DJ Red Alert, born Fred Crute in 1956 in Harlem, New York, is a legendary hip-hop DJ and radio personality who played a pivotal role in the early development of hip-hop music in New York City during the 1980s.
Red Alert started his career as a DJ in the mid-1970s and quickly gained a reputation as one of the most talented DJs in New York City. He became a resident DJ at the legendary hip-hop nightclub, the Funhouse, and later at the Roxy, where he worked alongside other influential DJs such as Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa.
In the early 1980s, Red Alert became a radio personality on New York’s 98.7 Kiss FM, where he hosted a show called “Red Alert’s Rap Attack.” The show, which aired on Friday nights, quickly became one of the most popular and influential hip-hop radio shows in the country. Red Alert played a key role in introducing many new and upcoming hip-hop artists to a wider audience, and his show helped to popularize the sound of hip-hop music across the United States.
Red Alert also played an important role in the development of hip-hop culture in New York City. He was a member of the Universal Zulu Nation, a collective of DJs, MCs, and artists who were instrumental in the early development of hip-hop culture, and he worked closely with other influential figures in the hip-hop community such as Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Red Alert continued to play a major role in the hip-hop scene. He released several mixtapes and remixes, and he worked as a producer for a number of notable artists, including A Tribe Called Quest, Big Daddy Kane, and KRS-One. He also continued to host “Red Alert’s Rap Attack” on Kiss FM, and his show remained one of the most popular hip-hop radio programs in the country until it was cancelled in 2003.
Today, DJ Red Alert is widely regarded as one of the most influential DJs in the history of hip-hop. His pioneering work in both DJing and radio helped to popularize the sound of hip-hop and bring the genre to a wider audience. His contributions to hip-hop have been recognized with numerous awards and accolades, including induction into the Technics DJ Hall of Fame and the Hip Hop Hall of Fame.
