Kool DJ Red Alert

Kool DJ Red Alert

Kool Red Alert in July 2004
Background information
Birth name Fred Crute
Also known as Red
Born November 27, 1956
Antigua, West Indies[1]
Occupation(s) Disc jockey
Website www.kooldjredalert.com
Kool DJ Red Alert in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 2008

Kool DJ Red Alert (born Fred Crute in November 27, 1956) is an American disc jockey who rose to fame on 98.7 Kiss-FM in New York City, and has been recognized as a hip hop pioneer.[2] Red Alert has been noted for breaking in such acts and artists as A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, and Black Sheep.[3] He grew up in Harlem, New York.

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 and Cold Chillin' Records' management division.

Kool DJ Red Alert appeared on New York City radio stations such as 98.7 Kiss-FM for over 11 years and worked for Hot 97 for seven years. After the demise of WRKS as "98.7 Kiss FM", he became one of the DJs in rotation on the Afterwork Mastermix Dance Party at 6 P.M. (Monday - Thursday), and performed during the holiday mix segments on WBLS. Until the end of 2014, he had a regular time slot on Saturday nights on WBLS at 11 PM EST. During the Christmas Eve Edition of the Funkamster Flex show on current sister station Hot 97, it was announced that Chuck Chillout would take over that timeslot with "Ciroc Saturdays", while Red Alert would host a new show Sunday nights at 9 PM on Hot 97, called "Propmaster Retro". He 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.[3][4][5]

Red's nephew is rapper Mike Gee of the hip hop group Jungle Brothers. His cousin Jazzy Jay is also a famed hip hop DJ.[1] Red also holds the record amongst all hip hop celebrities, appearing in over fifty videos.

Honorary Awards

Kool DJ Red Alert has received numerous awards and accolades including a special award at the first annual Rap Hall of Fame Awards show. He was given the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from music trade publication Impact in 1998, and the 1997 Mix Show DJ of the year award from the now-defunct San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication Gavin. He was named one of the 50 most influential people in music by Rolling Stone magazine. Red Alert is the only deejay honored with a display in the Radio Section of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. He has been appointed by the United Nations as an honorary Ambassador To Music. In June 2003, he was recognized with a location on the Bronx Walk of Fame, a series of street signs recognizing people of note from the borough, alongside other notables such as Colin Powell, who have originated from the Bronx.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Kool DJ Red Alert Session transcript Seattle 2005". Redbull Music Academy. 2006-03-14. Retrieved 2010-10-21.
  2. ↑ "Red Alert! Hip-hop DJ tribute in Va.". New York Daily news. 2006-11-05.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kimani, Khari, "Ring The Alarm." The Source Magazine, October 2007, p. 28.
  4. ↑ "Sirius Satellite Radio - Old School Rap Radio". Sirius Satellite Radio.
  5. ↑ "Violator: Kool DJ Red Alert". Violator Records.
  6. ↑ "Walk of Fame". The Bronx Tourism Council.

External links