Nipsey: All-American Hero?

Nipsey: All-American Hero?

By Lisa Hummel

It’s been just over a year since Nipsey first hit the airwaves and just under a year since MODE caught up with the self-proclaimed “people’s DJ.” A lot has happened in those 300 or so days — from Coldplay to Aerosmith new life has mixed in with old blood on the charts, an entire concert season has come and gone, and 105.7 the X’s night DJ has earned himself quite a few fans … and kissed one pig.

Never a dull moment, these days find Nipsey amid a slew of nominations — though instead of bearing the political promises of the people, he’s intent on bearing the Olympic torch. What began as a suggestion from a listener now has Nipsey’s fans flocking to the Coca Cola website to nominate him, and by the thousands, apparently. Just how many exactly? “About 17,000,” he replied, reducing the figure when questioned. “Ok, well, a little less than 17,000,” he continued, laughing. “It’s about 30.”

Love them or hate them, those kind of antics are precisely what draw the listeners to the show — and what keeps them coming back. The number of callers dialing in to proclaim their appreciation are followed closely only by those who call to air their gripes: he’s too loud, he’s too obnoxious, he’s too much like Howard Stern, or he’s not close enough. In the end, though, it’s a win-win situation for the night DJ. Like him or not, they keep listening. So what draws them back? “They want to know what I’m going to do next,” he surmised. Be that as it may, he has managed to turn his hate “mail” into some pretty nice musical spots. One of the most recent is set to the early ’90s Bonnie Raitt ballad, “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” The man clearly has a sense of humor.

So is his personality right for the job or did the job create the personality? Bemused by the possible psychological underlings of the question, he hesitated then spoke. “I’ve been doing this since I was little,” he said. “Since I was two, I’ve been doing radio shows in my head.”

Though all 2500 torch-bearers will be selected via a random process, Nipsey has hope that things will go his way. “Good,” he said, when asked to describe his chances. “I figure, the more [nominations] I have in the pot…”

And while it’s not out of the question that Nipsey would do something crazy if given the chance — this is the same DJ who posed in little more than his birthday suit as an April Fool’s stunt on the station’s website and kissed a pig for charity — he swears he’ll do right by the tradition. “I will do it my own special way,” said Nipsey. “But at the same time I’ll respect the great honor of carrying the torch.”

Time — and the luck of the draw — will tell if that comes to be. Until then, Nipsey will be where he has been for the past year, comfortably manning the 7-midnight shift at the X. For the self-proclaimed “People’s DJ” it doesn’t get any better than that.

The deadline for nominating torch bearers for the Olympic Torch Relay to Salt Lake City is May 7.
All needed information can be accessed via 1057thex.com.

CLICK HERE for more Nipsey!