DJ Hurricane

One of New York's premier turntablists, DJ Hurricane fostered his skills alongside Run-D.M.C. in the Hollis, Queens, area of New York City before eventually hooking up with the Beastie Boys, with whom he made a name for himself as the group's DJ before going on to release his own albums. Born Wendell Fite, Hurricane began rhyming at age 11, eventually forming a group called the Solo Sounds and later the Afros. While serving as one of Run-D.M.C.'s bodyguards on the 1986 Raising Hell tour, he became friends with the Beastie Boys, who were the tour's opening act. It wasn't long before the Beasties offered Hurricane an opportunity to be their exclusive DJ. As the Beasties rose to fame with each successive album in the 1990s, Hurricane simultaneously reveled in the spotlight, releasing his first solo album in 1995 on Grand Royal, titled The Hurra. Five years later in late 2000, after having parted ways with the Beasties following their Ill Communication album in 1998, Hurricane released his second album, Don't Sleep, which found him much more conceptually collected and with a broad scope of guest artists.