Frank Ski

Frank Ski
Birth name Frank Rodriguez
Born (1964-05-09) May 9, 1964
Harlem, New York
Station(s) WVEE (V-103) Atlanta
Country United States
Spouse(s) Tanya Rodriguez
Children Harrison Rodriguez, Franklin Rodriguez, Blake Rodriguez, Jared Rodriguez
Website Frank Ski.com

Frank Rodriguez,[1] professionally known as Frank Ski (born May 9, 1964), is an American DJ, journalist, philanthropist, radio personality and public forums host. He also was a house music artist who recorded as Doo Doo Brown in the 1990s. From 1998 to 2012 he was the host of the Frank and Wanda Morning Show alongside co-host Wanda Smith on the Atlanta urban contemporary radio station WVEE.

Biography

Career highlights

In 2002, the Honorable Reverend Jesse Jackson awarded Ski the title of "Journalist of the Year" by the Rainbow Push Coalition.[2]

After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, Ski spearheaded a fundraising movement to help the victims.[2] He raised $500,000 to support the causes of the Hosea Williams Feed the Hungry and Homeless and Metro Atlanta Respite & Development Services.[3]

Ski hosts the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.[4] The Walk is a partnership between the Trumpet Awards Foundation and the National Park Service and was created in 2004 to give recognition to civil rights leaders who promote justice and equality.[5]

In 2009, he finished second (to Neal Boortz) in an unscientific ajc.com poll for the most obnoxious Atlanta radio personality. Radio & TV Talk with Rodney Ho's poll on whether V-103 should keep Frank Ski (during the time of his contract re-negotiations) was 59% "No". He has recently been criticized for his support of Bishop Eddie Long during his sex scandal, though now attends another Atlanta church.

Ski had a lengthy career as a radio personality and record producer in the Baltimore radio market and he was one of the pioneers of Baltimore club music at V-103-Baltimore(1988-1996) and at WERQ Baltimore(1996-1998) before moving to Atlanta in 1998. His 1992 track "Whores in this House" gave rise to a local genre that was later sampled by and referenced in hip-hop albums.[6][7] He also recorded songs with "Miss Tony," a club-track vocalist who performed as a gay man at hip-hop parties. The first song Ski and Miss Tony recorded together, "Tony's Bitch Track," helped to popularize gay culture and the complexities that exist between gender binaries.[8][9]

Awards and recognition

Personal life

His wife is Baltimore native Tanya Parker Rodriguez. The couple have three sons together and Frank has a fourth son from a previous relationship.

Frank Ski Kids

The Frank Ski Kids Foundation is an Atlanta area organization created by Ski in 2000. Its mission statement is "exposing kids to their future through science, technology, athletics, and the arts".[12]

The foundation hosts a yearly Youth Bowl football competition.[13] It gives young people the opportunity to travel abroad on excursions that support the foundation's science, technology and art programs and organizes a yearly trip to the NASA Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama.[14] There have also been excursions to the Galapagos Islands (2007), the Amazon rainforest (2008) and an international artistic enrichment trip to Florence, Italy (2009).

References

  1. ↑ Local Radio Personalities Open Up, MyFoxAtlanta.com Archived April 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  2. 1 2 3 Frank Ski, article from Georgia Perimeter College
  3. ↑ The Latin American Association, Website Archived September 25, 2013, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Radio Co-Host Is "Open", Atlanta Woman's Magazine Archived July 4, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ National Park Service, Official Website Archived November 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/12/club-kid
  7. ↑ http://www.spin.com/2014/09/50-best-brodance-songs-all-time/1cp1014gb5jh2cmk88868ggc4e6k/
  8. ↑ http://www.citypaper.com/news/features/bcp-cms-1-1701090-migrated-story-cp-2014-06-11-fea-20140610-story.html
  9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp7REpywVBQ
  10. ↑ March of Dimes A.I.R. Award for "Best Original Music or Jingle" 31, 2014/http://www.marchofdimes.org Archived October 31, 2014, at the Wayback Machine.
  11. ↑ "Word of Mouf", Ludacris Foundation newsletter, Page 8
  12. ↑ Frank Ski Kids: About Us Archived 20 June 2009 at WebCite
  13. ↑ City Newsbytes, The Franklin Commitments for the City of Atlanta Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  14. ↑ 12/11: Frank Ski’s wine auction, Atlanta Journal Constitution's "Access Atlanta" section Archived February 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.

External links

Frank Ski Kids videos

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