Best Hip-Hop Radio Station 2009 | KNRJ ("The Beat of AZ") | People & Places | Phoenix
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Best Hip-Hop Radio Station

KNRJ ("The Beat of AZ")

T.I.'s hit single "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin "Trousersnake" Timberlake) is an exceptional hip-hop track, one of the best off the Paper Trail disc from last year. But after hearing it five times in the span of two hours, even the pair's prodigious rapping and rhyming talents tend to sound a little weak. Same goes for the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow," Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me," or the Keri Hilson/Lil Wayne track "Turnin' Me On" (more like you're turning us off, Weezy). In fact, the relentless rotation of the same ol', same ol' played ad nauseam by the hip-hop radio powerhouses in this burg has got us tuning instead to 92.7, 99.3, or 101.1 FM on our radio dial to listen to the dope mix of old-school shizzle provided by KNRJ (a.k.a. "The Beat of AZ"). Until last fall, the station broadcasted high-energy EDM, but it's currently all about busting out anthems from 30 years of hip-hop that never get airplay: names like Biggie Smalls, Biz Markie, and even Grandmaster Flash. In one hour alone, we heard "Dre Day," Ice Cube's "Check Yo Self," and the Afrika Bambaataa classic "Planet Rock." It's almost enough to make us want to bust out the parachute pants and start poppin' and lockin' again.

Best Country Radio Personalities

Ben Campbell and Matt McAllister

In Phoenix's topsy-turvy and hyper-competitive country radio scene (dominated by the twin-powers of KNIX and KMLE), one moment you're on top, the next you're out the door, and, before you know it, you're working for the other guy. We're not sure KNIX's Ben Campbell and Matt McAllister were good enough to get their former competitor — the Morning Mayor, Dave Pratt — recalled, but it does seem suspicious that their success coincided with his departure and replacement with KNIX's old team of Tim and Willy. Either way, there's no real competition between Ben and Matt, charming pretty boys whom the station wisely cross-markets whenever possible (and who score interviews with some of country music's top stars), and the insufferable Tim and Willy, who overuse the dumbass term "NashVegas" and have somehow ended up interviewing a dude from Def Leppard and mystery author Dean Koontz. We'd prefer to see Ben and Matt's tanned faces and pearly white teeth atop a pair of boots a little more often, but when it comes to picking a drive-time country twosome, Ben and Matt are it.

Best Country Radio Station

KSWG 96.3 FM

For those of you who have lived here for a while, remember when Phoenix was totally Podunk? Seriously. Back in the day, we remember seeing pickup trucks dragging their back bumpers down the freeway and hearing Southern-like accents at the neighborhood Circle K. The only thing missing was pure country-and-Western music on the airwaves, the kind you'd hear driving across a dusty stretch of rural Texas. (We're talking Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Hank Williams, Jr., and Woody Guthrie — you know, the good stuff.) Then we were made hip to Real Country FM. The Wickenburg-based station — which tends to play honky-tonk favorites, ranging from Patsy Cline's lesser-known hits to George Strait's old-school jams — has a strong enough signal to encompass everywhere we've been in Maricopa County, so you're only a preset away from Phoenix, circa 1975. KSWG also streams online; just check out the station's hastily designed Web site for easy iTunes-linked tuneage.

Best Country Music Pilgrimage

The grave of Waylon Jennings

Legendary outlaw country singer Waylon Jennings, the first country musician to ever have a platinum record, wasn't originally from Arizona. Though a Texan by birth, he's tied to the Copper State because he lived here much of his life and resurrected his career here by playing gigs seven nights a week at J.D. Musil's nightclub in Tempe. He also passed away here, at his home in Chandler, and was buried here, at Mesa Cemetery, the same grassy lawn that holds the remains of paroled rapist Ernesto Miranda of "Miranda rights" fame. Waylon's grave is a peaceful place, where you'll find his intricately designed black headstone adorned by flowers and trinkets left by generations of fans passing by. It's the closest thing a country music fan will find to sacred ground in this town, and it's well worth the trip.

Best Kids Music Blog

Zooglobble

A few years ago, Stephan Shepherd's wife was asked to edit the newsletter for her parenting group. She roped her hubby into writing reviews of kids' music — and that, boys and girls, is how Phoenix wound up with the best children's music blog around. Shep­herd doesn't just review music and report on the industry on his blog, he also brings super music to town — another reason to read Zooglobble and learn who's coming to the Valley and when. Now we have just one more wish, Stephan: Bring Baby Disco to Phoenix! You know what we're talking about.

Best Place to Take a 2-Year-Old

The Noodle Forest at the Children's Museum of Phoenix

Google the words "noodle forest" and you'll find hundreds of hits referring to the groovy play area on the third floor of the Children's Museum of Phoenix, which opened last year. The playground is a rainforest of more than 3,000 lime green and creamy orange polyethy­lene foam tubes. The noodles hang from the ceiling and sway gently as kids chase each other through the padded jungle. This tactile and colorful bonanza can crack a smile on even the most crabby toddler . . . or adult. Admission is $9 for kids and adults and you get to see the rest of the museum, too. Under 1? It's free.

Best Place for Kids to Act Up

Childsplay

Whether it's their beautifully mounted productions at the still-sparkling new Tempe Center for the Arts, or the classes they teach year-round (including weeklong summer programs) at their nearby Tempe facility, Childsplay is a class act. When it comes to instruction, perfection is not the goal — a welcome relief in this all-too-pushy, test-obsessed culture. Kids can take classes with real life actors, then come to a show and see them perform onstage. That's what we call community theater at its finest!

Best One-Man Show

David Barker's Dodging Bullets

His sabbatical leave during the summer of 2004 led to a crisis in David Barker's life. Like many artists, Barker, a professor of theater in the Herberger College of the Arts best known for his mime performances, turned that crisis into art. Dodging Bullets details the day that Barker's brother-in-law opened fire on him and his sister, the gunman's wife. The bullet intended for Barker missed him, but his sister was hit in the chest. It's a testament to Barker's skill as a playwright and performer that he made this tragic tale — which he's preparing for a remount, we hope very soon — both amusing and enlightening.

Best Contemporary Dance Company

Scorpius Dance Theatre

Lisa Starry gets it.

The artistic director/choreographer for Phoenix's 10-year-old, 20-member-strong Scorpius collective understands that the terms "modern dance" and "interpretive dance" are buzz-kills in a society with a crippled economy and a stunted attention span. That's why Starry gives hesitant Gen Xers and Yers — the folks with the disposable incomes — what they want. And that's a little pop-culture sugar to help the medicine, er, contemporary dance go down.

One of Starry's core influences is Cirque du Soleil. A Vampire Tale, her annual "Nutcracker of Halloween," predated Twilight mania. In general, Starry says her inspiration comes from the movies rather than other choreographers (and those who've seen A Vampire Tale know it's much closer in spirit to Interview with the Vampire than Bella Swan).

"My dream was always to entertain, and that's what is working for Scorpius," she says. We're glad.

Best Traditional Art-Film Theater

Harkins Camelview 5

Though there's still some lingering heat, the summer blockbuster season is over, meaning we can avoid overwhelming explosions, manic car chases, and one-note comedies. That's why Harkins Camelview 5 is our haven year-round. Anytime we want to escape the typical celluloid tedium, we can settle into the last theater that the chain's founder, Dwight "Red" Harkins, opened himself. Camelview has quite the menu of foreign and independent films (even with masquerading major studios dipping their toes in the art-film pool), which keeps us coming back — especially now, when more thoughtful fare vies to be remembered by Oscar voters.

Best Of Phoenix®

Best Of

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