Ron Nelson was born in Jamaica in 1962 and migrated to Canada when he was ten in the early 70s’. He is a man of many trades and played many roles in the entertainment world. He lives in Toronto, and his work ranges from acting as DJ, music promoter, producer, broadcaster, educator and performer. He is renowned for promoting hip-hop, dancehall, and reggae music genres in Canada.

While studying at Victoria Park High School in Scarborough, he assembled a mock radio station to pipe music to the cafeteria. His attempts to uphold and develop early Canadian hip-hop acts like Michie Mee, Maestro Fresh, and Rumble & Strong were fruitful. He is also famous as the “Godfather of Toronto hip-hop,” as he founded the first Canadian radio show, ‘Fantastic Voyage’, on CKLN FM in 1983. This show was famous among the younger crowd in Toronto, as this was the first time they had any exposure to the genre, and it ran until 1991.

He shifted his focus towards organizing concerts and brought various American hip-hop artists to Canada for tours and shows in 1987. The first event he managed was “Kings of Rap.” The first significant event that was mainly rap was the one where Run DMC, Public Enemy and EPMD was held at Varsity Arena.

Nelson initiated one of Canada’s first hip-hop recording studios in his basement. He shared the studio with production group Beat Factory, and rap duo Dream Warriors, who used it to record their first album.

The highlight of Nelson’s career was his work as a concert promoter in Toronto from the 1980s to the early 1990s. He organized concerts with artists such as Public Enemy, Boogie Down Productions, Roxanne Shanté, Salt-N-Pepa, Eric B. & Rakim, Ice Cube and Queen Latifah. He also gave exposure to local performances like “Monster Jams” and “Rap Battles” between artists in Toronto and New York.

Currently, Nelson is the proud owner of Reggaemania.com, which is an online platform that streams all day radio. It features Raggae Mania Radio, downloads, podcasts, news, and concert listings. He also owns the RaggaeMania app.

He impressively released 40 Years Too Late, his first rap album, in 2023 at the age of 60.

Awards

• Star on the Scarborough Walk of Fame