to the cipher. i lived up in dc for a while and have been down here in nc for 6 years. commercial radio in both spots is wick-wick-whack. <P>back when underground 88 was really bangin' i did an article on a-1 an them cats for the independent and we spoke on a lot of these issues. college radio has playlists too, but they're nowhere near as bad as commercial radio. i was feelin' 102 jamz for a minute, but for at least the last year or so, if it ain't puffy, p, dmx, jay-z, etc., it ain't on. <P>nowadays i listen to nccu - they play decent jazz during the week and straight from the crates on saturdays. in dc my joint was wpfw. if i want hip hop, its strictly a cd or tape.