Real 98.3 is an Indianapolis hip hop and R&B radio station, and you can stream it free on Radio Shuffle. Licensed to Plainfield, Indiana, and owned by iHeartMedia, it calls itself "The Nap's Number 1 Hip Hop N' R&B" and pairs current rap and R&B hits with nationally known morning and afternoon shows.
What You Will Hear
According to the station's own site, real983.iheart.com, the line-up includes The Breakfast Club, Way Up With Angela Yee, Kiotti Brown, The Bootleg Kev Show, Ashlee and Arielle, alongside current tracks from artists such as Lil Baby and Chris Brown. The site also promotes big Indianapolis hip hop and R&B tour dates, which tells you how central the station is to the city's live scene.
Sixty Years on One Frequency
The history of 98.3 is a lesson in how radio reinvents itself. Wikipedia's WZRL entry records that it launched on 16 August 1964 as WJMK, the first station in Hendricks County, and became WART-FM in 1974. In 1980 it was sold and became Christian radio as WXIR, and in 2003 it turned into a Radio Disney outlet as WRDZ-FM. iHeartMedia bought it in July 2015 and flipped it to country as Big 98.3, but the format struggled against competitors. On 3 October 2016 it switched to urban contemporary as Real 98-3, and the call sign became WZRL two days later. That is five formats in five decades, and hip hop is the one that stuck.
An Indiana Sound
Indiana has produced serious hip hop talent. Grammy-nominated rapper Freddie Gibbs came up in Gary, releasing mixtapes from the early 2000s and making a major leap with the 2014 album Piñata alongside producer Madlib, according to Wikipedia. Locally, groups such as The Legion helped shape the sound of Indiana rap in the late 1990s and 2000s. A station that plays the current hits while sitting in that tradition gives listeners a rooted, regional flavour.
How to Listen
On Radio Shuffle, Real 98.3 starts instantly with no account required. Identify a track that grabs you with a tap, and save the station so it is always one click away.
Press Play
Real 98.3 has been through country, Christian and children's radio, and it has landed exactly where its city wanted it. Hit play on Radio Shuffle and hear Indianapolis hip hop live.