Dahved Levy: Rockin' the Neighborhood

With his signature phrase, “Dahved Levy, Rockin’ you! Rockin’ you!” known to millions of radio listeners around the world, no has made his mark in the local Caribbean music scene like the legendary DJ.

Barbados-born and London-bred, Levy knew from an early age that he was destined to be on radio, spending his childhood days mimicking radio announcers like the legendary Frankie Crocker in his home.

In the late 1980s Levy moved to Clinton Hill to study engineering at City College, but quickly immersed himself in the thriving Caribbean scene in Brooklyn. He immediately made a name for himself promoting concerts and doing parties — with an assist from noted DJs like Red Alert and Funkmaster Flex — while working for the school’s radio station.

Levy’s quick wit, distinctive voice and knowledge of reggae, soca and dancehall would gain him a huge following and open the door to his success, that took him as far as Madison Square Garden.

“One night KISS had a big concert there with Bobby Brown and Red Alert was late,” Levy recalled. “And the promoters said, ‘Dahved, since Red Alert is late why don’t you go up on the stage and bring out Bobby Brown?’

So I went up and said ‘Madison Square Garden this is Dahved Levy’ and the whole crowd said ‘Rockin’ You! Rockin’ You! Rockin’ You!’ and the organizers at the time were shocked. They were like, ‘this guy has the done the radio and it’s not a Caribbean crowd, but how do all these people know him?’”

After the show Levy was offered his own radio show at WBLS 98.7 KISS FM and in a few months his brand new show went number one in two different radio slots. Known as a radio personality ‘without borders,’ Levy’s immediate success received the attention of other mainstream radio programmers and they too would begin to include Caribbean programming in their content.

Now, with some 20 years on air, Levy has established himself the go-to guy for Caribbean music, news and events. He is the first radio announcer/DJ to host three separate shows on different radio stations simultaneously in the New York market, and he has interviewed a wide variety of big names: from Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to Bill Cosby and Nelson Mandela.

"I feel honored that I have a show and people listen to me,” said Levy, who now lives in Fort Greene. “I don’t take what I do for granted, but I do believe that my unique style brings the Caribbean together…That and the music we play, from all the different genres, brings the masses to us.”