NEW YORK—Urban radio and TV personality DJ Megatron, who built a career at hip-hop and R&B radio stations from Philadelphia to Boston and told viewers of a popular music TV show “What’s Good,” was shot to death early Sunday, according to his manager and police.
The BET cable television segment host was killed while heading to a store near his home on New York City’s borough of Staten Island around 2 a.m., his manager Justin Kirkland, known as J. Smoove, said.
Police say the 32-year-old deejay, born Corey McGriff, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest. No arrests have been made.
His manager said friends and relatives had no idea why anyone might have attacked a deejay known for his upbeat, amiable attitude.
“He probably had one of the best personalities around, super-positive, happy all the time,” Kirkland said.
Rising to the on-air ranks after starting as an intern, DJ Megatron began his career at New York’s WKRS-FM, better known as Kiss FM, where deejays remembered him on the air and online Sunday.
He also worked at what was then Boston’s Hot 97.7, or WBOT-FM, and at Philadelphia’s The Beat, or WPHI-FM, according to a bio on his MySpace site.
In recent years, he appeared on BET’s popular “106 & Park,” where his “What’s Good” spots took him onto the streets to ask bystanders about topics ranging from sports to “The Five Elements of Hip-Hop.” Viacom Inc.-owned BET, or Black Entertainment Television, had no immediate comment.
Sometimes known as Mega or Mega McGriff, the deejay also appeared in movies including 2005’s “State Property 2,” starring Roc-A-Fella Records co-founder Damon Dash and rappers Beanie Sigel and N.O.R.E., formerly Noreaga.
A father of three, DJ Megatron also devoted time to charitable events on Staten Island, his manager said.