Ebro Darden is owning his role in one of New York radio’s most competitive eras after Fat Joe recently described Hot 97 leadership as a dictatorship during the height of its rivalry with Power 105.1. Ebro responded by admitting the characterization was true and explaining why he took such a hard stance at the time.
“I was on that type of time,” Ebro said on The Ebro & Laura Rosenberg Show. “We was up against a behemoth and we had to protect our team. We wasn’t about to just roll over while everybody ran down the street to kiss ass to corporate radio.”
Ebro explained that Hot 97 was fighting for survival as Power expanded nationally, while Hot 97 remained a single flagship station.
“People forget we’re really one station,” he said. “There’s no global machine behind us, so we had to ride for what we built.”
Fat Joe had reflected on the era during an episode of his Joe & Jada podcast, describing how artists felt pressured to choose sides.
“You don’t come here, we running the show,” Joe recalled of the message artists often heard. He also noted that Power’s reach across dozens of markets made the decision complicated for musicians chasing exposure.
Both men seem to agree that the tension came from fierce competition rather than any personal abeef.
“Had to protect my team,” Ebro said. “That was the job.”