It’s a cold day in New York City, around 6 p.m. The crew and I have traveled from all different parts of the 5 boroughs to finally meet in the heart of Times Square. We stand in front of the large glass building that many of our idols have looked down from, like gods of our time. Inside, an entire skyscraper focuses on cranking out niche television hits. This is the Viacomm building. Up the giant escalator, through security, and up a short elevator ride, we finally arrive at our destination. This is the MTV News floor, home of who many rap blogs have dubbed as the 1515 Boys. We are there to meet with their leader, Sway Calloway.
Inside Sway’s office, there is a banged up motorcycle helmet sitting on top of filing cabinet. Sway tells us a story about how he got in a crash, riding motorcycles with Tom Cruise. This is today’s perception of Sway. People think of him as the “hip-hop guy with the hat” from MTV. He even admits his girlfriend had no knowledge of his past, only that he was the guy that delivered the news on anything rap related, to a mass of teens waiting every ten minutes before the hour to see his segment. In reality, he belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of hip-hop journalism. With no formal training he created one of hip-hop’s first major radio outlets, and succeeded. With no knowledge of how broadcasting worked he took over at MTV, helping open America’s eyes to the culture that we know and love.
After we got the photo of Sway and President Obama in frame (thanks Dave), we sat down with Mr. Calloway to discuss his past endeavors with radio, helping break hip-hop music on the FM dial, and his eventual move to MTV. Sway is living proof that grind and hustle can be more important than book smarts. Sway is living proof that journalists can make a name for themselves without getting jobs at major magazines, or news outlets. Sway is living proof that hip-hop succeeds with a DIY attitude, forcing popular culture to pay attention to us. Sway is the definition of self-made. You’re just affiliated.
Words by Alex Ciccimarro
Videography by David Broad
Photography by Alexander Richter
3 Comments
Nice interview. Sway has always been one of the smartest & he’s ALWAYS one of the most down to earth brothas in the industry I know. Much success to him.
Keep cranking out the dope interviews!
“Sway is living proof that journalists can make a name for themselves without getting jobs at major news outlets.”
^^^^ Ahh, isn’t he known for working at MTV News? That’s certainly where I know him from.
This is the first time I’ve seen an interview of Sway, as he’s always on the other side of the microphone. Very dope with good insight on his beginnings. Looking forward to Part 2.
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[...] Allindstrom.com sat down with Mr. Calloway to discuss his past endeavors with radio, helping break hip-hop music on the FM dial, and his eventual move to MTV. Sway is living proof that grind and hustle can be more important than book smarts. Sway is living proof that journalists can make a name for themselves without getting jobs at major magazines, or news outlets. Sway is living proof that hip-hop succeeds with a DIY attitude, forcing popular culture to pay attention to us. Sway is the definition of self-made. You’re just affiliated Posted in Interviews Tags: Allindstrom.com, Sway Calloway « Rick Ross And MMG Las Vegas Takeover You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site. [...]
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