DJ Kurt Kryptoknight was born in NYC on March 11, 1979 and is of Jamaican heritage. In his early youth he lived in the Bronx, NY and Wilmington, DE. Kurt's family moved to Teaneck, NJ in 1987, and he considers "The Neck" to be his hometown. He also did a brief stint in Atlanta, GA, and after graduating from Morehouse College in 2001, he returned to the NY/NJ area to pursue a career in finance and continue deejaying.

 

Growing up, Kurt had a passion for video games, comics, sports, and music. He remembers his father blasting reggae through the house on the weekends while he did his household chores (or battled M. Bison & company in Capcom's "Street Fighter II" series). He also remembers his mother listening to classic soul, funk, and pop (and of course reggae) while being driven to school, sports activities, and other events. He didn't know it at the time, but these experiences from his youth were probably the foundation for his musical ear, and the beginning of a lifelong love affair with sound.

 

In the late eighties and early nineties, DJ Kurt Kryptoknight fell in love with hip hop and in February of 1997, while attending a development conference in high school, he was introduced to turntables by his close friend DJ Lingo. By May of 1997 Kurt had saved up enough money to buy his first set of turntables. He never looked back and he would subsequently join the iRT DJ Crew (consisting of DJs Lingo, OnPoynt, JonyFraze, Reason, Rik Guyver [aka Rik Cordero], Cuekut, and Swerve). The iRT DJ Crew was very involved in the NY/NJ DJ battle and underground hip hop scenes of the late nineties.

 

Originally dubbed "$pecial K" by DJ Lingo, Kurt decided to change his name to "Kryptoknight" while he was attending Morehouse. He quickly became a household name among his classmates and started deejaying house parties and school events.

 

Upon returning to the NYC area, he picked up where he left off in Atlanta, spinning at various lounges, clubs, and private events. His DJ style is characterized by impeccable song selection, seamless transitions, and sword sharp scratches.