Khia Danielle Edgerton (October 19, 1978 – July 21, 2008), better known by the stage name K-Swift, was an American DJ, MC,

radio personality A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

Early years

Born to Joseph and Juanita Edgerton, K-Swift was raised in

Randallstown, Maryland Randallstown is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is named after Christopher and Thomas Randall, two 18th-centu ...

. She graduated from Randallstown High School in 1996 and went on to intern at 92Q after a brief stint at Catonsville Community College.

Entertainment career

After acquiring her first set of turntables at 15 years old, K-Swift began DJing and booking parties at afterhours venue The Twilight Zone in

Arbutus ''Arbutus'' is a genus of 12 accepted speciesAct. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012.''Arbutus bicolor''/ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands a ...

. She began interning at 92Q when she was 18, and worked her way through the ranks at the station until she earned a co-hosting position in 1998. The show, "OFF THE HOOK RADIO" with her co-host Squirrel Wyde, was the number one radio show in all of Baltimore.

Entrepreneurship

Along with performing live and throwing parties, K-Swift owned and operated Club Queen Entertainment. K-Swift also began a Graphics Company and the Next Level Management Company, maintained a record pool, and sold her mixtapes online.

Music career

K-Swift was known for DJing at Hammerjack's, Hammerjacks and The Paradox. K-Swift released her discs through Baltimore based company, Unruly Records (as well as Next Level). Her albums were so popular and had such an enormous following in the Baltimore area that she outsold mainstream artists such as

Soulja Boy Tell 'Em DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence with his self-released 2007 debut single, "Crank That ...

and Pharaoh Gamo.

Death

On Sunday, July 20, 2008, just a day after she performed at Baltimore's

Artscape Artscape may refer to: * Artscape (festival), an annual art festival in Baltimore, Maryland, US * Artscape (organisation), a Swedish nonprofit arts organisation * Artscape Nordland, an international art project in Norway * Artscape Theatre Centre ...

, K-Swift hosted a pool party at her house. During the early morning of Monday, July 21, K-Swift reportedly jumped into her above-ground pool. Police reports state that there were about seven people in the pool at the time. When she did not resurface, she was pulled out and placed on an adjoining metal frame deck. K-Swift was later transported to Good Samaritan Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Thousands of fans attended her funeral, which was held at

Morgan State University Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black research university in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically bla ...

Legacy

in 2009, Radio One station WERQ-FM 92Q Jams selected 30 contestants to compete for the grand prize of a Scholarship to the Sheffield Institute for the Recording Arts and an Internship at 92Q WERQ-FM Baltimore. The contest was chronicled on YouTube under "I Wanna Intern for the Q," and followed the journey of K-Swift Scholarship and Internship hopefuls through weeks of challenges including the production of a Beyonce promo, artist (Bossman) interview, and marketing at Six Flags America for

Raven-Symoné Raven-Symoné Christina Pearman-Maday (; born December 10, 1985), also known as Raven, is an American actress, singer, and director. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Raven-Symoné, several accolades, including five ...

. The culmination of the challenges elimination rounds resulted in the final four, Alissa Huber, Jazmine Sullivan, Tavon DJTigga Smith, and Earin Saunders. A surprise contestant, Brandon "Superman" Springfield, formerly eliminated, was reintroduced at the award ceremony. The "Final Five," along with friends and family joined 92Q and the Edgerton family for the reward ceremony at the Rowing Club in Baltimore where the winner was announced on live air. The Khia "K-Swift" Memorial Scholarship Contest and Internship was awarded to Earin Saunders who received the grand prize. K-Swift's death was memorialized in Baltimore rapper

Tate Kobang Joshua Dai’Quan Goods (born April 28, 1992), known professionally as Tate Kobang, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer. Although active in the Baltimore hip-hop scene since 2011, he rose to prominence with "Bank Rolls (Remix)", ...

's Bank Rolls, in the verse "I swear the city ain't the same since we lost Swift. She'll live forever, to the city she was God's gift." K-Swift was later praised for her role in bringing the genre of

Baltimore club Baltimore club, also called B'more club, B'more house or simply B'more, is a music genre that fuses breakbeat and house. It was created in Baltimore in the early 1990s by Frank Ski, Scottie B, Shawn Caesar, DJ Technics, DJ Class, DJ Patrick, K ...

to a nationwide audience. Performer, filmmaker, and creative director TT the Artist named her label Club Queen in K-Swift's honor, with a goal to use the label to raise up works by female artists and pass on the sort of mentorship K-Swift offered others. TT the Artist's documentary Dark City: Beneath the Beat also pays tribute to K-Swift, emphasizing the influential role she had in making the club scene what it is today.

Discography

* ''The Jumpoff Vol. 1'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 2'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 3'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 4 - The Holiday Edition'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 5'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 6 - The Return'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 6 - The Spring Break Edition'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 7 - Summer School Edition'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 8 - Next Level Edition'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 9'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 9 - Holiday Edition'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 10 - We Fly High Edition'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 11 - Not Guilty'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 12'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 13'' * ''The Jumpoff Vol. 14'' * ''K-Swift: Strictly for the Kids Part I'' * ''K-Swift: Strictly for the Kids Part II'' * ''The Club Queen Series Volumes 1 - 6''

Awards

* 2001 - Best DJ, Awarded by

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the pape ...

* 2004 - Best Club DJ, Awarded by

* 2005 - Best Club DJ, Awarded by

* 2006 - Best Club DJ, Awarded by

References

{{Authority control 1978 births 2008 deaths Deaths by drowning in Maryland American hip-hop record producers American radio personalities American club DJs African-American women rappers Rappers from Baltimore American remixers People from Randallstown, Maryland American hip-hop DJs 20th-century American women musicians American women record producers Women hip-hop record producers American women DJs American women in electronic music 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American musicians Hip-hop women DJs 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers