wgpr hot 107.5fm
WGPR-Hot 107.5FM
WGPR Hot 107.5FM is a commercial FM Radio Station owned by International Masons and Eastern Stars, with an ERP of 50,000 watts where its studios and offices are on East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit. The programming includes Urban Contemporary, R&B, Soul Music, and Urban Gosepl. You can listen to the station live via the website.
WGPR Hot 107.5FM was purchased in 1964 by International Masons and Eastern Stars (d/b/a WGPR, Inc.), led by Dr. William V. Banks, who served as President and General Manager until his death in 1985. As of August 2021, Kenneth L. Hollowell serves as the President and General Manager.
Detroit’s first Black-owned Detroit Radio Station WGPR still thriving today.
– Source: Evrod Cassimy, Reporter/Anchor (clickondetroit)
Click HERE to learn about the history of how WGPR began.
International Free and Accepted Modern Masons, Inc. owns and operates Hot 107.5FM, an urban contemporary radio station serving Detroit, Michigan with an antenna that reaches within 90 miles.
Initially, WGPR featured easy listening music, however the station was purchased in 1964 by International Free and Accepted Modern Masons (d/b/a WGPR, Inc.), led by Dr. William V. Banks, who served as President and General Manager of WGPR until his death in 1985. It operated in the basement of the Fraternal Order’s current headquarters on Gratiot and St. Aubin.
The station’s call letters stand for “Where God’s Presence Radiates!” but the original meaning was “Grosse Pointe Radio.” The station’s current studios are located on East Jefferson in Detroit.
In the early days of broadcasting, WGPR was primarily centered around religious broadcasting, with church. Churches having their worship services aired on the radio on Sunday morning, along with news and R&B.
In 1970, with the approval of the FCC, WGPR enhanced its sound to include 50,000 watts of radiated power, giving a range of 90 miles in the metropolitan Detroit area, covering 15 counties in the state of Michigan, parts of Ohio and Canada, and our sister country across the river. This was good for both African Americans and the Detroit community. It gave African-Americans a voice here in the city. In 2011, WPGR entered a time brokerage agreement (aka Local Marketing Agreement) with Radio One, where they were permitted to program the station and its format.
They changed the format from R&B to Hip Hop, and continued under their programming until December 31st of 2019. In January 2020, WGPR assumed full operation of the station and continued with the hip-hop format.
WGPR Hot 107.5FM remains an African American owned and operated Radio Station in Detroit, Michigan with Kenneth L. Hollowell serving as the President and General Manager.
To listen to the station’s programs, visit their website at https://mytuner-radio.com/radio/wgpr-hot-1075-fm-us-only-424712/, Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hiphopdetroit/?hl=en and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HIPHOPDETROIT/.
