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Whether its commercial radio or community radio, Toronto's Soca and Dancehall-Reggae specialty shows are traditionally shuffled inside Toronto's weekend programming, still a treat to listen to. Flow 98.7 continues to give listeners their best urban flavours every Saturday and Sunday, hi-lighted by exciting weekend Live to Air broadcasts at Sugar Daddys Nightclub - Flow's historically longest sponsor-advertiser. Following up is Soca Therapy with Dr. Jay, 6 - 9 pm Sundays, then the Riddim Track from 9 pm - 12 am with Spex.
This is the Friday night overnight weekend slot that follows the Friday night Sugar Daddys Flow broadcast, for now its host-less from all accounts, just like all of Flow’s other 6 days of overnights – just good music, commercials, imaging, 98-second news-hits and jingles. The Flow overnight slots follow the same route as many other Toronto stations who save funds by automating their overnight programming where ratings are less crucial and listeners sleep.
Why not give weekend listeners a sample of the real thing with the best of Ace & Marlon In The Morning?. I enjoy listening to this show, aired Saturdays at 7 am. Ace & Marlon In The Morning is exactly what it says, the hi-lights and ‘best’ moments of the Alicia ‘Ace’ West & Marlon Palmer Monday – Friday morning show, edited and spliced creatively with music, imaging and commercials.
While the spoken breaks are repeats from the morning shows, the music played on Saturday mornings is fresh, not a repeat of the M – F morning slot.The hope is that weekend listeners will receive all the incentives and prompts needed to become new listeners on weekday mornings where strong ratings are more crucial and vital.
Good hosts, a good find, despite lack of radio broadcasting experience. The Ace & Marlon team represents a good re-start for the Flow morning show. They are well balanced, smart, witty, and funny with good chemistry. They are also real, having the ability to deal with any topic, despite the sensitivity or cultural delicacy. A lot of laughter, totally aimed at young millenniums. The combination of Marlon’s humour and Ace’s common sense commentary is a good and consistent one-two punch, always ready to pulse on the latest talk, news, trends with an in-studio TV enabling them to immediately respond to the latest breaking news.
We also have to give props to the Flow 98.7 News Break, hosted by Serena Williams, a new instalment at Flow that I totally approve of. The 98.7 News Hits give listeners a quick recap of the latest news, sports, and urban entertainment chatbot.
I suspect that there is some evidence that weekend and speciality show listener habits see people regularly tuning in then tuning out, but sometimes radio stations don’t mind this if those listers, despite the short duration, come in high numbers. Besides, Flow’s urban programming mandate comes with an obligation to provide variety of diverse musical styles on a per-hour basis, reggae, dancehall, soca, afro, hip-hop, R&B, and we can go on.
Consistency matters in radio, if we look at rock radio formats, they just play rock, and pop and hits stations can play anything, as long as it’s popular. The challenge there, I would think, is on a lower level of difficulty than programming a diverse station such as Flow 98.7.
Just music here, no host; You get good urban music, more or less the same rotated regularly on Flow, plus commercials, imaging, the 98 second news-hits and jingles.
Ada Ohh has fun on her Saturday afternoon slot; yes, her show offers Flow’s regular rotation of music with fast paced hosting, news, and imaging sandwiched between radio commercials and imaging, but sometimes you get a few surprises. Ada Ohh has a likeable, youthful and shiny personality and sounds good on Flow, unafraid of saying things the way Ado Ohh see’s it. For the most part, Hello Weekends with Ada Ohh works on the Saturday-Sunday afternoon Flow 98.7 FM airwaves.
Celebrity Dru has been holding down this spot on Flow with relative ease. Like many shows on Flow, he is not in control of the music that is programmed, and when you finish playing the ads, reading the promos and saying what the station instructs you to say, there is not much time left for Flow announcers be opinionated about anything coming from their own perspectives and thoughts.
Celebrity Drew is likeable and does the job required to hold his slot, although at times he appears to lack broadcasting energy and passion-enthusiasm. I would like to think as a broadcaster, his best is yet to come. To Celebrity Drew’s credit, I will say that even though his style is laid back, it’s good when broadcasters just be themselves instead of trying to be somebody they are not. Maybe down the line this slot can offer a co-host who can make this show shine a bit more brightly in this opportune weekend time slot.
You can’t knock the Toronto Flow live to air radio broadcasts. Since launching in 2001, the Flow team of local radio broadcasters, live hosts, engineers and live dee-jays have mastered the craft of live-to-air broadcasting and should be rated amongst the best in the world for providing that live feel that actually makes you want to get dressed and go check out the party.
No exception to the rule – the Friday Night Old vs New School Sugar Daddys Live To Air with DJ Ritz heats up the Flow 98.7 FM airwaves every Friday from 11 PM – 2 AM. Hosted by Serenity and MC Slick Vic, this 3-hr slot, over the years, has held up it’s North American gold standard for supreme live-to-air broadcasting and has been the exclusive Live-to-Air sponsor-advertiser since Flow’s 2001 birth on 93.5 till present.
The music gets you when you listen to the Sugar Daddys broadcasts, it’s a non stop dance mix of club culture music reflective of Toronto’s good taste; old school, R&B, Hip-hop, Dancehall-Reggae, Soca, Afro and anything cool that DJ Ritz chooses to drop inside his on-point mixing and mash up sets. DJ Ritz, also the creative manager at Sugar Daddys, is the former DJ and co-host of ‘Red in the Morning’ Flow morning show, now bumped for the Ace & Marlon morning show.
Sugar Daddys nightclub also holds down the Saturday night Flow 98.7 Live to Air slot, and when long weekend Thursdays and Sundays come around, expect a Live to Air from Sugar Daddys to come at you.
Make no mistake, the exciting Sugar Daddys Live to Air vibe is consistent on any night on Flow 98.7, listen and you will want to go to the party, and if you don’t, you’ll get up to date on what’s hot in the clubs and also how a good dee-jay with good programming and mixing skills can make a difference in motivating you to change your plans, call some friends, and head to the club.
Just music here, no host; You get good urban music, more or less the same rotated regularly on Flow, plus commercials, imaging, the 98 second news-hits and jingles.
Ada Ohh has fun on her Sunday afternoon slot; yes, her show offers Flow’s regular rotation of music with fast paced hosting, news, and imaging sandwiched between radio commercials and imaging, but sometimes you get a few surprises. Ada Ohh has a likeable, youthful and shiny personality and sounds good on Flow, unafraid of saying things the way Ado Ohh see’s it. For the most part, Hello Weekends with Ada Ohh works on the Saturday-Sunday afternoon Flow 98.7 FM airwaves.
Celebrity Dru has been holding down this 12 pm – 6 pm Sunday slot on Flow with relative ease. Like many shows on Flow, he is not in control of the music that is programmed, and when you finish playing the ads, reading the promos and saying what the station instructs you to say, there is not much time left for Flow announcers be opinionated about anything coming from their own perspectives and thoughts.
Celebrity Drew is likeable and does the job required to hold his slot, although at times he appears to lack broadcasting energy and passion-enthusiasm. I would like to think as a broadcaster, his best is yet to come. To Celebrity Drew’s credit, I will say that even though his style is laid back, it’s good when broadcasters just be themselves instead of trying to be somebody they are not. Maybe down the line this slot can offer a co-host who can make this show shine a bit more brightly in this opportune weekend time slot.
So you love Soca…well get ready for ‘Di Soca Prince’! on Flow 98.7. ‘Eyee, eyee, eyee’! Soca Therapy is Canada’s top Soca radio show,, featuring Dr. Jay as host and dee-jay. The first exclusively Soca radio show on commercial radio in Canada can be heard every Sunday from 6 – 9 PM on Flow 98.7, when Toronto listeners are treated to great music and interviews featuring the top names in international and Caribbean Soca, Calypso, Zouk, Soca-Reggae, Soca-Afro, and other Dr. Jay delights.
Soca Therapy has been an institution since Flow launched in 2001 on FM frequency 93.5, then later switching to 98.7. Dr. Jay left G98.7 when turmoil started there. Now, with Flow under new ownership and management, Soca Therapy has returned to its original spot. Shout out to the Da’Enforcas who were holding down the 6- 9 PM Soca spot fort for some time, now bumped out not because of a problem with their performance, but because of the Flow decision to reshuffle their programming and recruit to their station the very best in the business that they could possible get.
Dr. Jay aka ‘Di Soca Prince’ is Canada’s chief Soca ambassador. Over the past two decades, he has built his name as a top international dee-jay and successful Canadian Soca promoter; his shows sell out! The Dr. Jay name carries a lot of weight in Toronto and represents added value for Flow, he is a top Soca enthusiast, a star of his own, and it would be fair to say, Soca is his life, what takes him around the world, Trinidad, Miami, Grenada. His return to Flow is a make sense move for this station, a good deal for both parties, and for Flow 98.7 listeners –
Check out Riddim Track, Canada’s #1 Dancehall-Reggae radio show airing every Sunday 9 pm – 12 Midnight with host and DJ, Spex Da Boss. Spex Da Boss got his first taste of radio on Toronto community station CIUT FM as part of the Morning Ride radio show crew. He is also a current honorary member of Canada’s King Turbo Sound Crew, and over the past decade or so, has been cutting and crafting Dub Plates not just for King Turbo, but for the future premiere of his own independent Spex Da Boss sound.
When Flow 93.5 launched in 2001 and needed a leading host and DJ for their staple weekly Reggae show, Spex became owner Denom Jolly’s obvious first choice for the position, and would not disappoint.
When Flow was sold and G987 was born, Spex was drafted to the G987 team with owner Fitzroy Gordon at the controls, and his Riddim Track show would continue to reign as the top reggae-dancehall radio show on Toronto commercial radio, playing great music for the people every Sunday night. Spex still holds that position today, having survived another round of cuts even after G987 recently changed ownership and rebranded itself as Flow 98.7.
There are many reasons why Spex’s Riddim Track radio show is Toronto’s staple Reggae program on commercial radio and has been so for years. First of all, there is no other 3-hour dancehall-reggae show on Toronto commercial radio. While there are other Reggae programs on Toronto community stations like CIUT and VIBE 105, no other Toronto commercial station will touch a 3-hour dancehall-reggae show, even when they dabble with playing the odd Reggae track or Reggae set here and there.
Secondly, we must bless Spex for being technically talented. He’s a smooth, fast, and precise beat-mixer and blender who is well-liked by his colleagues, a good studio engineer and programmer with a good ear, and he has good energy and enthusiasm fortified by good musical taste. He can perform live anywhere and dee-jay and talk the mic independently and internationally while still holding his own.
Making up for the excessive bragging, boasting, and self-promoting is the fact that Spex loves Reggae music and Canadian-Jamaican culture. He loves learning and expanding, and on the air, he is curious, relatable, and funny, making it hard for listeners not to like him.
Then there are the credibility and longevity factors; I would guess that over the last 25 years, every major Jamaican or international Dancehall-Reggae artist who has touched down in Toronto has been interviewed or featured on the Riddim Track.
The interviews are actually done quite well, satisfying both listeners and the audience. Spex uses humor and his funny, likable personality to captivate and enable popular artists and celebrities to lighten up and reveal their true selves while on the Flow 98.7 airwaves.
Lastly is the music; it’s on point, there’s no slacking around here. The musical selections coming to listeners on Sunday nights are current, relevant, appropriate and up to date if you are a Toronto dancehall-Reggae fan. Of course, listeners take this for granted in Toronto, but commercial radio stations like Flow could have taken a different path and mandated a decision to exclude dancehall from the Toronto airwaves and keep feeding them conservative and washed-up strictly oldies but goodies reggae.
So bottom line, when it comes to musical programming Sunday nights on Flow, the Riddim Track remains on point and continues to serve Toronto with the best and most current Dancehall-Reggae music, making noise internationally. Plus there are the Spex and odd King Turbo Dub Plates that can be thrown in at will. There is no alternative on commercial radio really, nothing even close, so tune in Sunday nights 9 pm – 12 midnight with Spex Da Boss and experience Riddim Track for yourself.
Welcome to DJRONNELSON.COM. My name is Ron Nelson. I am a Canadian recording artist and promotional urban shift-shaker based in Toronto, that is my legacy, and I am happy to share my life story with you on this website. I hope you learn and enjoy.