DJ Maestro, born and raised in the Boogie Down BX, listening to Hot 97, WBLS and Kiss FM, and was influenced by dj’s like Funk Master Flex, Red Alert, Cipha Sounds, Kid Capri and DJ Premiere, to name a few. But it wasn’t until leaving NYC that he picked up on his natural talents for dj’ing. He began acting and singing at a young age and performed with the likes of Savion Glover, Gregory Hines, Shari Belefonte and more. Read more: Boogie Down Productions: The Educators of Hip Hop (video).
Later he found a natural talent and desire to write and became an emcee. His verbal prowess allowed him to share stages with such classic Hip hop groups such as Boogie Monsters, Bushbabees, Supernatural, Big Daddy Kane, and Mos Def. In 1999, Maestro landed a spot at Viacom..s MTV Networks.
Working in the Radio Network department, he furthered his skills and networked with key players in the industry. While honing his skills at MTV, he managed to make the cut for Teen People Magazine’s MTV photo shoot. In 2003, Clear Channel made a change in format on WPHR, from Urban to Urban AC, and took the top Radio DJs from WPHR and brought them over to WWHT (Hot 107.9 fm).
Maestro, being one of these Radio DJs, assumed the evening shift and brought the Jumpoff over to Hot 107.9. The change proved to be a wise decision. Maestro went on to become number 1 at nights on Hot and brought the highest ratings to the Radio Station that it had ever experienced.
He currently holds the highest listened to hour on the Radio Station and continues to bring the Radio Station to new heights. Using his past experience in film and tv, Maestro also made celebrity spotlights on the number 1 rated television Radio Station in Central New York, News channel 9 (WSYR). He broke National ground when he co-hosted BET’s Rap City.
Now he resides in Syracuse, NY and travels back and forth to his hometown of the Bronx. He is the founder of an online radio Radio Station , www.idv8radio.com, runs his marketing company and is the official DJ for Syracuse University Basketball Team!
