Dan Charnas is an American author, radio host and record company executive. He is considered to have played a role in the creation of hip-hop journalism. In 2010 he wrote the book The Big Payback about the history of the hip-hop business.

As a radio personality, Charnas hosted a segment on KPWR

KPWR

KPWR is a commercial radio station located in Los Angeles, California, broadcasting to the Greater Los Angeles area on an analog signal and in HD Radio...

 on the first hip-hop show in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

. As a journalist he was a writer for the hip-hop magazine The Source

The Source (magazine)

The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...

. He became a talent scout for Profile Records

Profile Records

Profile Records was a record label that specialized in many types of urban-oriented music, such as hip hop, active until 1996..- History :In 1980, at 23 years old, after working briefly for MCA, Cory Robbins was looking to start a record label. He invited his songwriter friend Steve Plotnicki to be...

 and later ran the rap division of American Recordings in a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records

Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...

.

Charnas was born and raised in New York City.