About Hype
DJ Hype, born Kevin Ford, is a British jungle and drum and bass DJ who began producing in 1989 and was an early presence on the London pirate station Fantasy FM before becoming a mainstay on Kiss 100. He won Best Male DJ at the UK Hardcore Awards in 1994, the same year he launched the Ganja label with the single Cops, and followed it with Best Radio DJ honors in 1995.
Ganja's joint release with Pascal's Frontline imprint, Still Smokin', became the label's first LP in 1996 and was successful enough to secure a major-label deal through MCA's Parousia sublabel in 1997. That deal led to the formation of True Playaz, the DJ and production unit Hype fronted alongside DJ Zinc, Pascal, and Rude Bwoy Monty, which grew into the Playaz Recordings label he still runs.
Beyond his own imprint, Hype engineered and co-produced tracks for Kickin', Strictly Underground, and Suburban Base, including contributions to Suburban Base's Drum and Bass Selection compilation series. His Kiss FM sets, including a widely circulated 2008 broadcast with MC IC3, remain reference points for jungle and drum and bass mixing built on scratch technique and selection.