DJ Kayslay

Known as the Drama King (aka Slap Your Favorite DJ), Dj Kayslay rose to the top of his field by refereeing some of the most talked-about MC battles of the early 2000s, most notably Jay-z versus Nas and 50 Cent versus Ja Rule, on his Streetsweeper mixtape series and later on his Hot 97 radio show, The Drama Hour. Born Keith Grayson, the gully loudmouth grew up with his grandparents in Harlem's East River Houses, where at an early age he befriended Alberto Martinez, who would later become the legendary drug dealer Alpo. Such company meant that Kayslay knew the meaning of gangsta at a young age, but he initially drifted toward good old-fashioned hip-hop culture, particularly DJing and grafitti writing. As Dezzy Dez, his tag name at the time, Kayslay made quite a name for himself throughout New York during the late '70s and early '80s. Drugs began to take a toll on him, though, as his taste for dust and coke gradually spiraled into dependency. He eventually met his fate during the early '90s, when he was indicted for felony possession of narcotics.

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