DJ Stretch Armstrong Is Back To Spin At The Brooklyn Org Changemakers Ball

Internationally renowned DJ, producer, and music impresario Stretch Armstrong has enjoyed a career spanning over three decades that has remained as diverse, eclectic, and inspired as his home city, New York. Growing up on the edge of Spanish Harlem, he absorbed the city’s underground sounds — from early hip-hop to disco and reggae — and once old enough to know what a DJ was, he knew that’s what he wanted to be. That dream took shape when he began throwing DJ parties at Columbia University, which grew so popular they moved from campus to Downtown clubs. His true bridge to international notoriety came in 1990 via a humble college radio show on Columbia’s WKCR 89.9FM, THE STRETCH AND BOBBITO SHOW, which quickly became a cornerstone of hip-hop and was named “Best Hip-Hop Show of All Time” by The Source Magazine. That show introduced the world to Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., Nas, Wu-Tang and countless others. Stretch has maintained the same curious and obsessive sensibility ever since, evoking passionate responses from live audiences with an eclectic, genre-defying mix that has made him an inspiration to DJs like Mark Ronson, A-Trak, and Diplo.

Outside of DJing, Stretch has worn several other hats. He authored NO SLEEP: NYC Nightlife Flyers 1989-1999, the definitive record of NYC nightlife told through flyer art and oral history, and co-made the documentary STRETCH AND BOBBITO: RADIO THAT CHANGED LIVES with Bobbito Garcia, featuring Jay-Z, Eminem, Nas, Busta Rhymes, Rosie Perez, and Wu-Tang Clan, among others. He and Bobbito also hosted two seasons of their NPR podcast “What’s Good,” with guests including Stevie Wonder, Dave Chappelle, Mahershala Ali, Regina King, Rakim, Beastie Boys, and Chef José Andrés. Currently, Stretch programs and hosts the acclaimed jazz monthly at NYC’s Nine Orchard hotel, featuring some of the finest jazz musicians in the world.