Green To Run The Current’s Urban Alt Project
• Minnesota Public Radio Triple A The Current/Minneapolis-St. Paul has named Julian Green as Content Director for The Current’s Urban Alternative Project, a new joint initiative from The Current and Twin Cities’ non-profit Urban AC 89.9 KMOJ & Hip Hop The ICE (KMOJ-HD2). The Urban Alternative Project, funded by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), will focus on new, independent, and local hip-hop and R&B artists as part of an effort to attract a younger more diverse audience to public media.
Green will be responsible for the overall sound and vision of the initiative which will include programming and content production across both broadcast and online streams. He will also work with the staff at both The Current and KMOJ to develop community engagement strategies ranging from community partnerships, events and collaborative content. “Julian brings the right mix of talent, music knowledge and energy needed to bring this new service to life,” said David Safar, Managing Director of The Current. “More importantly, Julian brings a lifelong passion for the music, making him uniquely suited for the Content Director role.”
Prior to joining The Current in June 2021, Green was the Program Director of KUOM (Radio K), the student-run radio station at the University of Minnesota. While there he created and launched The Vanguard, a hip-hop and R&B radio stream focused on supporting local artists and offering an alternative to mainstream radio. As Green explains, “The point of music as a whole is to connect people and the Urban Alternative Project is an amazing opportunity to use hip-hop and R&B to build and connect diverse communities. I’m grateful to have this opportunity at The Current and excited to build this project from the ground up.”
The Urban Alternative Project is expected to launch in Spring 2022, and The Current plans to hire more talent to support this new initiative, including a host position that’s currently open. [Photo credit Awa Mally]
