From graffitti tags to diss tracks, DJ Kay Slay’s hip-hop influence was generational
thefader.comIn an industry that overwhelmingly prizes youth and novelty over experience, Keith Grayson, best known as DJ Kay Slay, was a rare beacon of continuity across hip-hop’s many eras.
Though his early beginnings as a graffiti artist, his run as a mixtape innovator, and his position as kingmaker during some of New York hip-hop’s most competitive years may seem like wildly disparate epochs at a glance, the self-proclaimed Drama King embodied hip-hop’s competitive spirit and no-holds-barred attitude in every role he took on.
That’s certainly why news of his untimely passing due to complications from COVID-19 hit such a wide variety of artists and fans so hard: only Kay Slay could speak on New York’s pre-Run DMC old school and post-Biggie peak with equal authority.
Born on August 14, 1966, and claiming Harlem’s East River Projects, Kay Slay first found fame as a graffiti artist featured in Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning documentary Style Wars.
Read more on thefader.com
