Kool DJ Red Alert is a pioneering hip hop deejay who is heavily responsible for the emergence of rap music on the radio airwaves during the early eighties. He is a beacon of excellence among deejays worldwide, and as a radio personality who rose to fame on his legendary mixshow "Red Alert Goes Berserk" on New York's KISS 98.7 FM (formerly WRKS), which first aired in 1983. Red is of West Indian descent by way of Antigua, and is credited as the first DJ to spin dancehall music on his FM radio.
Kool DJ Red Alert received his nickname from his keen alertness while playing defense during his days as a former New York City high school basketball star in the mid-seventies. The result of his basketball excellence was a scholarship to play basketball at Hampton University in Virginia. Even with his great achievements on the hardwood, music kept calling him. After his freshman year Red returned home to New York City to pursue that calling as a deejay in 1976. He has never looked back.
Since then, Uncle Red (as he is affectionately called) has helped to launch the careers of several legendary Hip-Hop acts including KRS One's collective Boogie Down Productions, Native Tongue Collective acts Jungle Brothers, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, Black Sheep, and Monie Love. Red Alert's management company Red Alert Productions (RAP) once represented several of the Native Tongue acts. He was instrumental in helping burgeon the career of late rap industry impresario Chris Lighty, who went on to create the world-famous Violator Management imprint.
Red's stellar reputation in the industry has allowed him to receive numerous honors. Some of those honors are:
● 1997 Mixshow DJ of the Year by Gavin Magazine;
● Lifetime Achievement award from the Impact trade publication in 1998
● One of the 50 most influential people in music by Rolling Stone magazine
● The only Hip-Hop deejay honored with a display in the Radio Section of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
● Honorary Street sign on the Bronx Walk of Fame; and most recently
● The Red Alert Experience, a public art exhibition at New York’s Port Authority Midtown Bus Terminal created in honor of Red Alert’s 46 years of music service to people all over the world. The exhibition has been seen by over 2 million people.
● Many city proclamations and citations in honor of his service from all over the country.
Red Alert is the only deejay who has been a part of the music staff on all 4 major urban radio stations in the New York City area. He currently plays six days a week on WBLS 107.5 FM and is still very active at parties and special events all over the world.
Grammy's Salute to 50 years of Hip Hop
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