Years active 1985-present Name DJ Hurricane | Role Rapper Spouse Dawn Fite | |
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Full Name Wendell Timothy Fite Born January 12, 1965 (age 59) ( 1965-01-12 ) Dallas, Dallas County, Texas, U.S. Occupation Rapper, musician, hip-hop DJ, producer Children Jennifer, Jarell, Ayana, Quran Albums Don't Sleep, Hurricane, The Hurra, Severe Damage, Connect - EP, America's Most Hardcore Similar People Ad‑Rock, Lord Have Mercy, Mario Caldato - Jr, Money Mark, Rah Digga | ||
DJ Hurricane & The Beastie Boys - 4 Fly Guys
DJ Hurricane (born Wendell Timothy Fite in Dallas on January 12, 1965) is an American hip hop DJ, producer and rapper. He is best known for his work with the Beastie Boys. He was a member of the groups Solo Sounds and The Afros and recorded three solo albums, featuring many well-known artists such as Xzibit, Public Enemy, Kool G Rap, Black Thought, Papoose and Talib Kweli.
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Career
One of New York's premier hip-hop artists on the turntables, 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, where he made a name for himself as the group's DJ before going on to release his own albums. Hurricane began rhyming at the age of 11, during hip-hop's infancy, 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. In 1993, along with the Beastie Boys, he contributed the track "It's The New Style" to the AIDS-benefit album No Alternative produced by the Red Hot Organization.
As the Beasties rose in 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 (guest artists include the Beastie Boys, MC Breed, and Sen Dog). He started his own production company, Don't Sleep Productions in 1999.
Five years later in late 2000, after having parted ways with the Beasties prior to their album Hello Nasty in 1998, Hurricane released his second album via TVT, Don't Sleep, which found him much more conceptually collected and with a broad scope of guest artists, including Kool G Rap, Xzibit, Scott Weiland, Public Enemy, Rah Digga, Talib Kweli, Pharoahe Monch, Ad-Rock, Black Thought, Big Gipp, Hittman among others. The track "Come Get It" featured Flipmode Squad peaked at No. 73 of Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
From 2008 to 2012 he was touring DJ for Faith Evans.
Personal life
He's married to Dawn Fite and has four children named Jennifer, Jarell, Ayana and Quran.