Photo: Instagram
Get well soon, Angie!
By Bernadette Giacomazzo — Written on Nov 08, 2019
When you say this woman's name, you all need to put more than a little bit of respect on it, as she's perhaps single-handedly responsible for how we view the modern hip hop interview today. She's a legend, a queen, and a woman unlike any before, or since. Who is Angie Martinez?
An American radio personality, actress, and rapper in her own right, Angela "Angie" Martinez got her start on the radio interning under Funkmaster Flex, another legendary New York City DJ. "The Voice of New York," as she would eventually become known, has a show that is consistently ranked at the top of the ratings charts more than any other show, not just in New York City, but in the entire United States. Starting out at Hot 97, Angie Martinez eventually moved over to Power 105, its direct competitor, back in 2014.
Let's look at what else we know about this radio legend...and what happened with her car accident.
1. The details about the accident are unclear.
According to BET, Angie Martinez was in a severe car accident a few days ago. That, however, is all we really know about the situation — we don't know where the car accident happened, whether Angie was driving, or what the status of the other parties (if any) involved in the crash is.
2. Angie Martinez said that she suffered several broken bones as a result of the accident.
Shortly after the accident happened, Angie Martinez took to her Twitter to explain to her followers that she'd suffered a fractured lumbar and shattered vertebrae. Check out her message to her fans below.
3. Celebrities sent their well wishes in response.
According to Yahoo, when Angie Martinez posted her status update detailing the injuries from her car crash, celebrities from all over the world — from Taraji P. Henson to La La Anthony — responded sending their well wishes to the radio legend. The outlet reports that Angie Martinez was promoting her new show, Untold Stories Of Hip Hop when the accident happened.
4. Angie Martinez has a son.
Very little is known about Angie Martinez's private life. However, she has a son, Niko, with Tamir "Nokio" Ruffin of the legendary R&B group, Dru Hill. Niko was born in 2003.
5. She has a "secret Tupac interview" that's been kept safe thanks to Jay-Z.
"They were literally in boxes in my laundry room,” she confessed, adding that it was Jay-Z who got on her case and advised to take better care of her work — especially her Tupac recordings — for fear of an accident that would erase it from history. The tapes have since been digitized, and are kept in a safe location that only Angie knows," reported BET.com.
6. But Angie Martinez says that she will, eventually, release the "secret Tupac interview."
"Understanding that she holding on to a piece of history, Angie says she is ready to release the interviews. “I’m going to put them out. I am trying to figure it out,” says Angie. “I don’t want to do this to myself. My goal is within the next year to do a project where they could come out, and people can experience them," said the O4 Online Network, basically confirming that while Angie Martinez is happy to release the tapes, she's doing so on her own terms.
7. She fractured her lower spine
The Shade Room is reporting that Angie Martinez fractured her lower spine in the car accident. She is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the damage. The surgery to repair the shattered vertebrae in her lower back is expected to take four hours. Martinez does have feeling in her legs and feet post-accident. She is expected to take time off to heal. Our best wishes are with Angie Martinez as she goes through surgery and recovers.
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more. She is also the author of The Uprising series. For more information about Bernadette Giacomazzo, click here.