DJ Stretch Armstrong

Adrian Bartos (born September 29, 1969) known professionally as DJ Stretch Armstrong is a New York-based DJ and music producer, known as a former co-host of hip hop radio show The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show, alongside Bobbito Garcia.

This article is about the DJ. For other musicians also named after the toy, see Stretch Armstrong (disambiguation).
DJ Stretch Armstrong
Armstrong in 2011
Born
Adrian Bartos

(1969-09-30) September 30, 1969
New York, New York, U.S.
Alma materColumbia University (BA)
Occupations
Years active1988–present
Known forThe Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show
Musical career
Genres
Instrument(s)Turntables

Early life

Bartos grew up in the Upper East Side of New York City.[1] He was obsessed with boomboxes as a child and had an older sister who was into early disco music in the seventies, bringing records home to listen to.[2] He started DJing in downtown New York City, making his own concert flyers out of cardboard, scissors, and glue.[1][3] Bartos graduated from Columbia University in 1994.[4]

Career

Radio and music

From 1990 to 1998, Bartos co-hosted The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show on Columbia University's WKCR. It featured exclusive demo tapes and in-studio freestyles from many then-unsigned pop artist such as The Brinson Club and hip hop artists such as Nas, Big Pun, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Fat Joe, Cam'ron, DMX, Wu-Tang Clan, Fugees, Talib Kweli, Big L and The Notorious B.I.G. who later found great success on major record labels.[5] In 2020 the pair produced an album called No Requests with a group of musicians called the M19, named for a bus in Manhattan connecting the Upper East Side to the Upper West Side.[6] The album is a reimagining of hip-hop's foundational songs with some updated lyrics and no sampling.[7]

Bartos co-hosted NPR's podcast What's Good with Stretch and Bobbito which began in 2017.[8][9][10] The show which was about art, politics, and sports, as well as music, interviewed people such as Dave Chappelle and Stevie Wonder.[11]

His musical career, along with Garcia, was made into a movie Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives, which was picked up by Netflix in 2015 on the 25th anniversary of the pair's radio show.[12][13][14] The Source Magazine called their show "The Best Hip Hop Radio Show of All Time" in 1998.[15]

Bibliography

Bartos' first book, with archivist Evan Auerbach, No Sleep: NYC Nightlife Flyers 1988-1999 , was released through Powerhouse Books.[3][16] He explains that it's "a book that chronicles basically the history of New York City nightclubs from ‘88 to ‘99 as told through club flyer art."[12]

References
  1. Owerko, L.; Lee, S. (2014). The Boombox Project: The Machines, the Music, and the Urban Underground. ABRAMS. p. 39. ISBN 978-1-61312-810-7. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  2. "On Their Debut Album, Stretch And Bobbito Are Taking 'No Requests'". NPR.org. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  3. "No Sleep.: NYC Nightlife Flyers 1988-1999". powerHouse Books. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  4. Telman, Nigel (February 24, 2021). "The Hip-Hop Project: A historical exploration into the relationship between Columbia University and the rap revolution". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved August 4, 2022.
  5. Bobbito Garcia in ego trip's Book of Rap Lists. Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Mao, Gabriel Alvarez & Brent Rollins. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999 (pp. 110–11); ISBN 978-0-312-24298-5
  6. Cornish, Audie; Lonsdorf, Kat (2020-01-17). "On Their Debut Album, Stretch And Bobbito Are Taking 'No Requests'". WFAE. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  7. "Hip-hop radio DJs Stretch and Bobbito on their debut album No Requests - CBC Radio". CBC. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  8. "Adrian "Stretch" Bartos". NPR.org. 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  9. "NPR is bringing back '90s hip-hop DJs Stretch and Bobbito". Nieman Lab. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  10. "Stretch & Bobbito On Race, Hip-Hop, And Belonging". WAMU. 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  11. Blistein, Jon (2017-04-19). "Pioneering Rap DJs Stretch and Bobbito Detail New NPR Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  12. "DJ Stretch Armstrong Discusses 'Stretch & Bobbito' Documentary". Vibe. 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  13. officialdon (2015-10-09). "Stretch & Bobbito Film Highlights NYC Legends Who Put Lyricists On The Map". The Source. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  14. "Stretch And Bobbito On Debut Album "No Requests," Radio Legacy". Vibe. 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  15. "The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show". Hip-Hop Radio Archive. 1992-11-19. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
  16. Caramanica, Jon (December 25, 2016). "Inside the Secret NYC Club Culture". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
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