Kiss FM DJ Logan Sama has left the station after 10 years.
“Yesterday I was made aware of widespread changes to the Kiss FM schedule in the specialist timeslots,” the grime DJ stated, explaining that he was “offered a prime position on the new KissFresh digital channel as one of the figurehead specialist DJs”.
He added: “It is with regret, but also surety, that I have made the choice to end my 10 year strong relationship with the Kiss family. I have chosen to accept a new challenge in my DJ career and forge a new path for myself and for others.”
Sama, whose popular Monday night slot regularly hosted MCs like Wiley, Dizzee, Skepta, Ghetts and JME, revealed his decision on Twitter and posted a lengthy statement on his new website KeepinItGrimy, which he described as “the opportunity to start anew from the ground up with all the exciting projects and crazy ideas I have always had but had been previously unable to see become a reality.”
Read his full statement:
KissGrime has always been the premier show on the airwaves for Grime music and its culture since I first joined the station 10 years ago. In that time I have had the pleasure of giving a helping hand to the careers of such names as Wiley, Dizzee Rascal, Tinie Tempah, Wretch 32, Skepta, Ghetts, JME, P Money, Preditah and many many hundreds more talented indivuals.
I have loved broadcasting the music I love on the FM dial to thousands of loyal listeners each and every week. Within British specialist radio the show was without doubt one of the most pivotal in being one of the first steps of the journey of a generation of stars reaching a national audience. And it was also one of the most successful, trending regularly UK wide on Twitter during the live broadcast, consistently being one of the best performers on the whole Kiss network for ‘listen again’ and seeing video content created around the show reach in excess of 20 million views on YouTube. The success of the recent JME, Rapid & Terminator set on the Kiss FM channel was of particular pride for me showing the ability for the music to be well received when given the right platform.
Yesterday I was made aware of widespread changes to the Kiss FM schedule in the specialist timeslots. I was offered a prime position on the new KissFresh digital channel as one of the figurehead specialist DJs who would bring exciting, fresh music every week to the station along with providing on demand visual content through the Kiss online portal.
It is with regret, but also surety, that I have made the choice to end my 10 year strong relationship with the Kiss family. I have chosen to accept a new challenge in my DJ career and forge a new path for myself and for others.
With the advancements and democratisation in technology and the internet, I have chosen to set up my own platform for Grime music right here at KeepinItGrimy.com
I believe that ownership of our own platforms and portals through which the people can continue to discover and enjoy Grime music is a vital part of the infrastructure we need to secure the future of this wonderful music we all love so much. And I envision KeepinItGrimy as a home to so much more than just a one hour broadcast every week. I now have the opportunity to start anew from the ground up with all the exciting projects and crazy ideas I have always had but had been previously unable to see become a reality.
I want to thank everyone at Kiss who was part of ten years of some of the most important radio in British music history. Thank you to Chris Blacklay who first brought me to Kiss in 2004 where it all began. Thank you to my subsequent producers Nancy Prentice, Tom Bradshaw, Charlotte Coker and most recently Meera Patel. You all made every week a joy for me to produce radio content. I want to thank all of the management at Kiss including Andy Roberts and Simon Long for their support and for giving me access to such a valued and prestigious platform as Kiss. And thanks to the Kiss DJs past and present who have always been an inspiration to me in my life such as DJ EZ, David Rodigan and DJ Hype. Thanks to all the people in the office who have been so friendly and pleasant over the years. And thanks most of all of YOU the listeners for making KissGrime one of the most important radio shows in the country each and every week.
I hope you will join me here at KeepinItGrimy.com on my new journey. It is going to be an adventure….
