"[7] Westwood's career started in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he helped set up sound systems in clubs in northwest London, taking opportunities to work as a DJ, and then warming up for David Rodigan.

[9] Westwood was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington, south London, on 18 July 1999, after he had been playing at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park.

As of 2004[update] Westwood was a patron of the internal radio station at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in west London.

It was announced on 26 July 2013 that he was leaving the BBC after nearly twenty years as part of planned schedule changes, which took effect on 21 September.

[16] After creating and presenting the 1987 BBC Open Space documentary "Bad Meaning Good,"[17] he achieved further TV exposure in the late 1980s as part of ITV's late-night programming block Night Network, for which he hosted the programmes N Sign Radio and The Rap Show.

[20] A special episode of the show called "Pimp Madonna's Ride" aired on MTV on Sunday 19 February 2006, the eve of the release of the single "Sorry".

[23] The channel has videos of freestyles and interviews from hip-hop and grime artists, including The Notorious B.I.G.,[24] Eminem,[25] Jay-Z,[26] Nas,[27] Lil Wayne,[28] Nicki Minaj,[29] Will Smith,[30] Drake,[31] Amerado,[32] and Rae Sremmurd.

Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt responded in a Press Association news agency article: "There's been a debate about this particular genre of music for many years.

[42] In interviews, Sacha Baron Cohen has stated that Westwood, including his accent, was an inspiration for his fictional Ali G character.

[2] In July 2020, Global Media & Entertainment, the parent company of Capital Xtra, was criticised for failing to investigate allegations that Westwood had behaved inappropriately with young female fans.

[45][46] Nevertheless, Global, Capital's parent company, announced in late April 2022 that he was stepping down from his show until further notice,[47] while several venues cancelled appearances by Westwood.

[52] The BBC director general Tim Davie described the allegations as "shocking", though also stated that he could find no previous formal complaints about Westwood.