DJ Cameo is an English DJ and former host of "Pirate Sessions", a now-defunct Sunday afternoon grime show on the

digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

BBC 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been cod ...

. He later hosted the Tuesday night UKG show, but on 4 November 2015 it was announced that he would be replaced by a new DJ called Jamz Supernova who would be playing R&B. The music Cameo produces varies from 2-step vocals, to

4x4 Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

, to grime, and sublow. In 2004, Cameo was voted winner of the "Best Newcomer" Award for the

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

scene's 2004 Peoples Choice Awards held in London. Cameo also received two back to back awards on behalf of Uptown Records, winner of best record shop.

Biography

DJ Cameo began his DJing career in 1997 playing in local bars and clubs in West London. His main influences at that time were

Tuff Jam Tuff Jam are a British DJ, music production and remixing duo consisting of Karl 'Tuff Enuff' Brown and Matt 'Jam' Lamont. They began working together in 1993, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented a radio show o ...

, EZ and the

Dreem Teem The Dreem Teem are a British DJ, music production and remixing trio consisting of DJ Spoony, Mikee B, and Timmi Magic. They formed in 1996 through pirate radio, and were instrumental in developing the UK garage sound. They presented radio show ...

. In March 1999, Cameo landed a set on London's 92.5 Taste FM alongside MCs Mr. Kaos and Double G, together collectively known as The Specialist Crew and later Special Edition. In their weekly 4pm–6pm Sunday show, they were amongst the early pioneers of a changing scene and introduced the concept of 'radio raving' with 2 MCs effectively 'bringing a rave into your living room'. This allowed Cameo to be heard on the UK underground music scene and to gain experience in working on a radio station. With success on Taste FM, Cameo also featured on other pirate stations such as Delight FM, Ice FM and Lush FM. In 2001, he secured a job at

Uptown Records Uptown Records is an American record label, based in New York City, founded in 1986 by onetime rapper Andre Harrell. From the late 1980s into the early 1990s, it was a leader in R&B and hip hop. During the 1990s, aided by its A&R worker Sean ...

, a European underground music store and has since been promoted to head buyer for the

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

department. That same year, Cameo teamed up with Danny C and MC Viper to produce "Addicted". Cameo then got involved with producer J-Sweet to produce the underground track "Hi Grade" featuring Mr. Kaos and Double G that was then signed to the MOBO 2002 compilation, and more recently the 2003 garage anthem "Original Bad Girl Style" featuring

Gemma Fox Gemma Fox is an English UK garage, R&B and hip hop singer, song writer best known for her 2004 album ''Messy''. The lead single, "Girlfriend's Story", was released in April of that year and featured MC Lyte. The second single, "Gone", featured ...

for Ministry of Sound's ''Street Beats'' compilation. In October 2005, Cameo started his own label, On A Level, and Kamikaze Recordings working with artists such as Jon E Cash,

DaVinChe DaVinChe, is a British record producer and songwriter from South London, England who is best known as one of the pioneer producers in the UK grime scene. His notable works include Kano's "Brown Eyes" and " P's and Q's", Mez Featuring Stormzy ...

, Terror Danger, P-Jam, Dexplicit, Vital, Delinquent, TnT, J-Sweet, IMP, Jiggalo, Black Jack and Scandalous. Also in 2005, the ''Garage Anthems'' CD compilation, mixed by Cameo was released on

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. Cameo went on to become head A&R of Def Jam mobile, a ringtone company offering UK and US tracks for download. That same year, Cameo promoted his Hot Off The Block Grime Allstars concert tour alongside Rebecka Prochnik. It showcased established and new UKG talent in a live concert format enabling fans around the world to truly experience the UKG phenomena on their doorstep. A world tour was set up with dates in New York,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, Spain, Sweden and Paris. The UK was also covered with dates at

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contemp ...

, V Festival, Cargo and various universities. The tour included acts such as Crazy Titch & J2K, Lethal B, Roll Deep, JME, Skepta,

Bruza Shaun Barker, known by the stage name Bruza, is a British grime MC and rapper from Walthamstow, East London. Music career He started his career in 1992 as a member of pop/R&B boy band Chaos who were discovered by Simon Cowell, later becoming ...

, No Lay, L Man, Purple and Tinchy Stryder, to name a few. It aimed to take the UKG scene to another level providing artists and producers with unlimited global exposure. In early 2006, on behalf of 1xtra and BBC Radio 3, Cameo hosted Urban Classic, a music event which brought urban street stars such as Bruza Purple Pace Tor, Faith Sfx and Davinche together with the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

for a performance at the

Hackney Empire Hackney Empire is a theatre on Mare Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. Originally designed by Frank Matcham it was built in 1901 as a music hall, and expanded in 2001. Described by ''The Guardian'' as ‘the most beautiful theatre in Lon ...

. Cameo also appeared on the TV drama series ''Dubplate Drama''.

Discography

*''Garage Anthems 2005'' *''The Sound of the Pirates'' *''DJ Cameo Presents Bassline'' *''Black Heart EP (2015)''

References

External links

DJ Cameo playing on Taste FM on YouTubeTaste FM 92.5 on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameo, Dj Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Black British radio presenters Grime music artists UK garage musicians BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters English people of Saint Lucian descent Electronic dance music DJs