Hot 97 is Falling Apart as The Kid Mero and Kazeem Call Out Management During Live Stream on YouTube

Perhaps we should say Hot 97 HAS been falling apart. Here is the entire rant from Hot 97. This however was not broadcast on Hot 97 but rather on their YouTube Live stream. 

The Kid Mero and co-host Kazeem Famuyide went on a viral, 15-minute rant last week blasting the station's executive leadership and ownership group MediaCo Holding Inc., the owners of Hot 97 and also sister station WBLS. During the unfiltered YouTube Live Stream they called out upper management for a severe lack of leadership resources despite the show pulling strong ratings and beating out their chief competition The Breakfast Club and Power 105.1. 

During the broadcast, Kaz explicitly called HOT 97 "the worst place [he has] ever worked," an opinion Mero openly agreed with. They also pointed out that the company has failed to pay freelancers and has cut staff wages, along with using outdated studio equipment and an overall lack of competence at the executive branch of the company. Kazeem also mentioned that he understands what Ebro was saying about the station prior to the exit of Ebro in the Morning.  

Mero in the Morning joined the Hot 97 lineup in January 2026. We actually think the show has the potential to be a really great show, but it's very clear to us Mero has not been given the support or the coaching needed to make it a great morning show. 

We did some digging into the management of Medico, Inc. which is a public multimedia broadcasting corporation.  MediaCo is primarily owned and controlled by Standard General L.P., which is a New York-based hedge fund specializing in distressed debt and opportunistic investments. The Chairman of MediaCo is Soohyung "Soo" Kim, who is also the managing partner and Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of the Standard General hedge fund. 

Now who is the management team at Hot 97... Katrina B serves as the Assistant Program Director and Music Director of HOT 97, while veteran on air host DJ Funk Flex serves as the station's Creative Program Director. On an executive leadership level, programming oversight falls under Kudjo Sogadzi, the Executive Vice President of Growth and Content for HOT 97's parent company, MediaCo Holding. 

The Program Director for Hot 97 from January 2015 to May 2024 was Pio Ferro despite many people outside of the industry believing Ebro was in charge at Hot and the music played on the station. Having overseeing the station's content and operations under Emmis Communications and MediaCo, Ferro left to go to Los Angeles, where he took over as the Senior Vice President of Programming for Meruelo Media (overseeing stations like Power 106 and KDAY). Essentially Hot 97 has been without a real radio person in charge of their day-to-day operations. So let's reiterate. Doesn't quite sound like there are solid radio people in place over there other than Funk Flex. 

Following the rant former Hot 97 host Peter Rosenberg chimed in on the destructive cuts that are taking place with the DJ staff at the station which was posted [take notice] by Funk Flex. 

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A post shared by FunkFlex (@funkflex)

It does appear that what Ebro was saying about the venture capitalist being in charge at the time of his firing from Hot 97 in December 2025 rings true. Over the last year or so of the Ebro in the Morning show, each member of the program, Ebro, Laura, and Rosenberg basically refused to come into the studio, due to the conditions. Most days they did the show at home via Zoom. Now we have an inkling of why they did this.

Ebro breaks his silence and confirms why his Hot 97 show Ebro In The Morning with Laura Stylez and Rosenberg has been cancelled after 13 years on air🚨

"theyre tryna get to the bags at these VCs gotta raise some capital... Hot97 or WBLS... they dont give a f*ck about Hip-Hop or… pic.twitter.com/G2KYPp2BB4

— Victor Baez | Club Ambition (@itsavibe) December 12, 2025

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