Ron Nelson (DJ)

Ron Nelson (born 1962/1963) is a Toronto-based DJ, broadcaster, music promoter, producer and educator best known for his role in popularizing both hip hop music and later dancehall and reggae music in Canada. He helped promote and develop early Canadian hip hop acts such as Maestro Fresh Wes, Michee Mee, Rumble & Strong and the Dream Warriors.

Nelson was born in Pembroke Hall, Jamaica and emigrated to Canada in 1972.

Known as the "godfather of Toronto hip hop", Nelson created Canada's first hip hop radio shows, Fantastic Voyage, on CKLN-FM in 1983. The Saturday afternoon show, which ran until 1991, became popular among Toronto youth and was the first exposure many had to the genre and the one of the few broadcast outlets for hip hop in Canada during the 1980s. Nelson soon began organizing concerts, his first event being for the Kings of Rap. He went on to bring American hip hop artists to Canada for concerts and tours including, organizing in 1987, the first major rap concert in Canada when Run DMC, Public Enemy and EPMD performed at Varsity Arena.

With the revenues from the concert, Nelson built one of the first hip hop recording studios in Canada, "Apache", in the basement of his Scarborough home. The studio, shared with Beat Factory was where Dream Warriors recorded their first album, And Now the Legacy Begins, on which Nelson is credited as a producer.

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