Veteran KMEL DJ Jesus “Chuy” Gomez was let go by surprise last Thursday because, according to Gomez, the station's general manager decided KMEL no longer needed him. “'You're a great guy, we respect you, we love you, but we're going in a different direction,'” Gomez says he was told by the manager, in an interview with NBC Bay Area on Friday.

Gomez was a more than 20-year veteran of the local hip-hop station, and arguably its best-known personality. News of the firing sparked outrage in the Bay Area's hip-hop community, with rappers like E-40 protesting the move on Twitter and many fans saying Gomez was the only reason they listened to KMEL.