MIKE ROSS , EDMONTON SUN

We've evolved to the point that we can walk and chew gum at the same time, and on paved sidewalks, too. Now, can we learn to "bounce" and "flow" simultaneously? The word on the street about Edmonton's new "urban" radio station - the Bounce 91.7 FM - is a guarded "boo-yaa." All the playas givin' props to fly shortys spinning phat tracks on the get low, fo'shizzle on da schnitzel. No wangstas in this crib, a'ight?

See what happens when white people speak hip hop? Bear with us. We're new at this. With the launch of the Bounce last month, Edmonton becomes one of the last urban centres in Canada to get an urban radio station. There's a "no Nickelback" guarantee, and in this town, that makes the Bounce a true alternative. So what if you'd get alcohol poisoning if you took a drink every time you heard the new Jennifer Lopez song? Better than the new 3 Doors Down.

Back to the word on the street. Edmonton doesn't have a "street." Whyte Avenue will have to do. Here's a sample of comments collected yesterday from citizens fitting the Bounce demographic - age 16-25 and/or wearing a baseball cap at a rebellious angle:

"It's good. Sounds like Power 92."

"The best. Better than 96-X."

"I like it."

"Awesome."

"It's a'ight."

"I hate it. Way too much Eminem. The Bounce sucks."

Well, five out of six dentists agree.

A personal week-long automotive immersion in the world of the Bounce made me imagine I was in a different city, one where the mayor isn't wearing a cowboy hat every time we come up in the national media.

I noticed a few things. Number 1, there's more sex in an hour of the Bounce than an entire day with all the other radio stations combined, and that includes 630 CHED. I heard the Black Eyed Peas urging us to "shake your booty." Can't go wrong with the classic sentiment. Usher promised to swing "it," and we can guess what it is. One of the gangsta rappers who had been shot several times and lived to be produced by Dr. Dre informs us, "G-Unit girls just wanna have fun." A singer who sounded like some boy band twerp channelled William Shatner: "I! Wish! That! I! Could! Be! Your! Man!" Missy Elliot enticed, "Shake it like jello, all the boys say hello." The bootylicious ladies of Destiny's Child set down conditions on possible sexual congress, commenting from their convertible: "If his status ain't hood, I ain't checkin' for him, better be street if he lookin' at me."

So, peeps of Edmonton: are y'all down wit' the Bounce? "Down" of course, is positive hip-hop term: it means that one is "behind" the thing mentioned.

As for the movers and shakers behind Edmonton's hip-hop scene - all three of them, har, har - the general feeling is disappointment that the Bounce didn't turn out to be a "pure" urban station as promised. "Too much top-40," they say. However, none of the playas I talked to could define urban music without bringing up race. 50 Cent is urban, but not Eminem? Gwen Stefani's Rich Girl - another Bounce track being played to death - features the rapper Eve, so it's urban in a way that Gwen Stefani without Eve could never be. While American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson is SO not urban, Canadian Idol loser Gary Beals is because he's black? One local rapper even said urban music isn't about sound. "It's an attitude." How confusing.

Jeff Hendrick, a white musician who loves urban music, has positive things to say about Bounce that surely have nothing to do with his new song, Old School Party, being on medium rotation - and would that happen if the guy from Dream Warriors wasn't on it? Just asking. Now based in Calgary but listening to the Bounce online, Hendrick says, "There's a nice flow to it. Obviously they've still got tweaking to do, but it sounds strong. So as a fan of urban music in Alberta - which isn't traditionally known for urban music - it's a positive thing. Hopefully people will respond."

That's the big question. Can conservative, rock 'n' roll Edmonton support a true urban radio station or will it go the way of true Top-40 like the Vibe did in Calgary? I'd like to trust the ears of program director James Stuart - who defected from Joe FM - in keeping the Bounce on course. Then again, I didn't hear many ads. Just lots of sexy bumpers about "Edmonton's hottest music," which don't pay the bills.

With the new modern rock station set to launch this fall, give or take, this city is going to be one of the most competitive radio markets in Canada - competition than can only make Edmonton's commercial radio better.

It certainly can't get any worse.

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