Hip-Hop Producer Polow Da Don To Launch Nashville Country Station
Producer Polow Da Don (real name Jamal Jones), who has worked with Nicki Minaj and Fergie, is best-known in Nashville circles for his early work with hitmaker Kane Brown. Now, Polow is set to launch a new Nashville radio station, “Young Country” on WYCZ (96.7 FM). The station, which launches June 6, will focus on a genre-free range of country-influenced sounds.
“I’m trying to create a platform where artists can do their own thing,” Polow says. “We want the kids to take it over and tell us what’s cool. They’ll be able to dictate what’s hot and I’ll be something of a curator. It’s a station to provide an outlet for all the artists who feel they don’t have a voice in country music. There’s always been a melting pot for music and country has been a little late to the party,” he says. “The music exists. I just feel like nobody else is taking the initiative to create a world that embraces this music.”
The station will be operated by Polow, along with Mia Welsh-Khabeer and Jeff Haddad. On-air talent and other team members will be announced at a later date. Polow will operate both from Nashville and from Atlanta, where his Zone 4 label is based. He will continue producing and writing songs for new artists.
The station’s first two months on-air will be commercial-free, and powered by cryptocurrency Litecoin; Young Country will accept Litecoin as a form of payment for merchandise and events.
“It’s natural for any creative person to look at things happening in the world and envision something different,” he says. “A lot of times, it takes someone from the outside to make the biggest mark on an industry. The idea of Young Country had to come from somebody like me who’s not trapped by the thought of how things have been done in the past.”
Jones previously produced and represented Brown, before he was signed to Sony Music Nashville. According to The Tennessean, Jones and Zone 4 filed a breach of contract suit in federal court in February, claiming when Brown inked his Sony deal, he violated a deal they made in 2015; Brown’s attorneys put forth a counterclaim in March, saying the 2015 deal was fraudulent.
Polow’s PR confirms that Brown’s music will indeed be among the tracks played on Young Country.
Update [4:59 p.m.]: A representative for Brown released the following statement regarding the ongoing legal proceedings:
“While we can’t at this time comment further due to the ongoing legal proceedings, the earlier press reports today regarding statements made by Polow and his team regarding the ongoing lawsuit and countersuit with Kane Brown are not accurate. The suit is still ongoing, and it is misleading to state otherwise.”
