This was posted on Thursday, December 22, 2016 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
ET Carter, a long-time member of the Hot 107.9 duo Durtty Boyz, recently left the station with plans to go to a new rival station.
In an interview, ET said he will have to sit out for a time in Atlanta. Most radio personalities have a standard six-month non-compete clause that prevents hosts from being on air at a rival station in town. He hopes to be on the new IHeartMedia hip-hop station The Beat on 92.3 and 96.7 in the spring as well as a handful of other stations in the region in a new syndication deal. He hopes to start in the markets outside Atlanta next month.
"We wanted to grow," he said. "They had been talking about syndicating us for four years but nothing ever happened." When rival IHeartMedia offered a deal, he jumped at the chance.
But he said due to poor attorney advice, his Durtty Boyz partner J Nicks signed a contract with Radio One too soon and is tied down at least a year with Hot 107.9. So the two long-time partners - who started the Durtty Boyz around 2007 on Hot - will be separated for awhile, he said. "I'm trying to make sure he comes over," ET said, who plans to go by the name "ET Cali" on his new show. "He's my brother, my partner."
He also said he is in a legal dispute with Radio One over the use of the name "Durtty Boyz." He claims they created it before they got to Hot but Hot believes it built the brand and continues to use it on air.
For now, his syndicated show with IHeartMedia will be run solo, he said.
The Beat debuted last month on two relatively modest signals in a very crowded hip-hop market that includes at least five other stations playing similar music: Hot, V-103, Streetz 94.5 and two oldies hip-hop stations OG 97.9 and Boom 102.9. It has already added DJ Scream to its local line up as well as the Breakfast Club in the morning.
Durtty Boyz joined Hot around 2007.
While some listeners complained the show was targeting very young, immature listeners with sexually charged talk, ET said he was merely reflecting what many adults might have been thinking but not willing to say out loud. Ultimately, that's how they were able to build an audience over time that was far older than people in their teens and 20s.
Dave "Hurricane" Smith, who oversees Hot, declined to comment. I do know they are seeking a replacement for ET.
Carter is also a rapper. The Santa Ana, Calif. native created a stage name Benefit when he performs and released an EP "Skater Chic" earlier this year.
ET wrote this earlier this month, implying some sort of rift:
