DJ Kay Slay
 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (September 2007) |
DJ Kay Slay |
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DJ Kayslay (born Keith Grayson in August 16 1966), also known as The Drama King, The Black Fat Joe, Dezzy Dez and Slap Your Favorite DJ, is the ringmaster of the new hip hop rivalries, played out on his mixtapes. The New York Times called him "Hip Hop's One-Man Ministry of Insults." He has sold 350,000 copies of his two official albums.[1]
Personal
He was born Keith Grayson and grew up with his mother in the Bronx. At an early age he befriended Alberto Martinez, who would later become the legendary drug dealer Alpo. Such company meant that Kay Slay knew the meaning of gangster at a young age but he initially drifted towards good old-fashioned hip-hop culture, particularly DJing and graffiti writing. He was featured in the classic hip-hop documentary Style Wars. As Dezzy Dez, his tag name at the time, Kay Slay made quite a name for himself throughout New York during the late '70s and early '80s. Drugs began to take a toll on him, though, as his taste for cocaine and PCP gradually spiraled into dependency. He eventually met his fate during the early '90s, when he was indicted for felony possession of narcotics. When the New York City Transit Police cracked down on graffiti in the late 1980s, Kay Slay took up turntables. He made his way spinning records and releasing mixtapes, all the while trying to get some money and a record contract.
Upon his return to the streets, Kay Slay began living a new, drug-free life that was a real hustle. For years he worked at random jobs, trying to make enough money to fund his own studio in Harlem so that he could fulfill his dreams of being a big-time DJ. He slowly realized his dreams, and by the early 2000s, he was indeed one of New York's big-time DJs, churning out mixtapes that featured many of NY's top rappers. He is currently dating model Buffie The Body.[2]
Kayslay gets a break
His big break came in 2001 during the advent of high-stakes beefing sparked by the unprecedented furor surrounding Jay-Z's ongoing about with Nas.
It was Kayslay who first spun "Ether," and from that point on, he became the DJ who rappers would go to with their latest battle raps, another huge debut of this being the Ja Rule-bashing Eminem, 50 Cent, and Busta Rhymes remake of "Hail Mary" that the three would later encore at Summer Jam 2003.
The majority of commercial mainstream hip-hop artists send their "disses" to "the Drama King," and up-and-coming artists try to get air time on his show so they can have similar success such as the rapper 50 Cent. DJ Kayslay's Thursday night show on the Hot 97 radio station and his constant stream of mixtapes are now watched closely by record executives who want to sign the next big hip-hop artist, for Kayslay regularly debuts the latest battle-rap exclusives.
Kayslay's Streetsweeper mixtapes, which were trademarked by his signature loudmouth voiceovers, were consequently hot commodities during this era, and Columbia Records took the initiative to sign him and finance a major-label version of the Streetsweeper series.
At the end of 2004, Kayslay became the head of A&R for the Shaquille O'Neal financed label DEJA34. Kayslay's own "Game of Death" became the label's first release on 26 April 2005[citation needed]. On 22 August 2006,"Champions: North Meets South" by DJ Kayslay & DJ Greg Street was released. DJ Kayslay represented NY/the North and Greg Street represented Atlanta/the South.
He is also known for introducing Papoose into the hip-hop main stream by releasing an 20 mixtape series with him. The Nacirema Dream was scheduled for an April 4, 2008 release, however it did not release at this time and is now scheduled for a summer release.
Streetsweeper albums
Kayslay released his first album, Streetsweeper Vol. 1 on 20 May 2003. In the summer of 2003, Kayslay released a single and music video of his own for a track called "Too Much For Me". It featured rapping from Baby, Nas, and Foxy Brown, and a chorus sung by then relative newcomer, Amerie. There were cameo appearances by Swizz Beatz, N.O.R.E., Raekwon, WC and Lloyd Banks. Though the song itself failed to hit big, its music video was aired on MTV Jams and BET. The Too Much For Me Music Video did not feature Nas (because of Nas' solo projects) or Baby so Loon was featured instead. This replacement started a feud between Nas and Kayslay.
On 30 March 2004 Kayslay's second album Streetsweeper Vol. 2 was released. Another single and video were released for "Who Gives A...Where You From" with Three 6 Mafia. It was also featured on the NFL Streets Vol. 1 Video Game.
A third album titled Streetsweeper Vol. 3: The Game of Death was scheduled for release in April 2005. The lead single of the album will be featuring the artist, Loon called, "Lifestyle Of A Superstar".
Discography
- 2003 - Streetsweeper Vol. 1 (Columbia Records); # 22 US
- 2004 - Streetsweeper Vol. 2: The Pain From The Game (Columbia Records); # 27 US
- 2006 - DJ Kayslay & Greg Street, The Champions - North Meets South (Koch Records); # 57 US
- 2007 - The Soul Controller
- 2008 - More Than A DJ
Singles
| Album | Track | Jam FM Charts | Germany Black Singles | Tokio Hot 100 | Radio+Records Airplay - Urban | Radio+Records Airplay - Rhythmic | Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Streetsweepers Vol.1 | "Too Much For Me" | 1 
|
1
|
35 
|
45 
|
37
|
53
|
| Streetsweepers Vol.2 | "Not Your Average Joe" | 16
|
- | - | 41
|
- | 63
|
| Streetsweepers Vol.2 | "Who Gives A...Where You From" | - | - | - | - | - | 89
|
Sample
References
External links
- DJ Kayslay's Hot 97 web page biography
- DJ Kayslay charts [1][2]
- The information in the personal section is from Circuit City's DJ Kayslay bio[3]
- Info on DJ Kayslay as AR head for Shaq's label is from here: [4]
- DJ Kay Slay
- The Drama King at MySpace