Peter Rosenberg

Peter Rosenberg
Born July 23, 1979
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Residence New York City
Nationality American
Alma mater University of Maryland
Occupation Radio DJ
Television show host
Years active 1997-present
Religion Judaism
Website
rosenbergradio.com

Peter Rosenberg (born July 23, 1979)[1] is an American radio DJ and television show host. He is best known as a host of The Hot 97 Morning Show, the weekday morning show at hip hop radio station Hot 97 (WQHT-FM) in New York. Rosenberg also hosts Real Late with Rosenberg on Hot 97 as well as the podcast Juan Epstein, and presented the MTV2 game show Hip Hop Squares.

Rosenberg hosts a professional wrestling podcast through ESPN affiliate Grantland called Cheap Heat. Former wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin has characterized Rosenberg as "one of the biggest wrestling fans walking planet Earth".[2]

Early life

Rosenberg was born and raised in Chevy Chase, Maryland, to a Capitol Hill staffer father and public school teacher mother.[3] He was introduced to hip hop by his older brother,[3] and has also cited popular songs such as "Parents Just Don't Understand" by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince as early influences. Visiting his grandparents in Rockaway Beach in Queens, New York, US, he was influenced by radio shows hosted by DJ Red Alert and Marley Marl. He obtained his first set of turntables at the age of 14 years.[4]

Career

Radio

In the summer before his freshman year at the University of Maryland, Rosenberg started hosting a late-night underground hip hop show, From Dusk 'Til Dawn, on campus radio station WMUC-FM. His initial DJ name was "PMD," an acronym for "Peter From Maryland" (a name given to him by Marley Marl while winning a contest on Marl's radio show). After graduating from college, Rosenberg performed as a DJ at a variety of radio stations in the DC area, including WPGC, WHFS and on talk radio at WJFK-FM. He began making online parody videos, which were seen by the soon-to-be program manager of New York's Hot 97 Ebro Darden, and these led to his 2007 hiring at the radio station.[1][4]

Rosenberg hosts the weekday morning show, The Hot 97 Morning Show, on Hot 97 from 6 to 10 a.m., with Cipha Sounds, Ebro and Laura Stylez. They play contemporary hip hop and R&B tracks, interview musicians, and discuss music, relationships, sex and race in a straightforward style. He also hosts Real Late With Rosenberg on Sunday nights on Hot 97, and he and Cipha Sounds co-host the podcast Juan Epstein, which has featured guests such as Jay-Z, Eminem, Rick Ross and Pusha T.[3][5] Hot 97 is the most listened-to hip hop station in New York City and Rosenberg has said that he dreamed of being on the station as a child.[3]

Rosenberg is also known for supporting and introducing the public to up-and-coming New York rap artists.[4][6] He was the first media personality to interview rapper Earl Sweatshirt after he returned in 2012 from a nearly two-year hiatus in Samoa.[7] In an April 2014 New Yorker piece on Rosenberg, he explained: “Since I have a foot in both worlds, an artist can play me three tracks, and I can go, ‘This one only hip-hop heads like me will appreciate. This one could be big, but it’s corny. But this one could reach a lot of people, without you sacrificing who you are.’”[6]

After becoming mayor of New York City in 2014, Bill de Blasio's first appearance for the traditional Friday morning mayoral radio appearance was a phone interview with Rosenberg and Ebro on The Hot 97 Morning Show.[8]

Professional wrestling

Rosenberg is an avid wrestling enthusiast, starting the podcast Cheap Heat in late 2013 with Grantland wrestling journalist David Shoemaker.[9] He has also interviewed various major wrestlers outside of his podcast – including Hot 97 interviews with WWE Hall of Famers Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley and Jesse Ventura – the videos of which he posts to YouTube as part of his Wrestling With Rosenberg series.[10] In a 2011 article for Complex magazine, Rosenberg cited Bret Hart as his "favorite wrestler ever".[11] He also has a great admiration for "Macho Man" Randy Savage, once saying on Hot 97: "You add up all the things that he was capable of, and you can make a case that there was no one better than 'Macho Man'."[12]

Rosenberg made his debut at a live wrestling event on December 19, 2009, when he served as a guest commentator for Ring of Honor's (ROH) Final Battle 2009 pay-per-view.[13] He has also appeared for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).[14]

TV/video

Rosenberg hosted Hip Hop Squares on MTV2 for both of its two seasons. The show, which premiered on May 22, 2012, was based on the tic-tac-toe game show Hollywood Squares. It featured a rotating cast of rappers, DJ's, comedians, and sports and TV personalities as the nine squares on the board.[15]

Rosenberg is the host of Noisemakers, a hip hop interview series that began in 2008. Past guests include Nas, DJ Premier and Diddy. Interviews take place primarily at the 92nd Street Y in Manhattan. The series has been described as a hip hop version of Inside the Actor's Studio.[16][17][18]

In June 2013, he began hosting a new original video series on Complex TV. On The Process, he interviews new and established hip hop artists about their songwriting approach. The first episode's guest was Raekwon.[19] Other subjects include Prodigy, Schoolboy Q, Azealia Banks, Future and Goodie Mob.[20]

Concerts

Rosenberg throws an annual summer concert, Peterpalooza, in celebration of his birthday. The first took place at the Best Buy Theater in Manhattan in 2012, and featured performances from Odd Future, Raekwon, Asher Roth, Nitty Scott and Smoke DZA. The second, at Williamsburg Park in Brooklyn in 2013, featured performances from Schoolboy Q, Meek Mill, Odd Future, Fabolous and World's Fair.[21][22][23]

Nicki Minaj controversy

After Rosenberg implied on the small stage at Hot 97's Summer Jam 2012 concert that Nicki Minaj's pop single "Starships" was not "real hip-hop", Minaj, the concert's scheduled headliner, withdrew from the concert.[24][25][26] Rosenberg declined to apologize, clarifying that his comments were not meant as an attack on Minaj, and that she is "inherently hip hop… it’s just that 'Starships' is definitely not."[24][27] Minaj was replaced on the bill by Nas and Lauryn Hill.[3]

On May 28, 2013, nearly a year after the dispute began, Minaj appeared as a guest on Rosenberg's Hot 97 morning show. The two made up, with Rosenberg apologizing and noting that he doesn't have anything against Minaj personally. Minaj allowed that in hindsight, she should not have canceled her performance, but she was miffed at the time due to her lack of familiarity with Rosenberg.[1][26] A week after appearing on Hot 97, Minaj joined 2 Chainz at Summer Jam 2013, performing two songs with the rapper.[28]

Mixtapes

Rosenberg has released two official mixtapes. The first was What's Poppin' Vol. 1 in 2011, with more than half of the rappers from New York. Artists include Action Bronson, The Kid Daytona, Skyzoo, Raekwon, Kendrick Lamar, Danny Brown, J. Cole, Odd Future and Sugar Tongue Slim.[29] In April 2013, he released his second official mixtape, The New York Renaissance, with new music from A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg, Joey Bada$$, Action Bronson, Flatbush Zombies, Troy Ave, Smoke DZA and others.[30] He voiced the intro for Rick Ross's 2012 mixtape The Black Bar Mitzvah.[31] He also made an appearance on the track "Sincerely Yours" from Little Brother's sophomore album The Minstrel Show.

Mixtapes

Personal life

Rosenberg is Jewish[31] and married to sportscaster Alexa Datt.[1] They live on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, New York, US.[3] In regard to his affection for hip hop music, Rosenberg stated in an April 2014 interview: "I will go toe to toe with almost anyone in terms of knowledge, trivia, and love of this music."[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chris Richards, “Peter Rosenberg: From Montgomery County to top of the hip-hop heap,” Washington Post, May 31, 2013.
  2. ↑ "DJ Peter Rosenberg". The Steve Austin Show. Episode 193. February 9, 2015. 19 minutes in. PodcastOne. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Matthew Shaer, “Hot 97’s Morning Jew,” Tablet, May 28, 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 J. Pablo, “Q&A: HOT 97’s Peter Rosenberg Talks ‘Minor League Rappers’ and Ebro,” Village Voice, July 20, 2013.
  5. ↑ “Pusha T Talks ‘My Name Is My Name,’ Kanye West’s Input On His Album & More,” The Source, October 8, 2013.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Andrew Marantz, "Old School," The New Yorker, April 7, 2014.
  7. ↑ Carrie Battan, “Watch Earl Sweatshirt’s First Interview Since Return,” Pitchfork, March 20, 2012.
  8. ↑ Michael Howard Saul, “De Blasio Takes to Hot 97 for First Friday Radio Interview,” Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2014.
  9. ↑ David Shoemaker and Peter Rosenberg, "Cheap Heat Podcast: With Special Guest Sam Roberts," Grantland, July 10, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Wrestling With Rosenberg". Peter Rosenberg's YouTube channel. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
  11. ↑ "The 50 Greatest Wrestling Costumes of All Time". Complex. August 11, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  12. ↑ Rosenberg, Peter (September 19, 2011). "Shawn Michaels Part 3 (4:34)". Wrestling With Rosenberg. Peter Rosenberg's YouTube channel. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  13. ↑ Caldwell, James (December 17, 2010). "ROH Final Battle 2009 flashback". PWTorch. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg To Manage Velvet Sky". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. July 3, 2013. Retrieved February 22, 2015.
  15. ↑ Melena Ryzik, “Tick-Tack-Toe for the Vigorously Unsquare,” New York Times, April 19, 2012.
  16. ↑ Vanita Salisbury, “Peter Rosenberg Hates That Summer Stench,” New York, June 23, 2010.
  17. ↑ “Video: Peter Rosenberg Presents ‘Noisemakers’ With Nas,” Complex, March 29, 2012.
  18. ↑ “Peter Rosenberg’s ‘Noisemakers’ with DJ Premiere,” XXL, December 12, 2008.
  19. ↑ Insanul Ahmed, “Raekwon Talks About Writing Wu-Tang Classics,” Complex, August 13, 2013.
  20. ↑ The Process home page, Complex TV. Retrieved February 19, 2014.
  21. ↑ “Meek Mill And Odd Future Rock Peter Rosenberg’s Peterpalooza,” XXL, July 22, 2013.
  22. ↑ “Peter Rosenberg’s 2013 PeterPalooza,” The Source, July 24, 2013.
  23. ↑ “Peter Rosenberg’s Peterpalooza Lineup Announce,” Socialite Heights, June 27, 2013.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 James C. McKinley Jr., “Nicki Minaj Faces Off With the Hot 97 D.J.’s,” New York Times, June 5, 2012.
  25. ↑ Jon Caramanica, “Nicki Minaj Skips Festival After a D.J.’s Remarks,” New York Times, June 4, 2012.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Latifah Muhammad, “Nicki Minaj Makes Peace With Hot 97 DJ Peter Rosenberg,” BET, May 28, 2013.
  27. ↑ Jen Carlson, “Hot97’s DJ Peter Rosenberg: Nicki Minaj ‘Is Inherently Hip Hop… It’s Just That Starships Is Not’,” Gothamist, June 7, 2012.
  28. ↑ Chiderah Monde, “Summer Jam XX: Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj among surprise artists highlighting collaborations,” New York Daily News, June 3, 2013.
  29. ↑ Phillip Mlynar, “Peter Rosenberg’s What’s Poppin’ Vol. 1 Takes The New York Hip-Hop Scene’s Pulse,” Village Voice, September 8, 2011.
  30. ↑ Eric Diep, “Mixtape: Peter Rosenberg Presents ‘The New York Renaissance’,” XXL, April 4, 2013.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Seth Berkman, “Peter Rosenberg, Hip-Hop’s Jewish Radio Star,” The Forward, October 10, 2013.

External links