DMV Radio DJ Tony Redz dies of heart attack, devastated fans mourn loss of a 'genuinely nice guy'
The legendary DMV radio DJ and host Tony Redz Aka Mr. 24/7 passed away today (May 29) of a heart attack. The news regarding his death was confirmed by Redz’s former colleague and fellow radio host Sunni on Twitter. The tweet read, “Got a call from DJ Flexx that shattered my heart. Can’t believe our former colleague Tony Redz has passed away. Way too young. Prayers to his family. Unbelievable.”
DJ Heat, another former colleague of Redz’s wrote, “Taken aback by the news. Rest peacefully to my former radio colleague Tony Redz. Prayers to his family.” 'The Wire' actor Tray Chaney tweeted about Redz’s death saying, “I can’t process this right now…..looking at this pic then listening to a piece of our interview when you first heard my music & automatically played it & interviewed me live on the radio….RIP TONY REDZ aka Mr 24/7 this really hit me….2020 is hitting me from all angles Crying face.”
Redz began his music career in Radio in 1997, at Radio One’s WKYS 93.9 FM. He later moved to CBS Radio’s 95.5 FM in 2000. He embarked on a 30-city tour as a part of the management deal with Violator Records.
Redz had hosted over one thousand concerts throughout his career and appeared as a guest host on TV One’s ‘News One Now’ with Tolan Martin multiple times. Mr. 24/7 was also an advocate of education and job development, who impacted the lives of many youths through his ‘Should Could Dream’ regional high school tour. Redz also used to actively post photos and videos about issues that affect the African-American community in the United States, including police brutality and gun violence. One of Redz’s final Instagram posts dealt with the death of George Floyd at the hands of the city’s police on May 25.
Redz’s sudden death has left his fans devastated, who are flooding Twitter with heartfelt tweets.
While one of his fans responding to Sunni's post wrote, “I’m sorry, Sunni. What a genuinely great nice and generous guy. This loss is profoundly sad four our community.” “Holy shhhh, no disrespect to others in the area, but he was my favorite DJ, R.I.P.!,” wrote another. A majority of his fans aren’t able to come to grips with his tragic death. One fan wrote,"This is unbelievable. I can't believe this”, “How? Omg?! He was such a sweet guy?”, asked another shocked fan.
Another tweet read, “It’s very sad for us to report this but Rest In Peace Tony Redz. DMV & Radio legend so huge in the community...this is just really hard to post at this time. We send our condolences to his family. This is a big lost for the DMV.”
“This hurt.... this HURTS. On top of all the current loss. Rest easy, OG. (Tony Redz). Literally such a positive force for the music scene here,” expressed another.