Sometimes, the Canadian music industry can move like lightning by pushing undiscovered party performers into global superstars and sometimes, like in the case of radio, changes come at a snail’s pace — if they come at all.
For 20-year Canadian radio veteran Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe, she’s not only ready for a new chapter in her career, but she is also putting it on the line for CBC Music’s new Black-focused radio show, The Block.
Before her career started, Tetteh-Wayoe says she thought she was “just gonna go sell flowers in L.A.” Instead, she went to school, ended up with her first on-air experience in Calgary and eventually moved to Toronto for new opportunities.
“That first on-air gig in Calgary [was with] this urban music station that was launching,” said Tetteh-Wayoe.
“I had on-air experience in hours like a pilot because that’s how little experience I had working on-air, but they hired me with that because they were looking for street cred at the time — who else were they gonna have? When The Block presented itself, I felt like it was a culmination of all of that work, all of that destiny and all of that meant-to-be energy.”
Ultimately, The Block has given Tetteh-Wayoe space to nurture that diverse music community by paying homage to the trailblazers and highlighting the newcomers as well. She also remarks that whether it’s rock, hip-hop, dance or anything in-between, it’s “all Black music” worthy of being celebrated.
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“I think there are so many wonderful expressions of Black music, and more than anything, I no longer want to participate in the erasure of the contributions of Black people to popular culture and popular music,” she explains.
“I came with this passion to not make this box in which to live – I believe we’re moving into a post-genre world anyway with so much crossover between styles of music and genres of music. Why would I say that I’m just going to play something that fits in this [one] category of hip-hop when it could be such a sonic adventure?”
Admitting that there has been an expected adjustment curve given its blueprint structure and labour-intensive production, Tetteh-Wayoe is still finding time to relish in the good moments.
“I think the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I actually had my back up. I was in defence mode immediately and very much trying to protect myself, but the main energy I was getting was a lot of people really excited, a lot of people found it to be very refreshing and unique, and overlooked music on the radio. We get caught up in this Toronto bubble, but it’s even more prevalent and more in need for people who don’t live in a city like Toronto where we have a Flow 93.5 FM or G98.7 FM or something like that to give you a dose of Black music, culture, and belonging and community.”
Tetteh-Wayoe reveals one of her favourite moments so far to be a Whitney Houston-anniversary episode that aired. However, the big prize is the privilege of highlighting music from across Canada and not just focused on Toronto, where the music industry typically centers itself.
“Any time there is an artist that’s making something of quality not in Toronto, I get geeked about it. I think it’s just really awesome to have talent shine and not have it tied to a region,” emphasizes Tetteh-Wayoe.
Those are necessary words for artists who live outside music hubs, but even more significant messaging given that the nationally-aired show is not beholden to advertising dollars but to a mandate to play Canadian music. Tetteh-Wayoe also stresses that unlike our relationship to digital platforms that may acquire data or subscription costs, all you need to listen to the show is a plug-in radio or batteries.
With The Block’s programming honouring Black music history, whether it’s Canadian or not, and Tetteh-Wayoe documenting present-day stories, she only has one more goal: breaking in the future.
“I’m hoping to be the person to break the song and make [artists] familiar, especially Canadian artists that would never get the chance on commercial radio and might then get a leg up. My biggest hope is that we play something from an independent Canadian artist we decided was great, and all of a sudden, it’s everywhere else.
“That would be the most beautiful outcome of this. It’s sad as I’ve watched careers fizzle out left, right and centre because Canada didn’t support the art made here — but we have the mandate to do that, and that’s what I want to do.”
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THE BLOCK airs weekdays from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (7:30 Newfoundland), on CBC Music and CBC Listen. Every episode is archived in the CBC Listen app, with 24 2-hour streams available at the time this story was published.
Written by Erin Ashley Lowers
Photography supplied by CBC Music
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Disclaimer: Erin Ashley Lowers is a freelance music journalist and Artist Partnerships Manager at TikTok Canada. Opinions expressed in this article are solely her own and do not express the views or opinions of her employer.
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CBC is a paid partner.
