The Bobby Konders Story

Words by Jesse Serwer

Bobby Konders could probably be the subject of his own full-length documentary one day. In the meantime, the homey Dan Bruun (director of the Skerrit Bwoy doc, Temporary Sanity) recently made this short for Current TV.

Known today as New York’s pre-eminent reggae radio jock (after fifteen years on Hot 97’s Sunday night jumpoff, “On Da Reggae Tip”) and the proprietor of the Massive B sound system and record label, Bobby’s history runs deeper than most realize.  Part of the first wave of NYC house music DJs in the late ’80s, by the early ’90s he was capturing the essence of the cultural soundclash that is Central Brooklyn with his hip-hop remixes of Cutty Ranks, Supercat and other dancehall artists.

Bobby has never been one to fall back on his history, though, so this short focuses on his current grind, like Massive B’s presence on the annual Brooklyn West Indian Day parade, and his efforts to bring the 45-driven record label into the digital era. The Yankee boy from Easton, Pa., didn’t get to be New York City’s most influential dancehall DJ by acccident, or luck.