Sway Calloway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sway Calloway
Calloway in 2011
Born	Jonathan Ahmad Calloway (1971-07-03) July 3, 1971 (age 53) Oakland, California, U.S.
Occupation	Journalist, radio personality, producer, rapper
Years active	1986–present
Notable credit(s)	Radio Hall of Fame, MTV, SiriusXM, VH1, Billboard Music Awards, Grammy Awards
Children	1

Jonathan Ahmad Calloway (born July 3, 1971), known as Sway, is an American radio host, journalist, and former rapper. He is famous for hosting music, news, and culture shows. Sway was a reporter and host for MTV News. He also hosted many red carpet events for MTV awards and reported on big events. He later hosted TRLAM. Today, he co-hosts The Wake Up Show with Sway & King Tech and hosts Sway in the Morning on SiriusXM Shade45.

Sway's Early Career

As a teenager in Oakland, California, Sway became a known rapper and b-boy. He performed on San Francisco's Pier 39. After high school, he teamed up with DJ King Tech. They performed at clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area. They also released their own independent music albums.

Later, they signed a record deal with Giant Records. Their album, Concrete Jungle, came out in 1990. This album helped them get a job co-hosting their own show on the radio station KMEL. In 2005, they released another album called Back 2 Basics. It came out on their own record label, Bolo Entertainment.

Sway's Radio Shows

The Wake Up Show played music and featured interviews with famous and new hip hop artists. The show became very popular. By 1993, it was also broadcast in Los Angeles on KKBT. By 1996, it was heard in Chicago on WEJM. Rappers like Ras Kass, Chino XL, and Eminem first appeared on this show. Soon, Sway also hosted his own morning show on the station.

President Barack Obama adjusts Calloway's hat after a 2012 interview for a Live MTV special at the White House.

The show's success helped Sway and Tech get another record deal, this time with Interscope Records. Their album, This or That, was very successful in 1999. It featured many hip hop artists like RZA, Eminem, Xzibit, and The Roots. Sway also appeared on Jennifer Lopez's DVD, The Reel Me, in 2003.

Sway now hosts a weekday morning show on Eminem’s Shade 45 channel on SiriusXM. His show, “Sway in the Morning,” started on July 18, 2011. It airs Monday to Friday from 8 AM to 12 PM ET. In 2012, Sway talked about his experiences in both satellite and regular radio. In November 2013, Kanye West was a guest on his show.

Sway's Television Work

In 2000, MTV asked Sway to join their network. He became a regular reporter for their music video shows and news specials. These included Total Request Live and Direct Effect. Because MTV's studios are in New York City, King Tech and The Wake Up Show moved with Sway. Sway's fame on MTV made his radio show even more popular. This led to a TV version of the show on MTV in January 2004. Sway and Tech also have popular mixtapes with freestyles from their show. Sway even recorded the voice introduction for the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show.

In September 2005, Sway decided not to renew his contract with MTV. However, in 2006, he signed a new contract. This new deal allowed him to bring new projects to MTV. He was the first TV personality since Carson Daly to get such a deal. He got the chance to produce shows with King Tech for MTV and other Viacom channels. He also continued to host programs. He hosted the network's coverage of Michael Jackson's death.

Sway also appeared in a cartoon. He voiced a character named "Sway" in "The Story Of Gangstalicious." This was an episode of the animated series The Boondocks in December 2005. In 2007, he was a guest star on the MTV sketch comedy show Short Circuitz.

Discography

Filmography