DJ Red Alert
| Kool DJ Red Alert | |
|---|---|
Kool Red Alert in July 2004
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Frederick Crute |
| Also known as | Red, Uncle Red, The BUM, Propmaster |
| Born |
November 27, 1956 Antigua, West Indies |
| Occupation(s) | Disc jockey |
| Website | www |
Kool DJ Red Alert (born Frederick Crute on November 27, 1956) is an American disc jockey who rose to fame on 98.7 Kiss-FM in New York City, and is recognized as one of the founding fathers of hip hop music and culture. His weekly radio show airs on WBLS 107.5 FM Saturday evenings from 6pm-7pm EST.
Red Alert is one of the first deejays to perform with the architects of hip hop Universal Zulu Nation. He built his radio show's fanbase by shouting out to listeners within the Tri-State area. Red Alert has been noted for breaking in such acts and artists as A Tribe Called Quest, Queen Latifah, and Black Sheep. Red played a vital role in The Bridge Wars beginning in 1986. His legend grew immensely after being the first deejay to break the record South Bronx by Boogie Down Productions on his KISS-FM weekend radio show and club gigs in support of the Bronx-based hip hop group versus MC Shan, Marley Marl, and the Juice Crew.
Red Alert holds the all-time record for the most guest appearances among all hip hop artists and personalities in the history of music video. When the cassette tapes gained popularity in the 1970s, Red Alert was the first disc jockey to record mix compilation albums, which were later known as mixtapes. He also was the first mixshow disc jockey to introduce dancehall to mainstream radio on his KISS 98.7 FM during the early 1980s.
Kool DJ Red Alert grew up in Harlem, New York. He is of Antiguan heritage. As he attended public school located next to iconic basketball court Rucker Park, he was given his nickname "Red Alert" as a teenager for his natural reddish hair, and for his "alert" sense on defense when playing basketball. He later attended and graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx. At age nineteen, he began attending Thursday and Friday night parties in downtown New York City. He was influenced by dance/disco deejays pioneers Grandmaster Flowers, Pete DJ Jones, and The Together Brothers. On Saturday nights, he acquired the sounds of hip hop from the neighboring uptown borough The Bronx via DJ Kool Herc. Later on, Red would also attend parties, witnessing deejay sets from Grandmaster Flash, Kool DJ A.J., and Afrika Bambaataa. His allure was for the deejay's acute ability to blended vinyl records on two sets of turntables with ideal songs that had tempos and rhythms to keep the dancing crowd moving. He would soon after assemble his own record collection and gathered deejaying equipment.
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