Taylor Swift’s likely arrival sparks memories of another Swift, this one Baltimore’s own K-Swift

Taylor Swift may be a mega pop star known across the globe, but for some Baltimore music fans, there’s another Swift closer to home — and even closer to heart.

DJ K-Swift was a beat-dropping queen of Baltimore Club — the hip hop-inspired house music pioneered in the city. She hosted her own radio show on 92Q, performed at Artscape and made fast-selling mixtapes popular at record stores.

The Randallstown native, born Khia Edgerton, was primed for even more success in 2008, when a freak accident at a pool party in her Northeast Baltimore home left her with fatal injuries. K-Swift died at 29.

The “Club Queen,” as she was known, was gone but not forgotten. Even some 16 years later as a frenzy of attention swirls around another performer named Swift, Baltimoreans honor the iconic DJ’s memory.

In a social media post Tuesday night, Mayor Brandon Scott put out the welcome mat for Taylor Swift, who is expected to attend this weekend’s AFC championship game at M&T Bank Stadium to cheer on boyfriend and Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce in the matchup against the Ravens. But Scott made his allegiances known.

“Charm City believes in supportive partners, so @taylorswift is more than welcome to roll into town to support hers. But so we are crystal clear! K-Swift, the Swift that kept Baltimore shaking off for years, will be our Angel in The End Zone.”

Within less than 24 hours, the mayor’s post had nearly 6,000 likes and over 200 comments, including from Baltimore fashion model and TV actor Liris Crosse, who attended Randallstown High School at the same time as K-Swift: “She used to DJ the announcements! She will forever be missed!”

Some suggested playing K-Swift’s music, tracks like “Ryder Girl,” or “Hands Up Thumbs Down” as a tribute during halftime at Sunday’s game.

“With all the focus around Taylor Swift. I thought that in this moment, it’s also important for us to lift up our own people and for us to, as we’ve been this past summer coming off of celebrating the history of club music, to continue to keep folks memory alive who meant so much and did so much for so many people in the city including myself,” Scott said in an interview Wednesday.

The mayor stressed that his social media post should not be taken out of context.

“This is no disrespect or any shade to Taylor Swift. She is a great in her own right. But this is Baltimore and club music always dominates. If you talk about club music, you’ve got to talk about K-Swift.”

K-Swift was an inspiration among DJs, including Scott, who said while he was a student at St. Mary’s College of Maryland he did a documentary film on the politics of hip hop music as part of his senior project. Scott said K-Swift allowed him to record her performance inside Hammerjacks, a well-known Baltimore nightlife spot that closed in 2006.

“I didn’t have the heart to tell her later that that part didn’t make it to the film,” he said.

Scott said what he remembered most about K-Swift was the parties she DJ’ed in the late 90s and early 2000s where young Black people could gather together without fear amid the so-called “zero-tolerance” policing that often targeted their groups in the city.

“We couldn’t go outside without being harassed. But when we were in there, if we were at the Paradox or Hammerjacks, if we were even at, God, the Tunnel, which people don’t know about. … And that moment, it felt like this big safe space that was safe for us.”

Over a decade later, that time remains transformative for the mayor and his friends.

“That is a big deal to me not just because I’m a Baltimorean, but because I grew up in that culture,” he said.

“I’ve seen these folks grow up and just can only imagine what [K-Swift] would be doing today. She’d probably be DJing the game on Sunday.”