Radio Milwaukee Introduces HYFIN
• Radio Milwaukee’s 88NINE WYMS/Milwaukee has revealed the name of its forthcoming Urban Alternative channel — HYFIN [ALL CAPS, pronounced “hyphen”], a name that signals the full spectrum of Black music that will be played, the station announced Friday.
“A hyphen is a connector that bridges the gap between words or parts of words, bringing them together,” said Tarik Moody (pictured, below), Program Director of HYFIN. “That’s how HYFIN will function — as a bond between multiple styles of Black music, connecting the culture. The name also represents the many identities within our community. Like the music we will play, our community cannot fit neatly into a single box. We are artists-mothers-dancers and friends-foodies-gamers. Rather than trying to find a name that encapsulates all of our hopes for this channel, we embraced an identity that emphasizes the multitude of the Black experience.” Radio Milwaukee’s current programming on 88.9FM will also continue on-air and on its digital platforms.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is providing a $450,000 grant to Radio Milwaukee to help create the new channel. HYFIN is slated to launch on June 19, which is Juneteenth Day, a holiday commemorating the emancipation of slaves in the U.S.
Radio Milwaukee partnered with creative director DeChazier Pykel on the name and brand identity for the channel. A Milwaukeean with his own multi-hyphenated background, DeChazier has 18 years of experience helping to build more socially conscious and culturally relevant brands. In building the brand identity for HYFIN, Radio Milwaukee was mindful of the ways the mark can be creatively adapted by artists in the future. Additional colors and textures will be added to the brand as HYFIN prepares for launch. HYFIN is intentionally written in all caps to emphasize that “FIN” is also an acronym for “Future is Now.”
Danae Davis, Interim Executive Director of Radio Milwaukee said, “As Radio Milwaukee celebrates its 15th birthday, we are incredibly thankful for the supportive community that has given us the opportunity to launch another channel of music for Milwaukee and listeners anywhere. And we are unapologetic in our desire for HYFIN to be a channel that amplifies and celebrates all that’s good in Milwaukee’s Black community.”
HYFIN can be found on Facebook (@hyfinmke), Twitter (@hyfinmke), and Instagram (@hyfin.mke); or online at hyfin.org.
