| Sway Calloway | |
|---|---|
| |
| Biographical Information | |
| Birth name: | Sway Calloway |
| Birth date: | August 23, 1970 |
| Birth place: | Oakland, California |
| Professional Information | |
| Occupation: | Journalist, rapper, reporter, and executive producer |
| Years active: | 1990-present |
| Portrays: | Himself |
Sway Calloway, born August 23, 1970, also known as Sway, is an American rapper, reporter and executive producer for MTV News. He is the co-host of the radio show, The Wake Up Show, and he is one-half of the duo, Sway & King Tech. He makes a cameo appearance in the FOX television series, Empire.
Early Life[]
As a teenager growing up in Oakland, California, Sway became a locally known rapper and b-boy performing on San Francisco's Pier 39. He teamed up with DJ King Tech after high school and the duo performed at various San Francisco Bay Area clubs. They also released independent albums. A major label record deal with Giant Records followed. The resulting album, Concrete Jungle in 1990, got them the job of co-hosting their own show on radio station KMEL.
The Wake Up Show featured music and interviews with well-known hip hop artists as well as up-and-coming ones. The show became very popular and began simulcasting to Los Angeles on KKBT in 1994 and to Chicago on WEJM by 1996. Ras Kass, Chino XL and Eminem are among the rappers who made their broadcasting debuts on the show. Soon, Sway was also hosting his own morning drive time show on the station.
The popularity of the show helped Sway and Tech get another record deal, this time with Interscope Records. Their album, This or That, reached #30 on Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart in 1999.[4] The album featured contributions from hip hop artists such as RZA, Eminem, Xzibit, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane, Tech N9ne, Pharoahe Monch and The Roots. Sway also made an appearance on Jennifer Lopez's DVD, The Reel Me in late 2003.
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