Benjamin Quddus Philippe, popularly known as simply
Quddus, (born
July 10,
1980) of a Haitian father and Greek mother is a
Canadian MTV VJ and former host of the MTV show,
Total Request Live. He is now currently the host of
Dance on Sunset with
Nick 6 which includes: Johnny Erasme, Shane Harper, Aubree Storm,
Ashley Galvan, Karen Chuang, and Hefa Tuita. Also on the show is Tony Testa, the choreographer. Sadly, the show has been cancelled.
Born in
Toronto,
Ontario, he began a career in music as co-host and programmer of a
campus radio show on
CHUO-FM while studying philosophy at the
University of Ottawa. Quddus became known in the Ottawa
hip-hop scene for his
mixtapes and for his abilities behind the
turntables. In 1999, he signed with
Elite Model Management. Quddus returned to Toronto, where he co-wrote and hosted the
TV Ontario youth culture program
VOX, and acted in commercials for
McDonald's and
Honda. Quddus' work on VOX eventually earned him a
Gemini.
In 2000, Quddus entered the
MuchMusic VJ Search contest in the hopes of replacing the then-departing
MuchMusic VJ
Bill Welychka. He eventually finished third behind winner
Bradford How. One year later, Quddus landed a job at MTV, where he remained as one of the hosts for
Total Request Live until early 2006.