Jazzy Jay'' was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, United States, November 18, 1961), also known as The Original Jazzy Jay or DJ Jazzy Jay''', is a pioneering American hip hop DJ and producer. He has collected roughly 400,000 records.

Background

Jazzy Jay was born into a Gullah family in coastal South Carolina. He moved with his family to New York City at a young age and took up the drums, his first instrument. He began his career in hip hop in the 1970s in The Bronx, New York, the epicenter of hip hop culture during the first decade of its development, at the age of 13. An early member of Afrika Bambaataa's Universal Zulu Nation, he was a protege of Bambaataa as well as his older cousin, Kool DJ Red Alert. Beginning as a Zulu King dancer in the early 1970s, Jay later became a Universal Zulu Nation DJ and was a member of the Zulu group Jazzy Five, with which he recorded the single "Jazzy Sensation."

Although Jazzy Jay began performing primarily at street parties, in the 1980s he began DJing in New York clubs such as Negril, the Roxy, the Ritz, and Danceteria. He also hosted a hip hop radio program on KISS FM and in 1984 he played himself as The Roxy's DJ in the influential hip hop film ''Beat Street''.

some of the first DJ team routines, and teamed up to battle both Grandmaster Flash (solo) and Grand Wizard Theodore (solo).

Origin of Def Jam Recordings

Around 1984, Jay met Rick Rubin and assisted him in laying the foundation for what would become Def Jam Recordings. The label's first official single was the single "It's Yours" by T La Rock and Jazzy Jay. Jay later introduced Rubin to Russell Simmons, creating one of the most important partnerships in hip hop production. Jazzy Jay also put out Def Jam's third 12" in 1985, entitled "Def Jam" b/w "Cold Chillin' In The Spot," which featured Russell Simmons on vocals.

In 1986, he participated in the recording ''Planet Rock - The Album'', which was certified gold.

Also a producer, Jay founded Jazzy Jay's Studio in the Bronx, where he produced early recordings by Diamond D, Fat Joe, Brand Nubian, A Tribe Called Quest, and others. He also began his own label, Strong City Records, through a partnership with Rocky Bucano.

Recent times

More recently, Jazzy Jay was featured in the 2001 turntablism documentary ''Scratch''. In the film, he displays his extensive LP collection (kept in the basement of his home), which he claims comprises at least 300,000 to 400,000 records.

In 2000, Jazzy Jay was inducted into the Technics/DMC DJ Hall of Fame. He sometimes performs together with another hip hop pioneer, Grand Wizard Theodore.

He was featured in the 2004 song "Rock And Roll (Could Never Hip Hop Like This) Part 2" by Handsome Boy Modeling School giving a background on himself and on rap as an art form.

He narrated a walking tour of The Bronx, "Hip Hop," by Soundwalk, that won the 2004 Audie award for Best Original Work.

He lives with his wife and three children in Brooklyn, New York. In 2011, his older daughter, Jazmine Byas, graduated from the prestigious Eastman School of Music and is pursuing a career with her oboe.

External links

The Original Jazzy Jay - profile

Jazzy Jay interview

Notes

Category:1961 births Category:Hip hop DJs Category:Living people Category:American record producers Category:Hip hop record producers Category:African American musicians Category:People from Beaufort, South Carolina Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Gullah

name	Afrika Bambaataa
background	solo_singer
birth name	Unknown, purported to be Kevin Donovan by some sources
born	Officially unknown, some sources say October 4th, 1957 (unconfirmed)
origin	The Bronx, New York, U.S.
instrument	Vocals, turntables
genre	Hip hop, electro, disco
occupation	DJ, producer, activist
years active	1972–present
label	Tommy Boy RecordsEMIWinley RecordsCapitol RecordsDMC RecordsPlanet Rock Music
associated acts	Soulsonic Force, Leftfield, Time Zone, Shango, Hydraulic Funk, Nebula Funk, Afrika Bambaataa and Family, Cosmic Force, Jazzy Five, Arthur Baker, John Lydon, Lee Evans (producer) Rae Serrano (producer), James Brown, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Sly and the Family Stone, Bill Laswell, Jungle Brothers, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Busy Bee Starski, Lovage, Nujabes }}

Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal Hip Hop Culture as well as the Father of The Electro Funk Sound. Through his co-opting of the street gang the Black Spades into the music and culture-oriented Universal Zulu Nation, he is responsible for spreading hip hop culture throughout the world. On September 27, 2007, he was nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

History

Afrika Bambaataa grew up in the Bronx River Projects, with an activist mother and uncle. As a child, he was exposed to the black liberation movement, and witnessed debates between his mother and uncle regarding the conflicting ideologies in the movement. He was exposed to his mother's extensive and eclectic record collection. Bambaataa is credited with naming hip-hop. "Hip hop" was a common phrase used by MCs as part of a scat-inspired style of rhyming, and Bambaataa appropriated it for use in describing the emerging culture, which included the four elements: the music of DJs, the lyricism and poetry of emcees, the dancing of b-boys and b-girls, and graffiti art.

In 1982, Bambaataa and his followers, a group of dancers, artists and DJs, went outside the United States on the first hip hop tour. His influence inspired many overseas artists like the French rapper MC Solaar. He was a popular DJ in South Bronx rap scene and became known not only as Afrika Bambaataa but also as the "Master of Records". He established two rap crews: the Jazzy 5 including MCs Master Ice, Mr. Freeze, Master Bee, Master D.E.E, and AJ Les, and the second crew referred to as Soulsonic Force including Mr. Biggs, Pow Wow and Emcee G.L.O.B.E.

In that same year Bambaataa and Soulsonic Force dropped the live band to go high-tech. Bambaataa credited the pioneering Japanese electropop group Yellow Magic Orchestra, whose work he sampled, as an inspiration. He also borrowed an eerie keyboard hook from German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk and was provided an electronic "beat-box" by producer Arthur Baker and synthesizer player John Robie. That resulted in a pop hit "Planet Rock", which went to gold status and generated an entire school of "electro-boogie" rap and dance music. Bambaataa formed his own label to release the Time Zone Compilation. He created "turntablism" as its own sub-genre and the ratification of "electronica" as an industry-certified trend in the late 1990s.

Birth of the Zulu Nation

Bambaataa decided to use his leadership skills to turn those involved in the gang life into something more positive to the community. This decision began the development of what later became known as the Universal Zulu Nation, a group of socially and politically aware rappers, B-boys, graffiti artists and other people involved in hip hop culture. By 1977, inspired by DJ Kool Herc and DJ Dee, and after Disco King Mario loaned him his first equipment, Bambaataa began organizing block parties all around the South Bronx. He even faced his long time friend, Disco King Mario in a DJ battle. He then began performing at Stevenson High School and formed the Bronx River Organization, then later simply "The Organization". Bambaataa had deejayed with his own sound system at the Bronx River Community Center, with Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, and Cowboy, who accompanied him in performances in the community. Because of his prior status in the Black Spades, he already had an established Army party crowd drawn from former members of the gang. Hip hop culture was spreading through the streets via house parties, block parties, gym dances and mix tapes.

About a year later Bambaataa reformed the group, calling it the Zulu Nation (inspired by his wide studies on African history at the time). Five b-boys (break dancers) joined him, whom he called the Zulu Kings, and later formed the Zulu Queens, and the Shaka Zulu Kings and Queens. As he continued deejaying, more DJs, rappers, b-boys, b-girls, graffiti writers, and artists followed him, and he took them under his wing and made them all members of his Zulu Nation. He was also the founder of the Soulsonic Force, which originally consisted of approximately twenty Zulu Nation members: Mr. Biggs, Queen Kenya, DJ Cowboy Soulsonic Force (#2), Pow Wow, G.L.0.B.E. (creator of the "MC popping" rap style), DJ Jazzy Jay, Cosmic Force, Queen Lisa Lee, Prince Ikey C, Ice Ice (#1), Chubby Chub; Jazzy Five-DJ Jazzy Jay, Mr. Freeze, Master D.E.E., Kool DJ Red Alert, Sundance, Ice Ice (#2), Charlie Choo, Master Bee, Busy Bee Starski, Akbar (Lil Starski), and Raheim. The personnel for the Soulsonic Force were groups within groups with whom he would perform and make records.

In 1980, Bambaataa's groups made their first recording with Paul Winley Records titled, "Death Mix". According to Bambaata, this was an unauthorized release. Bambaataa's plan with the Universal Zulu Nation was to build a youth movement out of the creativity of a new generation of outcast youths with an authentic, liberating worldview. thus creating a new style of music altogether, electro funk.

Bambaataa organized the very first European hip hop tour. Along with himself were rapper and graffiti artist Rammellzee, Zulu Nation DJ Grand Mixer DXT (formerly Grand Mixer D.St), B-boy and B-girl crews the Rock Steady Crew, and the Double Dutch Girls, as well as legendary graffiti artists Fab 5 Freddy, PHASE 2, Futura 2000, and Dondi.

Bambaataa's second release around 1983 was "Looking for the Perfect Beat", then later, "Renegades of Funk," both with the same Soulsonic Force. He began working with producer Bill Laswell at Jean Karakos's Celluloid Records, where he developed and placed two groups on the label: "Time Zone" and "Shango". He recorded "Wildstyle" with Time Zone, and he recorded a collaboration with punk-rocker John Lydon and Time Zone in 1984, titled "World Destruction". Shango's album, "Shango Funk Theology", was released by the label in 1984. That same year, Bambaataa and other hip hop celebrities appeared in the movie Beat Street. He also made a landmark recording with James Brown, titled "Unity". It was billed in music industry circles as "the Godfather of Soul meets the Godfather of Hip Hop".

Around October 1985, Bambaataa and other music stars worked on the anti-apartheid album ''Sun City'' with Little Steven Van Zandt, Joey Ramone, Run-D.M.C., Lou Reed, U2, and others. During 1988, he recorded another landmark piece, "Afrika Bambaataa and Family", for Capitol Records, titled The Light, featuring Nona Hendryx, UB40, Boy George, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, and Yellowman. Bambaataa had recorded a few other works with Family three years earlier, one titled "Funk You" in 1985, and the other titled "Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere)" in 1986. In 1986 Bambaataa also discovered an artist in Atlanta Ga. (Through MC SHY D) by the name of Kenya Miler a.k.a MC Harmony (Known producer now as Kenya Fame Flames Miller), that was later signed to Criminal Records and Arthur Baker. The group was Harmony and LG. The first single "Dance To The Drums/No Joke was produced by Bambaataa and Baker with musicians Keith LeBlanc, and Doug Wimbush 1987. Bambaataa was involved in the Stop the Violence Movement, and with other hip hop artists recorded a 12" single titled "Self Destruction", which hit number one on the Hot Rap Singles Chart in March 1989. The single went gold and raised $400,000 for the National Urban League to be used for community anti-violence education programs.

In 1990, Bambaataa made ''Life'' magazine's "Most Important Americans of the 20th Century" issue. He was also involved in the anti-apartheid work "Hip Hop Artists Against Apartheid" for Warlock Records. He teamed with the Jungle Brothers to record the album "''Return to Planet Rock (The Second Coming)''".

Gee Street Records, John Baker and Bambaataa organized a concert at Wembley Stadium in London in 1990 for the African National Congress (ANC), in honor of Nelson Mandela's release from prison. The concert brought together performances by British and American rappers, and also introduced both Nelson and Winnie Mandela and the ANC to hip hop audiences. In relation to the event, the recording Ndodemnyama (Free South Africa) helped raise approximately $30,000 for the ANC. Bambaataa also helped to raise funds for the organization in Italy.

From the mid-1990s, Bambaataa returned to his electro roots, collaborating with WestBam (who was named after him) which culminated in the 2004 album ''Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light'' which featured Gary Numan and many others. In 2000, Rage Against the Machine covered Afrika's song "Renegades of Funk" for their album, ''Renegades''. The same year, Bambaataa collaborated with Leftfield on the song "Afrika Shox", the first single from Leftfield's ''Rhythm and Stealth''. "Afrika Shox" is also popularly known from the soundtrack to ''Vanilla Sky''. In 2006, he was featured on the British singer Jamelia's album ''Walk With Me'' on a song called "Do Me Right", and on Mekon's album ''Some Thing Came Up'', on the track "D-Funktional". Bambaataa performed the lyrics on the track "Is There Anybody Out There" by The Bassheads (Desa Basshead). As an actor, he has played a variety of voice-over character roles on ''Kung Faux''.

Bambaataa was a judge for the 6th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. On September 27, 2007, it was announced that Afrika Bambaataa was one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductions. On December 22, 2007, he made a surprise appearance performing at the ''First Annual Tribute Fit For the King of King Records, Mr. Dynamite James Brown'' in Covington, Kentucky.

Discography

Albums

{|class="wikitable" |- !align="center" width="30"|Year !align="center" width="225"|Album !align="center" width="130"|Label |- |1983 |''Death Mix'' |Paul Winley Records |- |1985 |''Sun City'' |EMI |- |rowspan="2"|1986 |''Planet Rock: The Album'' |Tommy Boy Records |- |''Beware (The Funk Is Everywhere)'' |Tommy Boy Records |- |1987 |''Death Mix Throwdown'' |Blatant |- |1988 |''The Light'' |EMI America Records |- |1991 |''The Decade of Darkness 1990-2000'' |EMI Records USA |- |1992 |''Don't Stop... Planet Rock (The Remix EP)'' |Tommy Boy Records |- |rowspan="3"|1996 |''Jazzin'' (Khayan album) |ZYX Music |- |''Lost Generation'' |Hottie |- |''Warlocks and Witches, Computer Chips, Microchips and You'' |Profile Records |- |1997 |''Zulu Groove'' (Compilation) |Hudson Vandam |- |rowspan="2"|1999 |''Electro Funk Breakdown'' |DMC |- |''Return to Planet Rock'' |Berger Music |- |rowspan="2"|2000 |''Hydraulic Funk'' |Strictly Hype |- |''Theme of the United Nations w/ DJ Yutaka'' |Avex Trax |- |rowspan="2"|2003 |''Electro Funk Breakdown'' (Compilation) |DMX |- |''Looking for the Perfect Beat: 1980-1985'' (Compilation) |Tommy Boy Records |- |2004 |''Dark Matter Moving at the Speed of Light'' |Tommy Boy Records |- |rowspan="2"|2005 |''Metal'' |Tommy Boy Records |- |''Metal Remixes'' |Tommy Boy Records |- |2006 |''Death Mix "2"'' |Paul Winley Records |}

Singles

Year	Title	Label
	"Zulu Nation Throwdown"	Winley Records
"Jazzy Sensation"	Tommy Boy Records
		Tommy Boy Records
"Looking for the Perfect Beat"	Tommy Boy Records
	"Renegades of Funk"	Tommy Boy Records
"Wildstyle"	Celluloid Records
		Tommy Boy Records
"World Destruction"	Atlantic Records
1986	"Bambaataa's Theme"	Tommy Boy Records
1988	"Reckless" (with UB40)	EMI
1990	"Just Get Up And Dance"	EMI
	"Zulu War Chant"	Profile Records
"What's the Name of this Nation?...Zulu"	Profile Records
"Feeling Irie"	DFC
	"Pupunanny"	DFC
"Feel the Vibe" (with Khayan)
1998	"Agharta - The City of Shamballa" (with WestBam)	Low Spirit Recordings

References

External links

Afrika Bambaataa biography

[ Afrika Bambaataa] at Allmusic

Afrika Bambaataa at ''Rolling Stone''

Afrika Bambaataa at WhoSampled

Category:Living people Category:African hip hop DJs Category:American people of Barbadian descent Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:African American rappers Category:Electro musicians Category:Musicians from New York City Category:People from the Bronx Category:1960 births Category:Hip hop activists

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Name	DJ Red Alert
Background	non_performing_personnel
Birth name	Fred Crute
Alias	Red
Born	1956
Origin	Harlem, New York, United States
Occupation	Disk jockey
Website	www.kooldjredalert.com }}

DJ Red Alert (born Fred Crute in 1956 in Harlem, New York) is a disc jockey on 98.7 Kiss-FM, N.Y.C., and has been recognized as a hip hop pioneer. Red Alert has been noted for breaking in such acts and artists as A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, and Black Sheep.

Red, who is of Antiguan heritage, also had a small hip hop management company in the late 1980s called Red Alert Productions, which managed the careers of Native Tongues acts such as the Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, and Monie Love. Besides Chris "Baby Chris" Lighty's Violator, in the late 1980s through 1990s, Red Alert Productions was the only major hip-hop management alternative to Russell Simmons' Rush Artist Management (which he despised) and Cold Chillin' Records' management division.

Programs

DJ Red Alert has appeared on New York City radio stations such as 98.7 KISS FM for over 11 years, has worked for Hot 97 for 7 years. DJ Red Alert also hosts the mix show Article One on Youth Radio 92.5 in the Virgin Islands and has a show on the Sirius Satellite Network station Backspin.

Awards

DJ Red Alert was recognized with a location on the Bronx Walk of Fame, alongside other notables such as Colin Powell, who have originated from the Bronx.

References

External links

Official website

RBMA Radio On Demand - Emerald Steps - DJ Red Alert (Power 105.1 FM, NYC)

Video links

DJ Red Alert RBMA video lecture session

Category:American DJs Category:Hip hop DJs Category:Living people Category:Radio personalities from New York City Category:People from Harlem Category:1956 births

de:DJ Red Alert it:DJ Red Alert fi:DJ Red Alert

Name	T La Rock
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Clarence Ronnie Keaton
Alias	The Lyrical King
Born	September 16, 1961
Origin	Bronx, New York, U.S.
Instrument	Microphone
Genre	Old school hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, recording artist
Years active	1984–1989; 2008–present
Label	Def Jam/Partytime/Streetwise RecordsFresh/Sleeping Bag RecordsVirgin/EMI Records (Europe)
Associated acts	Kurtis MantronikNice & SmoothJust-IceL.L. Cool JT.O.N.E-zQDIII
Notable instruments	}}

Clarence "Terry" Ronnie Keaton (born September 16, 1961), known by the stage name T La Rock, is an American old-school emcee best known for his collaboration with Def Jam Recordings co-founder Rick Rubin and the 1984 single "It's Yours." He disappeared from the hip hop scene after a traumatic brain injury in 1994, but as of 2008, he was back on stage.

Biography

Early years

T La Rock was born in Manhattan and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City. A former break dancer, he is the older brother of fellow old-school MC Special K of the Treacherous Three. T La Rock stands 6'3" tall. T La Rock has been a part of hip hop since its birth, having been a DJ and emcee since the early 1970s.

Hip-hop career

In 1984, Rick Rubin released "It's Yours" 12" (Cat. PT-104), the very first release on Def Jam Recordings. Although some might argue that LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" 12" was the first, this is not exactly true. The "It's Yours" recording was something Rick Rubin put out on the Streetwise Records subsidiary label Partytime Records, a few months before joining forces with Russell Simmons. The song was the first single to feature a Def Jam Recordings logo, but it was released through producer Arthur Baker's independent label Partytime, which was the hip hop division of his dance music label Streetwise Records. The recording was never part of Def Jam’s collection of master recordings.

In a 1996 interview with ''The New York Times'', Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons commented about the effect T La Rock and "It's Yours" had on the early hip hop scene:

The influence of T La Rock's "It's Yours" has been sampled by hip-hop group Public Enemy in "Louder than a Bomb" from its 1988 release ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back''; Nas in "The World is Yours" from his seminal 1994 album ''Illmatic''; by many sample-based house-music tracks by Todd Terry. The song was later in the soundtrack of the video game ''Grand Theft Auto IV'', on the old school hip hop radio station the Classics 104.1. It was also used by the Beastie Boys on its song “Paul Revere” off the famous 1986 album ''Licensed to Ill'', an album also produced by Rick Rubin and released on Def Jam Recordings. Southern rapper Mystikal did a remake of "It's Yours" on his 1997 album Unpredictable. The song had a similar beat intro and hook but had a southern twist to it as it was titled "It Yearns".

On the strength of "It's Yours," T La Rock was signed by Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records and released two albums: ''Lyrical King (From the Boogie Down Bronx'' in 1987, and ''On a Warpath'' in 1989. ''Lyrical King'' was produced by T La Rock, Kurtis Mantronik, and DJ Louie Lou (La Rock's original DJ), while Todd Terry produced ''On a Warpath''.

1994 injury and recovery

In 1994, T La Rock suffered a traumatic brain injury that almost killed him while breaking up a fight in front of his brother's Bronx apartment building. He spent part of his recovery at the Haym Salomon Home for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, where he recovered from memory loss and a loss of motor skills.

After recovering, T La Rock began work on a film project about his life written by Antwone Fisher in 2001. He also began to record new music. He is back on stage performing all of his hits, both in the United States and internationally. He performed in Brazil on August 2008.

Discography

Albums

Album information
	1987 in music>1987	* Chart positions: #64 Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums	* RIAA certification:	* Singles: "Tudy Fruity Judy," "It's Time to Chill," "Back to Burn," "Big Beat in London" (UK only)
	1989 in music>1989	* Chart positions:	* RIAA certification:	* Singles: "Runaway," "I'm Gettin Mine," "Keep That Groove"

References

External links

The official MySpace page of T La Rock

[ AllMusic.com Biography - T La Rock]

Discogs.com Profile - T La Rock

The Unkut Interview Pt. 1 - The Story of 'It's Yours'

The Unkut Interview Pt. 2 - The Lost Tapes

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:American rappers Category:Musicians from New York City Category:People from the Bronx Category:Def Jam Recordings artists Category:Virgin Records artists

de:T La Rock

Afrika Islam (born Charles Glenn, 1968, New York City) also known as the "''Son of Bambaataa''", is an American hip-hop producer.

Life

In the 1980s he moved to Los Angeles where he co-produced Ice T's early albums ''Rhyme Pays'' and ''Power''. In the late 1990s, Afrika Islam joined German techno icon Westbam to form Mr. X and Mr. Y, a techno duo that made commercial techno with Electro influences.

References

Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:Hip hop record producers

als:Afrika Islam de:Afrika Islam fr:Afrika Islam no:Afrika Islam pl:Afrika Islam