In Memoriam: JMJ taught Lyor Cohen the business
I knew Jam Master Jay only in passing. I met him when I was a young mail clerk at Profile Records, running packages between Profile and the recording studio where Run-DMC was completing their Back from Hell album. But Jay was always the most approachable of the crew. One of the stories I tell in […]
Did you know that New York’s Hot 97 was not the first pop station where hip-hop lived?
Little-known hip-hop fact #2: In 1994, Hot 97-FM became the first pop station in New York to feature a hip-hop format. But Hot 97 wasn’t the first pop station in the country to do so. In fact, they didn’t even invent the slogan that they made famous… Think you know the answer? Comment below! [Hint: […]
VIDEO: Dan Charnas at York College
On Monday, October 25, 2010, I was honored to be the guest of Business Unusual magazine at their Urban ThINC Series event at CUNY—York College in Queens. Quite humbling to be on the same panel as the brilliant Cedric Muhammad and Glenn Williams, Jr.! You can see me in the video below, reading from The […]
Did you know that Lyor Cohen once owned half of The Source magazine?
Little-known hip-hop fact #1: For a brief time, Lyor Cohen owned half of The Source magazine. After the founding editors of The Source walked out in a dispute with publisher Dave Mays, a friend stepped in to negotiate on their behalf. But what Lyor Cohen ended up doing was not the act of a friend… […]
Dan Charnas Spotlighted On AtlantaPost.com
“The Big Payback: The History Of The Business Of Hip-Hop” hits the blogs with The Atlanta Post‘s profile, “The Economic Machine Behind Hip-Hop.” Many thanks to Ali Abidi, who had the dubious honor of conducting the first interview that yours truly has done on behalf of the new book. Special thanks to Nazneen Patel for […]