Rich Medina (US)

Rich Medina is one of the most revered DJs on the planet — a sonic storyteller, spoken word artist, platinum-selling producer, journalist and Ivy League lecturer from Lakewood, New Jersey, who built his career the hard way: hauling crates between Philly and NYC to manifest a dream. A Cornell graduate and semi-pro basketball player before the decks called him, Medina has been spinning records since he was twelve years old.

His legendary nine-year residency at APT in Manhattan's Meatpacking District drew the likes of Prince, Puff Daddy and Mos Def to the dance floor every week. In 2001 he founded Jump N Funk — North America's original Afrobeat party, dedicated to Fela Kuti — which he has since taken to over 25 cities worldwide and which played a quiet but vital role in setting the stage for the Broadway hit Fela!

As musicologist-in-residence at Philadelphia's Barnes Foundation and artist-in-residence in Africana Studies at Lincoln University, Medina is as comfortable in the lecture hall as he is in the DJ booth. His card-carrying membership of Rock Steady Crew and Universal Zulu Nation says the rest.