By Lincoln DePradine

Early last November, Randy Reid was named general manager of CKFG-FM – also known as Flow 98.7 – that uses the tagline, “Where Black Music Lives’’.

“We’ve had an exciting first two months,’’ Reid told The Caribbean Camera when asked about the management operations of the station, which is owned by CINA Media Group.

In September 2021, CINA Media – an operator of several multicultural stations – acquired ownership of CKFG FM.

CKFG began broadcasting on October 3, 2011, as G98.7. The programming format of the station, which was founded by the late Jamaican-Canadian broadcaster Fitzroy Gordon, included airing a mix of reggae, calypso and soca, R&B, hip hop, smooth jazz, gospel and worldbeat music.

The now Reid-led Flow 98.7, on its website, says it’s “offering a Black music format that is loved by people of all cultural backgrounds’’.

It explains that “umbrella terms, such as ‘Black music’ or ‘Urban music’, are used within the radio context in order to describe the breadth of musical formats that we are playing’’.

According to Flow, it’s also “addressing issues of direct concern to members of the Black & Caribbean community, who have been missing a voice on mainstream radio stations’’.

The station promises that its “interactive talk programming will also reflect the diversity of our audience’’, and boasts of its “very diverse’’ listenership and staff.

Among Flow’s staff is prominent Caribbean-Canadian veteran DJ, Dr Jay. He’s been in the music business for more than 30 years and is popularly known as, “De Soca Prince’’.

Dr. Jay, starting January 14, began hosting “Soca Therapy’’ on Flow, from 6-9 pm.

He hosted a show of the same name that was launched in 2001 when Flow was under the guidance of founder, Jamaican-Canadian businessman Denham Jolly.

Reid, in an interview with The Caribbean Camera, said Flow 98.7 also has introduced “an amazing morning show’’, which has been “phenomenal with establishing the type of professionalism and sound that we’re looking for’’.

Flow’s plan is to “reestablish the connection with the Black community and really embrace the culture, the vibrancy of the community and all of those things; so that the broader communities that consume our content can all flourish under an understanding of the foundation of where we come from’’, said Reid, a Humber College graduate, who has worked with media houses such as CBC, CHRY 105.5 and The Toronto Star.

Reid said he “fell in love with radio’’ at the age of six and always wanted to run a radio station.

Apart from his management job at Flow, Reid also is CEO of VIBE 105, CHRY FM. At Flow 98.7, said Reid, “we’ll be working with the community over the next six months to really tighten up how we can best have conversations with members of the Back community’’.