Cocoa Chanelle is an American DJ, recording artist and radio DJ/host currently broadcasting on Audacy's 94.7 in New York City. She has worked as an on-air personality and mix show DJ on New York City's Hip Hop radio station

HOT 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

and Kiss FM. She has worked in television, being the first DJ to be employed by

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

Networks for the weekly teen talk show "Teen Summit."

Early life

Chanelle was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. At age seven, she was raised by her grandmother in

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

following the death of both parents due to

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

. She started as a MC at the age of twelve, and was later put on the turntables by age thirteen by her brother Andre who was shot and killed in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

three months before Cocoa was hired as a DJ on HOT 97.

Career

At a young age, Cocoa entered local talent shows rapping and DJing. By age 16, while visiting family, Cocoa was asked by

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

DJ Walter D to make a guest DJ appearance on the popular radio station Magic 102. Immediately following high school graduation, Cocoa began her DJ career on a professional level in her hometown New York City as the DJ for hip-hop duo Kings of Swing. Her big break came when she landed a weekly spot on

's teen talk show ''

Teen Summit ''Teen Summit'' is an American talk show for youth that aired on BET from September 16, 1989 to August 31, 2002. In recent years it has returned as a very occasional special to the network's schedule. Background Created by Black Entertainment T ...

'' as the first-ever BET resident DJ, a spot she held for over six years. She has also worked on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's ''Spring Break''. and made several guest appearances on

's ''

Rap City ''Rap City'', also known as ''Rap City: Tha Basement'' from 1999 to 2005, is a music video television program block that originally aired on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network from August 11, 1989, to November 8, 2008. The program ...

'' and ''

106 & Park ''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rated ...

''. She had a 16-year radio career in New York City on HOT 97 which began after making several guests mixing appearances on

Hot 97 WQHT (97.1 FM, ''Hot 97'') is a commercial radio station, licensed to New York, New York, which broadcasts an urban contemporary music format. The station is owned by Mediaco Holding, a subsidiary of the Standard General hedge fund. WQHT's st ...

's "Morning Show", hosted by

Ed Lover Ed Lover (born: James Roberts) is an American disc jockey, radio personality, actor, musician, and one of the first MTV VJ hosts of '' Yo! MTV Raps'' with Dr. Dre and Fab 5 Freddy. Lover has been host of many influential radio and television ...

, she was recommended to the stations program director and as a result, the morning show producer created the idea for "Ladies Night," which consisted of

Angie Martinez Angela "Angie" Martinez (born January 9, 1971) is an American radio personality, podcaster, singer, former rapper and actress. Dubbed "The Voice of New York", Martinez is widely known for her 28-year run at New York City station WQHT, Hot 97 ( ...

DJ Jazzy Joyce Joyce Lynn Spencer, also known as DJ Jazzy Joyce (born June 20, 1967) is an American hip hop DJ from Bronx, New York DJ Jazzy Joyce at allmusic.com/ref> and a producer on New York City's radio station Hot 97. She has been considered one of the m ...

& Chanelle. She was also listed in Vibe Magazine as one of the TOP 17 DJ's in the United States, honored by BET for Black History Month and received a

Black Girls Rock! BLACK GIRLS ROCK! is a company founded by executive producer, businesswoman, celebrity DJ, and former model Beverly Bond. The company hosts an annual award show of the same name that honors and promotes Black women's achievements. BLACK GIRLS RO ...

award. Aside from DJing in nightclubs around the world, Cocoa has performed at Madison Square Garden as the DJ for the New York Knicks half time show. She was also honored at the industry event for Radio Mixshow DJ's Mixshow Power Summit conference, where she received the award for "Best Female Mixshow DJ of the Year." In 2019, Cocoa became the official touring DJ for the female rap group

Salt N Pepa In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as ro ...

Discography

Production

*2003: "Ok" –

Sheek Louch Sean Divine Jacobs (born September 30, 1974), better known by his stage name Sheek Louch (or simply Sheek), is an American rapper, best known as a member of East Coast hip hop trio the Lox, which he formed in 1994 with Jadakiss and Styles P. ...

*2005: "Pressure" –

*2006: "Pain in My Life" –

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Studio album

With Kings of Swing *1990 ''Strategy'' (Virgin, 1990)

References

External links

*
DJ Cocoa Chanelle
discography at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chanelle, Cocoa American hip-hop record producers American women DJs American hip-hop DJs Living people Mixtape DJs Nightlife in New York City Musicians from Bluefield, West Virginia Rappers from Brooklyn Rappers from West Virginia 1971 births 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American women rappers