DJ Hype

Kevin Ford grew up in London and got his start in 1982 as a teenager, helping run the Heatwave sound system with PJ and Smiley, the crew that would later evolve into Shut Up and Dance. He moved from reggae and hip-hop into house and hardcore by the late '80s, representing England at the 1989 DMC DJ championships and building a reputation as a battle DJ before becoming an early fixture on the pirate station Fantasy FM.

As DJ Hype, he founded Ganja Records, home to floor-fillers like DJ Zinc's "Super Sharp Shooter" and his own "Peace, Love & Unity," and formed the Ganja Kru with Zinc and Pascal. He went on to launch True Playaz in 1996 and Global Thang in 1998, hosted a long-running show on Kiss FM, and won Best Male DJ and Best Radio DJ at the UK's Hardcore Awards in 1994 and 1995.