Lil Rick axed; Starcom keeping airwaves clean

Popular entertainer Lil Rick, the “Hypa Dawg”, has been axed by STARCOM NETWORK INC. as it clamps down on dirty lyrics on the airwaves.Yesterday, the radio network announced that it had decided to “sever all ties” with the controversial DJ following an incident last Saturday that breached guidelines aimed at keeping the airwaves clean.The guidelines virtually ban the airing of recordings that in the network’s opinion “contain sexual crudity, social degradation or exhibit unmistakably poor taste”.In a statement, Starcom Network Inc. said Lil Rick violated the guidelines by playing a song that was not in its music system and therefore not cleared for broadcast.According to the network, he “did not apologise for the breach, but proceeded to play a more radio-friendly version of the same song.”Starcom said “actions such as this” were likely to jeopardise its image “as a standard-bearer in the community”.It said that was not the first time Lil Rick had broken the rules.“On no fewer than three occasions what may have been considered infractions of our Code were attributed to Ricky and we have, on each occasion, counselled, reprimanded and disciplined him, in keeping with our established employee protocols,” Starcom Network Inc. said.It apologised to its listeners for “the unfortunate incident” on Saturday. The station is expected to speak to the issue in greater detail today during its Brass Tacks programme.Efforts to reach Lil Rick and his manager, lawyer Santia Bradshaw, for a comment yesterday proved unsuccessful. (TY)