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.
DJ Stretch Armstrong | |
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![]() Armstrong in 2011 | |
Born | Adrian Bartos September 30, 1969 New York, New York, U.S. |
Alma mater | Columbia University (BA) |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1988–present |
Known for | The 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
- 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.
- "On Their Debut Album, Stretch And Bobbito Are Taking 'No Requests'". NPR.org. 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "No Sleep.: NYC Nightlife Flyers 1988-1999". powerHouse Books. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- 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.
- 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
- Cornish, Audie; Lonsdorf, Kat (2020-01-17). "On Their Debut Album, Stretch And Bobbito Are Taking 'No Requests'". WFAE. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Hip-hop radio DJs Stretch and Bobbito on their debut album No Requests - CBC Radio". CBC. 2020-01-27. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Adrian "Stretch" Bartos". NPR.org. 2017-07-18. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "NPR is bringing back '90s hip-hop DJs Stretch and Bobbito". Nieman Lab. 2017-04-19. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Stretch & Bobbito On Race, Hip-Hop, And Belonging". WAMU. 2017-07-26. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- Blistein, Jon (2017-04-19). "Pioneering Rap DJs Stretch and Bobbito Detail New NPR Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "DJ Stretch Armstrong Discusses 'Stretch & Bobbito' Documentary". Vibe. 2016-11-03. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- officialdon (2015-10-09). "Stretch & Bobbito Film Highlights NYC Legends Who Put Lyricists On The Map". The Source. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "Stretch And Bobbito On Debut Album "No Requests," Radio Legacy". Vibe. 2020-02-05. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- "The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show". Hip-Hop Radio Archive. 1992-11-19. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
- Caramanica, Jon (December 25, 2016). "Inside the Secret NYC Club Culture". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 20 April 2020.