Dan Charnas
Daniel Louis Charnas[1] (born August 30, 1967)[2] is an American author, radio host and record company executive. He is considered to have played a role in the creation of hip-hop journalism.
A native of New York City, Charnas graduated with honors from Boston University in 1989 with a bachelor's degree in communications.[3][4] In 2007, Charnas earned a master's degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[1][3] His master's thesis was titled Shocked: Birthright Unplugged challenges Birthright Israel in an epic battle for the hearts and minds of American Jews.[5]
As a radio personality, Charnas hosted a segment on KPWR in Los Angeles.[6] As a journalist he was a writer for the hip-hop magazine The Source.[7] He became a talent scout for Profile Records and later ran the rap division of American Recordings in a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records.[6][7]
In 2010 he wrote the book The Big Payback about the history of the hip-hop business.[6][7]
In 2022 his book Dilla Time, on the life and works of hip-hop producer J Dilla, was published.[8]
Charnas is an associate professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University and has been a thesis advisor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[9][10]
Charnas received the Virgil Thomson Award for Outstanding Music Criticism from the ASCAP Foundation in 2025.[11]
References
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- 1967 births
- Living people
- American music journalists
- Hip-hop people
- American radio journalists
- American music industry executives
- Journalists from New York City
- Boston University College of Communication alumni
- Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni
- Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism faculty
- Tisch School of the Arts faculty
- Jewish American journalists