The frequency behind HOT 93.5 Old School has been on the air since December 5, 1969, though almost nothing about it stayed the same for very long. It started life as KIZZ-FM, ran country music as KLOZ through the 1970s, and only became the rhythmic powerhouse El Paso knows today after a 1986 rebrand modeled directly on Los Angeles's KPWR (Wikipedia). HOT 93.5 is the newest chapter in that history, a digital HD2 subchannel of KPRR built entirely around classic hip-hop and R&B.
Five Format Changes Before This One Ever Existed
Sunland Broadcasting signed the station on as KIZZ-FM, an FM sister to AM 1150. By 1972 it had become KLOZ, branded as "K102" and playing country music, before passing through Mesa Radio in 1975 and Jalapeno Broadcasting in 1979 (Wikipedia). Everything changed in 1986, when Transcontinental Broadcasting bought the station, renamed it KPRR, and copied the rhythmic contemporary format of L.A.'s KPWR almost frequency for frequency. The gamble worked, and Power 102.1 regularly topped El Paso's ratings before Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, acquired it in 1996.
A New Frequency Riding an Old Signal
HOT 93.5 didn't need its own tower to launch. iHeartMedia rolled it out in 2015 as an HD2 digital subchannel of KPRR, also simulcast on the FM translator 93.5, giving El Paso a dedicated classic hip-hop and R&B outlet without touching the main Power 102.1 lineup (Wikipedia). It's a low-cost, high-payoff move that let the station add an entire new format onto infrastructure that already existed.
- 80s and 90s hip-hop, the golden era catalog that gives the station its identity.
- Classic R&B, woven into the same rotation rather than kept on a separate channel.
- An HD2 and translator simulcast, reaching listeners on both digital radio and standard FM at 93.5.
- iHeartMedia backing, giving a niche nostalgia format the resources of a major broadcast group.
El Paso's Own Corner of Hip-Hop Culture
El Paso's hip-hop scene rarely gets the national spotlight given to bigger Texas cities, but it has kept developing quietly for decades, with local acts continuing to build the city's own rap identity even without major-label attention. A station dedicated purely to the genre's golden era gives that local scene a constant historical backdrop, a reminder of where the sound it's building on actually came from.
Why It's Worth a Spot in Your Rotation
HOT 93.5 Old School turned a decades-old, format-hopping frequency into a focused celebration of classic hip-hop and R&B, added on with almost no extra infrastructure and backed by one of the largest radio groups in the country. If 80s and 90s hip-hop is your era, this is a dedicated, no-filler way to hear it.
Stream HOT 93.5 Old School Free on Radio Shuffle
Tune in to HOT 93.5 Old School on Radio Shuffle, no account, no app, no fee. Press play and let El Paso's classic hip-hop take over.