Nelson J. Chu (September 16, 1976 – August 14, 2016), known professionally as DJ Official, was an American

Christian hip hop Christian hip-hop (originally gospel rap, also known as Christian rap, gospel hip-hop or holy hip-hop) is a cross-genre of contemporary Christian music and hip-hop. It emerged from urban contemporary music and Christian media in the United State ...

DJ, record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the Christian hip hop collectives

116 Clique The 116, formerly 116 Clique (pronounced one-one-six click), is an American Southern Christian hip hop collective originally from Dallas, Texas signed to the Atlanta-based Reach Records. The group performs a wide variety of contemporary hip h ...

and The Cross Movement.

Early life

DJ Official was born Nelson J. Chu, in

The Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

, on September 16, 1976. He lived in

Brooklyn 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 ...

during his childhood and later in Amityville, Long Island.

Career

DJ Official was a mentee of

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

artist

Cipha Sounds Cipha Sounds (born Luis Diaz; on April 19, 1976) is an American DJ, comedian, and radio and television personality of Puerto Rican descent. He is mostly known for his work as a DJ, a VJ for MTV, and as a comedian. Biography Radio career In 1 ...

in the mid-1990s, when both got out of high school. He was a member in the

collective

. He released ''Entermission'' on December 29, 2009. It allowed him to crack the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' charts with his first album.

Cross Rhythms Cross Rhythms is a Christian media organisation based in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It operates an FM and online radio station, produces radio shows sent internationally, and its website has resources about contemporary Christian music. His ...

rated the album a nine out of ten, and

Rapzilla Rapzilla is a Christian hip hop online magazine. The website contains recent news, albums reviews, articles, interviews, music downloads, videos, release dates, and columns. History Rapzilla was founded in 2003 by Philip Rood, who was the chi ...

said "With Entermission DJ Official did much more than cement his legacy as a producer." DJ Official was also a part of American-based Christian Hip Hop rap group The Cross Movement and collaborated with many other Cross Movement Records artist such as, Da TRUTH and Flame to name a few. He served (Cross Movement) faithfully as their DJ for eight years in the mid 1990s into early 2000s and has been a long time friend thereafter.

Personal life

DJ Official was married to Teresa Chu (née Belvisi), and together they had two daughters, Isabella and Sophia. They resided together in

Lancaster, Ohio Lancaster ( ) is a city in Fairfield County, Ohio, and its county seat. The population was 40,552 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Ohio, Ohio's 30th largest city, having surpassed Warren, Ohio, Warren and Fin ...

Death

Chu had a long-term battle with several health problems. On August 14, 2016, Chu died of complications following a double lung transplant.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Official, DJ 1976 births 2016 deaths American rappers American performers of Christian music American performers of Christian hip-hop Rappers from New York (state) Rappers from Philadelphia Rappers from the Bronx Reach Records artists