Frank Rodriguez, professionally known as Frank Ski (born May 9, 1964), is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
DJ,
journalist
A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...
,
philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
,
radio personality
A radio personality (American English) or radio presenter (British English) is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host, and in India and Pakistan as a rad ...
, and public forums host. He also was a
Baltimore club
Baltimore club, also called Bmore club, Bmore house or simply Bmore, is a fusion of breakbeat and house genres. It is often referred to as a blend of hip hop and chopped, staccato house music. It was created in Baltimore, Maryland, United States ...
and
house music
House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...
artist who recorded as solo, as well as a part of the group 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog in the 1990s. From 1998 to 2012, and again from 2017 to January 2019, he was the host of the ''Frank and Wanda Morning Show'' alongside co-host Wanda Smith on the
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
urban contemporary
Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contem ...
radio station
WVEE
WVEE (103.3 FM, "V-103") is a commercial radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an urban contemporary radio format. WVEE is one of the highest-rated stations of the Atlanta radio market according to Nielsen Aud ...
. He now hosts another morning show called ''The Morning Culture'' alongside
Jade Novah
Lindsay Fields (born May 30, 1986), known professionally as Jade Novah, is an American singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence for her YouTube videos covering songs such as "Diamonds" by Rihanna. Novah's debut album, ''All Blue'', was nomi ...
and J.R. Jackson.
Biography
Career highlights
In 2002,
Reverend
The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...
awarded Ski the title of "Journalist of the Year" by the
Rainbow Push Coalition.
[Frank Ski]
article from Georgia Perimeter College
After
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...
hit
in 2005, Ski spearheaded a fundraising movement to help the victims.
[ He raised $500,000 to support the causes of ]Hosea Williams
Hosea Lorenzo Williams (January 5, 1926 – November 16, 2000) was an American civil rights leader, activist, ordained minister, businessman, philanthropist, scientist, and politician. He is best known as a trusted member of fellow famed civil ri ...
Feed the Hungry and Homeless and Metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...
Respite & Development Services.
Ski hosts the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame
The International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, is a historic promenade that honors activists involved in the Civil Rights Movement and other national and global civil rights activists. It was created in 2004, and is located at the Martin Luther Kin ...
. The Walk is a partnership between the Trumpet Awards Foundation and the National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
. It was created in 2004 to give recognition to civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
leaders who promote justice and equality.
In 2009, he finished second (to Neal Boortz
Neal A Boortz Jr. (born April 6, 1945) is an American author, former attorney, and former conservative radio host. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Neal Boortz Show'', which ended in 2013, was carried throughout the United States. The ...
) in an unscientific ajc.com poll for the most obnoxious Atlanta radio personality. Radio & TV Talk with Rodney Ho held a poll on whether V-103
WVEE (103.3 FM, "V-103") is a commercial radio station in Atlanta, Georgia. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs an urban contemporary radio format. WVEE is one of the highest-rated stations of the Atlanta radio market according to Nielsen Aud ...
should keep Frank Ski (during the time of his contract re-negotiations), which resulted in a 59% outcome of "No". He has recently been criticized for his support of Bishop Eddie Long
Eddie Lee Long (May 12, 1953 – January 15, 2017) was an American pastor who served as the senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church, a megachurch in unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, from 1987 until his death in 2017.
When Lon ...
during his sex scandal, despite attending another Atlanta church.
Ski had a lengthy career as a radio personality and record producer in the Baltimore radio market. He was also one of the pioneers of Baltimore club music at V-103-Baltimore (1988-1996) and at WERQ
WERQ-FM (92.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It features a Mainstream Urban radio format and is owned by Radio One of Lanham, Maryland, the largest broadcasting company serving African American audiences in the Unite ...
Baltimore (1996-1998), before moving to Atlanta in 1998. His 1993 track "Whores in this House" gave rise to a local genre that was later sampled by and referenced in hip-hop albums, including "WAP
WAP or Wap may refer to:
Music
* "WAP" (song), a 2020 song by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion
Organizations
* Weatherization Assistance Program, for US energy costs
* Western Australia Party, a political party founded in 2016
* Western A ...
" by Cardi B
Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...
& Megan Thee Stallion
Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion (pronounced "Megan the Stallion"), is an American rapper and songwriter. Originally from Houston, Texas, she first garnered attention when videos of her ...
, which peaked and debuted at number one on the ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
. He also recorded songs with "Miss Tony," a club-track vocalist who performed as a gay man at hip-hop parties. The first song Ski and Miss Tony recorded together, "Tony's Bitch Track," helped to popularize gay culture
Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including '' ...
and the complexities that exist between gender binaries.
Awards and recognition
* Rainbow Push Coalition, Reverend Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson (Given name, né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist Minister of religion, minister, and Politics of the United States, politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party (United S ...
(2002)[
* Georgia ]March of Dimes
March of Dimes is a United States nonprofit organization that works to improve the health of mothers and babies. The organization was founded by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1938, as the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, to comba ...
, Achievement in Radio Award (A.I.R.)
* National Urban League
The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
, Atlanta Chapter; Distinguished Community Service Award (2007)
* Ludacris Foundation, Community Service Award, 2008
* 11 Alive Community Service Award (2009)
* Mentioned by Uganda Musician Ritah Kigozi in her song "Twandibadewo" (3:23-3:25)
Frank Ski Kids
The Frank Ski Kids Foundation is an Atlanta area organization created by Ski in 2000. Its mission statement is "exposing kids to their future through science, technology, athletics, and the arts".
The foundation hosts a yearly Youth Bowl football competition. It gives young people the opportunity to travel abroad on excursions that support the foundation's science, technology and art programs and organizes a yearly trip to the NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is a city in Madison County, Limestone County, and Morgan County, Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Madison County. Located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, Huntsville is the most populous city in t ...
.12/11: Frank Ski’s wine auction
, Atlanta Journal Constitution's "Access Atlanta" section There have also been excursions to the Galapagos Islands (2007), the Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
rainforest (2008) and an international artistic enrichment trip to Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...
, Italy (2009).
Studio albums
* ''Ya Rollin' Doo Doo'' (with 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog) (1991)
* ''Frank Ski Club Trax'' (1992)
Singles
* " Doo Doo Brown" (with 2 Hyped Brothers & a Dog) (1991)
* "Tony's Bitch Track" (1992)
* "Whores In This House" (1992)
References
External links
USA Today, Frank Ski: 2009 CSA Recipient (video)
TV 11 Alive (video)
Frank Ski Biography, The HistoryMakers
Frank Ski Kids videos
Frank Ski Kid Foundation Go to the Amazons!
(2008)
Frank Ski Youth Foundation, Science Excursion
(2007)
Interview with Program Founder Frank Ski, The History Makers; Media Makers, February 26, 2008
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ski, Frank
African-American journalists
Journalists from New York City
African-American radio personalities
American DJs
Philanthropists from New York (state)
American radio personalities
People from Harlem
1964 births
Living people
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people