WYXR

WYXR Inform:
To inform on matters of local concern with thorough yet straightforward news and cultural programming.

The mission of WYXR is to provide a musical, cultural and artistic platform that represents and informs the people of Memphis, in all our diverse and unvarnished glory. WYXR aims to engage the community in the following ways:

Share:
To share and preserve music of all genres and eras curated by local music lovers, with a tilt toward the legacy and current scene of Memphis music. Educate:
To educat

e about various topics featuring points of view from an array of ethnic and socioeconomic segments of the community.

Art Gilliam didn’t just witness Memphis history. He helped move it forward.Before launching WLOK and building one of the...
05/27/2026

Art Gilliam didn’t just witness Memphis history. He helped move it forward.

Before launching WLOK and building one of the South’s most influential Black-owned media companies, Gilliam was already breaking barriers across journalism, television, business, and public life. From Yale University to Memphis newsrooms and radio airwaves, his career helped open doors that had long been closed to Black voices in Southern media.

His story is about more than broadcasting. It’s about visibility, leadership, ownership, and creating institutions that could serve Memphis for generations.

WYXR is proud to honor Art Gilliam at the 2026 DOWD Awards alongside other trailblazers whose work shaped the sound, story, and cultural identity of this city.

Join us Thursday, June 4, at the National Civil Rights Museum.

RSVP for free at DOWD.WYXR.org

“Wanna’ Meet The Scruffs?”Stereo Sessions returns June 10 with a deep dive into one of Memphis rock’s great cult classic...
05/26/2026

“Wanna’ Meet The Scruffs?”

Stereo Sessions returns June 10 with a deep dive into one of Memphis rock’s great cult classics: Wanna Meet The Scruffs?

Recorded at Ardent Studios in 1977, the album fused British Invasion melodies, crunchy guitars, and power-pop punch into a record that quietly became a favorite among collectors and underground rock fans worldwide.

Join Zac Ives and Eric Plumley alongside special guest Rick Branyan of The Scruffs for an evening of hi-fi listening, Memphis music history, and conversation at Memphis Listening Lab.

6 p.m. • Tuesday, June 10

RSVP now at StereoSessions.WYXR.org

Talibah Safiya represents a new generation of Memphis cultural leadership, blending artistry, advocacy, and community ca...
05/22/2026

Talibah Safiya represents a new generation of Memphis cultural leadership, blending artistry, advocacy, and community care in ways that reflect the depth, experimentation, and emotional honesty long embedded in Memphis music traditions.

Through work connected to food justice, sustainability, cultural organizing, and narrative-building efforts across Memphis, Safiya has helped use art and storytelling as tools for healing, empowerment, and collective imagination.

She represents a powerful continuation of a Memphis tradition: artists who not only shape culture through music but also actively invest in the well-being of their communities.

WYXR is proud to honor Talibah Safiya at the 2026 DOWD Awards for her contributions to Memphis music, culture, and community leadership.

RSVP for free at DOWD.WYXR.org to help us celebrate Talibah and more influential voices from Memphis’ Black music community.

Thursday, June 4
National Civil Rights Museum

Earl Randle and Thomas Bingham helped carry Memphis music forward from behind the scenes.These are the kinds of musician...
05/21/2026

Earl Randle and Thomas Bingham helped carry Memphis music forward from behind the scenes.

These are the kinds of musicians and songwriters who kept sessions moving, sharpened arrangements, shaped records, mentored artists, and quietly influenced generations of music without always receiving the spotlight themselves.

Their work helped Memphis soul survive changing eras, changing formats, and changing audiences while still holding onto the feel, emotion, and humanity that made the city’s music distinct in the first place.

Join us as WYXR honors Earl Randle, Thomas Bingham, and more unsung heroes of Memphis’ Black music community at the 2026 DOWD Awards.

RSVP for free at Dowd.WYXR.org

Thursday, June 4
National Civil Rights Museum

The sound of Stax didn’t come from one place.It took artists, storytellers, organizers, and visionaries working across e...
05/19/2026

The sound of Stax didn’t come from one place.

It took artists, storytellers, organizers, and visionaries working across every side of Memphis soul culture to create something that still resonates around the world today.

Carla Thomas helped carry Memphis soul onto radios and TV sets around the world. Deanie Parker helped shape how the story of Stax was communicated, preserved, and understood through publicity, songwriting, and cultural leadership. Josephine Bridges brought a background in education and community organizing into the music business, helping guide artists and opportunity through the Stax-run imprint We Produce Records.

Together, these women helped shape the sound, story, and spirit of Stax Records.

WYXR is proud to honor Carla Thomas, Deanie Parker, and Josephine Bridges at the 2026 DOWD Awards on Thursday, June 4, at the National Civil Rights Museum.

RSVP at DOWD.WYXR.org

05/13/2026

Released in 1998 on Relativity and Mo Cheda Records, 2 Wild For The World stands as a defining document of Memphis rap’s late-’90s underground. Presented and produced by DJ Squeeky, the album pairs Tom Skeemask’s raw, uncompromising delivery with production that bridges the funk-forward sensibility of 8Ball & MJG and the darker, hypnotic textures running parallel to the rise of Three 6 Mafia.

That balance of live, soulful musicianship and synthesized sequencing gives the record its distinctive weight, situating it between street-level realism and atmospheric menace. Heard today, 2 Wild For The World not only captures a pivotal moment in Memphis rap’s evolution, but also anticipates the sounds and moods that would later be recontextualized through phonk and other modern reinterpretations of the city’s underground legacy.

05/13/2026

Can’t make it to tonight’s Stereo Session?

No stress. We’re launching the official Stereo Sessions livestream TONIGHT, so you can get “2 Wild” from anywhere on earth.

Tap in at 6 p.m. CT as Tom Skeemask joins Jared “Jay B.” Boyd to revisit 2 Wild for the World, the DJ Squeeky-produced underground Memphis rap classic that helped cement Skeemask as a cult hero far beyond Orange Mound.

Log on to WYXR’s YouTube channel, subscribe, and lock in with us live tonight.

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1350 Concourse Avenue
Memphis, TN
38104

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+19014603031

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