COCO BROTHER
Cory Condrey, better known as CoCo Brother, is more than your average radio personality. He is a powerful voice crying out from the wilderness and into the streets. Born in Germany, it seems that he was destined to make an impact of international proportion from the beginning. CoCo Brother first came to Atlanta, GA after graduating from high school in Nashville, Tennessee, marking the start of his career in radio.
In 1995, CoCo started interning with Hot 97.5 (now Hot 107.9). From delivering pizza to loading trucks, he had a variety of odd jobs, working tirelessly at night and interning during the day. His hard-work and diligence paid off and he was finally hired at Hot. Even with all of his potential, his time there was short-lived and in 1997 he was fired. After losing his job, he became homeless. The spirit in CoCo Brother would not allow him to quit and after being homeless for a year, he landed a position with V-103 as their Promotions Coordinator.
CoCo wanted to be on the air, but was told that he could not be an On-Air Personality. It has been said that whenever one door closes, another opens. The next door flew open. Still hungry to reach the people, he took a job in a smaller market with Foxy 107 and Mike Roberts in Macon, GA. Within months in that market, CoCo's personality and drive made the show #1.
In January of 2000, CoCo left Georgia for a position in Washington D.C. on 93.9 WKYS. He was in direct competition with Big Tigger, the former host of BET's Rap City. For two and a half years, he dominated the airwaves with the same passion, high-energy, and creativity that made him a success in the past.
CoCo Brother came full circle on September 11, 2001 when he returned to Hot 107.9, Atlanta, in the 6- 10 pm time slot. This time things would be much different. It didn't take long before CoCo Brother and the Home Team made their presence known. When the first book came out, the show was #1 with 12-17 year olds. It also made history for Hot, ranking #1 with 18 – 34 year olds for the first time. CoCo was responsible for breaking some of the hottest records as well as capturing exclusive interviews with artists such as 50 Cent, David Banner, Ludacris, and T.I. His influence reached beyond the city limits and included:
• Hosting Vibe's TV show and BET's Talent Search
• Appearances on BET and MTV
• Hosting video show on UPN
• Hosting Michael Vick's Shoe Release for 3 consecutive years
• Appearances in Vibe, Source, Creative Loafing, and Rolling Out Magazine, Essence, JET, Hope Today and Monarch
• New Host of BET's "Lift Every Voice" (launching January 2009)
Yet, even after years of success, he was not content and began to hear God telling him to shift into a different arena. In March of 2005, CoCo Brother announced that he would be leaving the 6–10 pm slot. When he left, the show was on top. After 6 weeks off the air, he emerged with a new fire and a new sound called The Spirit of Hip Hop (SOHH). The show kicked off from 7 – 10 am and soon made history in its ratings when it moved up to 6 – 10 am. The constant demand for the show led it to its current slot of 6 – 10 am on Sundays mornings. The ratings continue to soar. With that success, the SOHH expanded to 5a-6a Monday-Friday in addition to the weekends, and now SYNDICATED all across the country reaching millions every week in virtually every major market, including Los Angeles, Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Washington DC, Baltimore, Cleveland, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia, with more markets coming on board each day. Since March 2008, the demand has continued to grow with the show being aired on WPZE (Praise 97.5 FM – Atlanta, Ga.) Monday – Friday from 7pm – 10pm with a new name entitled "The Spirit w/ Coco Brother".
Coco is responsible for spearheading some of the most powerful and well attended community events in the country and is dedicated to under served communities, such as feeding the homeless and The Spirit of Hip Hop Annual Toy Give-a-way. In 2004, Evander Holyfield and Ludacris played a major role in the Spirit of Hip Hop Toy Give-a-way by donating a combined amount of $100,000 dollars worth of toys. The SOHH was active in Hurricane Katrina Relief efforts such as David Banner’s Heal the Hood Benefit Concert and the Gospel Music Channels Angel Concert. Coco even recently organized and hosted Radio One’s One Love Gospel Cruise along with Dottie Peoples, Fred Hammond and John Gray. Other involvements include:
• • Honda’s Battle of the Bands
• • Opening up for Kirk Franklin at Mega Fest 2005
• • The Shannon Anderson Foundation
• • The Jamie Foxx Laffapalooza / The SOHH meets Comedy
• • Annual Martin Luther King March
• • Discipleship Award (Community Service) Gospel Connection 2005.
Other notable accomplishments include hosting the biggest hip hop concert in the USA, Birthday Bash: Presenter and Creator of the SOHH award for the Radio One Dirty Awards; Integral part of Luda Chris Miss (this is the charitable event that Ludacris, Chris Webber, and David Banner facilitated for Katrina survivors:: Annual Martin Luther King March presenter; and Recipient of the Power 30 under 30 award from AUC Digest.
In 2005, the SOHH made history with Exodus; where the Church meets the Streets hosted at one of the hottest clubs in Atlanta, GA (Club 112). Guests included Kirk Franklin, Bone Crusher and Bishop Eddie Long. There were thousands in attendance, with hundreds in the streets that couldn’t get inside. The following year, Exodus was held at the Word of Faith Family Cathedral and the attendance quadrupled. Over a thousand youth came to the altar and gave their life to Christ. In all, there were 8-thousand people in the Church and another 3-thousand outside trying to get in; this happening while the police were closing the interstate because of all the traffic. Exodus has continued yearly since its inception.
CoCo’s ultimate vision came to pass in 2007 where he wanted to see the church go to the streets WORLDWIDE. Stand 2007 (“The Campaign That Promotes Jesus”) was held at its first of many USA locations Bishop Eddie Long's New Birth Ministries in Atlanta GA. Where over 10 thousand strong came together and took A STAND in becoming the mouth piece of the times by telling everyone about JESUS and promoting a positive lifestyle. This historic solution-based movement is designed to mobilize the Christian community by taking its core and promoting JESUS. This was one of the biggest experiences ever witnessed, a monumental event that had lasting implications on generations to come. STAND has continued yearly since its inception.