Cocoa Chanelle is an American DJ, recording artist and radio personality. She has worked as an on-air personality and mix show DJ on New York City's Hip Hop radio station

HOT 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

and

Kiss FM Kiss FM, Kiss Radio or variants may refer to: Asia-Oceania * Various Kiss FM-branded stations in the Philippines ** 95.1 Kiss FM, Lucena, Quezon ** 102.3 Kiss FM, Tagbilaran, Bohol * Kiss92 FM, Singapore * KISS 969, Sri Lanka * Kiss Radio Taiwan ...

. She has worked in television, being the first DJ to be employed by

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

Networks for the weekly teen talk show "Teen Summit."

Early life

Chanelle was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. At age seven, she was raised by her grandmother in

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...

following the death of both parents to alcoholism.DJ Cocoa Chanelle at eventful.com
/ref> She started as a MC at the age of twelve, and was later put on the turntables by age thirteen by her brother Andre who was shot and killed in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

three months before Cocoa was hired as a DJ on HOT 97.

Career

At a young age, Cocoa entered local talent shows rapping and Djing. By age 16, while visiting family, Cocoa was asked by

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

DJ Walter D to make a guest DJ appearance on the popular radio station Magic 102. Immediately following high school graduation, Cocoa began her DJ career on a professional level in her hometown New York City as the DJ for hip-hop duo Kings of Swing. Her big break came when she landed a weekly spot on

's teen talk show ''

Teen Summit Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the ...

'' as the first-ever BET resident DJ, a spot she held for over six years. She has also worked on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''Spring Break''. and made several guest appearances on

's ''

Rap City ''Rap City'' is a music video television program block that originally aired on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network from August 11, 1989, to November 8, 2008. The program was an exclusive showcase for hip hop music videos, and featu ...

'' and ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''. She had a 16-year radio career in New York City on HOT 97 which began after making several guests mixing appearances on

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding and operated by Emmis Communications under a shared service ...

's "Morning Show", hosted by Ed Lover, she was recommended to the stations program director and as a result, the morning show producer created the idea for "Ladies Night," which consisted of

Angie Martinez Angela Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, rapper, singer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice of New York" during her two-decade tenure at New York City station HOT 97 (WQHT), she left that position in 2014 to join ...

DJ Jazzy Joyce Joyce Lynn Spencer, also known as DJ Jazzy Joyce (born June 20, 1967) is an American hip hop DJ from the Bronx, New York DJ Jazzy Joyce at allmusic.com/ref> and producer on New York City's radio station Hot 97. She has been considered one of th ...

& Chanelle. She was also listed in Vibe Magazine as one of the TOP 17 DJ's in the United States, honored by BET for Black History Month and received a

Black Girls Rock! BLACK GIRLS ROCK! is a company founded by executive producer, businesswoman, celebrity DJ, and former model Beverly Bond. The company hosts an annual award show of the same name that honors and promotes Black women's achievements. BLACK GIRLS ROC ...

award. Aside from djing in nightclubs around the world, Cocoa has performed at Madison Square Garden as the DJ for the New York Knicks half time show. She was also honored at the industry event for Radio Mixshow DJ's

Mixshow Power Summit Power Summit, previously known as Mixshow Power Summit, is an annual four-day urban music conference. It was established in 1998 by Rene McLean, founder and CEO of RPM GRP. The conference ran for ten years, concluding in 2008. It was the largest u ...

conference, where she received the award for "Best Female Mixshow DJ of the Year." In 2019, Cocoa became the official touring DJ for the female rap group

Salt N Pepa Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...

Discography

Production

*2003: "Ok" –

Sheek Louch Sean Divine Jacobs (born September 30, 1976), better known as Sheek Louch, is an American rapper best known as a member of The Lox, The LOX and founder of D-Block Records, along with Styles P and Jadakiss. Personal life and career At around ...

*2005: "Pressure" –

*2006: "Pain in My Life" –

Saigon , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

Studio album

With Kings of Swing *1990 ''Strategy'' (Virgin, 1990)

References

External links

*
DJ Cocoa Chanelle
discography at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chanelle, Cocoa American hip hop record producers Women DJs American hip hop DJs Living people Mixtape DJs Nightlife in New York City People from Bluefield, West Virginia Rappers from Brooklyn Rappers from West Virginia 1971 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century women rappers