Sway Calloway
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Sway Calloway, usually credited as Sway, is a reporter for MTV News. He is also the co-host of the internationally syndicated radio show, The Wake Up Show.
[edit] Bio
As a teenager growing up in Oakland, California, Sway became a locally known rapper and breakdancer. He began as a street performer on San Francisco's Pier 39. He teamed up with DJ King Tech and the duo performed at various San Francisco Bay Area clubs. They also released independent albums that were popular locally. A major label record deal with Giant Records followed. The resulting album, Concrete Jungle in 1990, did not sell well outside of the Bay. But their local popularity got them the job of co-hosting their own show on radio station KMEL.
The Wake Up Show featured music and interviews with well-known hip hop artists as well as up-and-coming ones. The show became very popular and began simulcasting to Los Angeles on KKBT in 1994. Eventually, the show was syndicated across the United States, in Japan and many European countries. Ras Kass, Chino XL and Eminem are among the rappers who made their broadcasting debuts on the show. Soon, Sway was also hosting his own morning drive time show on the station.
The popularity of the show helped Sway and Tech get another record deal, this time with Interscope Records. Their album, This or That, reached #30 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 1999. The album featured contributions from hip hop artists such as RZA, Eminem, Xzibit, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane and The Roots.
In 2000, Sway was approached by MTV to join the network as a correspondent. He became frequent reporter of the network's 10-To-The-Hour Updates and hosted numerous shows and news specials. Because MTV's studios are based in New York City, King Tech and The Wake Up Show went along with Sway in his move. Sway's prominence on MTV made the radio show even more popular than it was before. This inevitably led to a TV version of the show on MTV. But show ran only briefly in January 2004. Sway and Tech also have a popular series of mixtapes that feature freestyles performed on the show.
Another album, Back 2 Basics was released in 2005 on Sway and Tech's own record label, Bolo Entertainment, which is distributed by Universal Music. Chino XL and Sly Boogy are among the artists signed to the label.
[edit] Leaving and returning to MTV
In September 2005, Sway decided not to renew his contract with MTV. He requested a bigger role in the company's programming decisions but was denied. After reconsidering, MTV offered Sway a new contract that included a position as a company executive. In 2006, Sway signed a new contract that included an ability to bring new projects to MTV. In January 2006, he re-signed with MTV making him the first TV personality since Carson Daly to negotiate such a deal (Daly turned down a similar contract). He will have the opportunity to produce programming with King Tech on MTV and other Viacom channels as well as continue to host programs.
