black in the US (half black technically) he would be in a better position to hustle hip-hop than rock. Plus hip hop was gaining ground as opposed to rock. In fact, throughout his career's growth, hip-hop was simultaneously increasing in popularity and profitability.

The whole premise of the show was to make money off of the hip-hop culture…with a few dashes of news and scandal of course. He admitted to raping the culture and milking it for all it was worth. For example, while he criticized the ghetto and "coonin' and buffoonin'/shuckin' and jivin'" on one hand, he might a minute later turn around and play Lil' Jon's latest hit...because it's popular and listeners recognize it. That, to me, is hustling rap at its finest.

Beyond Hustling Hip Hop

I've always had the sense that Star was a brilliant hustler, but in researching this article I began to realize just how true that was. Let's look at his career from the beginning. The man went from his own magazine, to The Source (which may not have paid much but gained him notoriety), from his own public access TV show, to an MTV show (which may have not paid much but it gained him more notoriety), then from one radio station, to syndication! He then had a book, more TV and possibly movies planned for the future.

Take a moment to study the pattern. It is something visitors should take a note of and learn from. Gradual success through a "hustle-hard" work ethic and planning is a path to success that should not be overlooked.

Planning is one of the most important factors in Star's success. He knew exactly how to strike a balance between being unique/having unique material and keeping it basic enough and hitting a large enough market as to guarantee a profitable consumer base.

But don't think I'm just going to sit here and praise the man. I am praising his business sense but I leave it up to you to weigh his actions as you will. For example, I personally think that he hustled and capitalized on Buc Wild's image of a lazy weed-smoking black adolescent. He needed that to reach out to a younger public since he was already in his 30's (now 43) and he probably also understood that it is always better to have two or more people in a movement like his because if a listener doesn't feel like they can relate to you, perhaps they can relate to one of your partners. It is interesting how Buc Wild is the exact type of individual that Star would diss on a regular basis. Star understood the dynamic he and Buc Wild was necessary and understood that to optimally brew controversy and interest there must be conflicting elements to his show. Buc Wild hardly contributed to the show, however, and was eventually let go and replaced by a younger "pretty boy" Buc Wild which I'm sure Star chose as well so that he can appeal to a younger teenage girl audience as the show's popularity grew. (Perhaps even woo them at mall signings?) I remember during one show Star even suggested that the original Buc Wild get his skin lightened because the movie industry doesn't like "darkies". Don't get it twisted though, before the original Buc Wild was fired he had it made. Who else gets paid very well to smoke weed and occasionally hold a camera for their step brother?

But the Buc Wilds were not the only people who Star used as a part of his hustle (in fact the people he used were in reality also hustling). White Trash Helene was used for her whiteness and her liberalness. Crossover Negro Reese was used for image of being a black, republican Jew married to a white woman. "Chris the Queer" who was the show's gay newsman, towards the end of the shows run was used for, of course, his gayness and his self-professed virginity. The show even once tried to expand to include sports as a major segment and even went so far as to hire a sports reporter (I forget his name now) who was eventually let go likely because he simply sucked but maybe also because he didn't have a marketable gimmick.

What some may consider an insignificant business decision I consider the well thought out decision of a hustling mind. With that in mind Star hustled hip hop, sex, pop culture, he even tried sports as mentioned above…he even hustled hustling! He advised people on how to get their hustle on properly and even educated them at times, as I'm attempting to do now.

Sidenote: Don't get it twisted, to me, a hustle doesn't mean that someone has to come out on the losing end. If you are able to pinpoint a service that is in demand and satisfy that demand…that to some is doing smart/fair business…to me that is still a hustle. Please try and remove any negative connotations you may be associating with the term.

The End of Star?

So how could The Hater, The Hustler, lose it all? Well, firstly, I would not exactly say that he has lost it all as I'm sure he's doing very well financially right now. Second of all, I'm not too sure that it's too late to rule out a comeback for Star. His fanbase is still pretty large and there is always, HD Radio, XM Radio, Sirius Radio, Internet Radio, TV, etc…which I'm sure he has already considered. One smart move that Star did make was to make sure that he kept all the rights to the "Star and Bucwild Show" and brand. He even owns the titles "White Trash Helene" and "Crossover Negro," so shopping the show around is still a possibility.

Many people, however, would say Star is finished. I recall Star once describing his outlook towards the women he dates with the following statement, "I don't care what you've done bitch, obviously it's nothing compared to what I've done…[fall back] and maybe you can learn something." Perhaps to some his current state is an example of karma kicking in.

His first in a planned trilogy of books was released in 2007, obviously to less than expected sales. If there's something we can all learn from the rise and fall of The Star and Buc Wild Empire it is to never take things for granted. Just because you've been making someone a lot of money doesn't mean that they won't turn their backs on you the second you become a liability. Furthermore if you are ever in the media industry be sure to always be on top of the indecency laws for your jurisdiction. If not, one day you can be logical and talking about the importance of "protecting the license (the radio station's broadcast license)" as Star always did, and the next day you might call someone a "rat-eater" and put that same license on the line for the FCC to suspend.

The most important thing I feel that TheStateofHipHop.com's visitors should take from The Star and Bucwild is a lesson in first class hustling.

I'm not sure exactly why Star took it to the level he did with his statements that got him fired, but I think it may have had something to do with the fact that he's always gotten slaps on the wrist in the past. Perhaps he was even encouraged to push the limit by Clear Channel just as long as he didn't cross the line…which apparently he did.

The fact that Star got away with 10 times the indecency that Don Imus could ever imagine is a testament to the genius of Star. He's black, so he can make a "nappy headed hoes" song and no one would complain. He has a hired white girl on the show, so he could get away with remarks about his disgust with her exclusively dating Hispanics and blacks. He has a gay guy on the show so he can use the word "homo" even in a derogatory manner without backlash. Unfortunately he doesn't have children or an Asian on his show so he can't say "I would like to do an R. Kelly on your seed" or "slanted eyed whore"…or maybe that's just below the belt anyway…who knows?

Final Words

I'd like to end this article by sending out a message to not only all the visitors that support The State of Hip Hop but also to Star himself: Keep hustling!

I'll leave you with a quote that Star commonly used to wrap up his shows…

"May all your children speak proper English, and may the gates that surround your property keep you safe from common, ghetto trash." - The Hater