• Hip Hop Slam News by Billy Jam
• Bay Area DJ Profile #010: Mixmaster Mike
• DJs Shortkut & J-Rocc in Eire by Tall Paul Lowe
• Korean DJ Report by DJ Wreckx
• SHOP — New items: What About Us/Shortkut & Cut Chemist @ FPSS CD

HIP HOP SLAM NEWS

On a recent October Sunday Hip Hop Slam threw one of its infamous BBQ/DJ sessions: the last one of 2003 when a ton of folks came thru to partake in the drank, dank, franks, and music. Many of the partyers at the Oakland party, but not all, also got busy behind the ones and twos. Attendees included DJ Vadim, DJ Pone, Shing02, A-1, Davey D, DnZ, DJ Anna, DJ Quest, Albert Mathias (Live Human), DJ Marz, Teeko, Ales One, BCause, Fresh Joyce, Spair, Golden Chyld, DJ Deus, Platurn, Timi D..., Munkifunk, DJ Blackstone, Dawgisht, Neon Leon, Dave Paul, Joefu, Rani, and many others including wannabe DJ Emcee Dubya (look for him in accompanying collage behind the decks battling DJ Spair who incidentally beat his presidential ass... coz not only is he a wack prez but he is also a sucka DJ). The indoor DJ session was being recorded as a radio show for the Mr Trick and Turntable Radio on London's Resonance FM which will broadcast highlights of the turntable session. Simultaneouly the five-man film crew from Motivate Movement were shooting the session plus interviewing various individuals for their hip hop DVD Magazine, MVMNT, which will premiere in 2004. There were also two art displays: one of the art of Mars-One (who was also in the house giving out signed copies of his art). The other exhibit featured album art from a myriad of bay area DJs from labels including Dirt Style, Stones Throw, BOMB Hip Hop, and Hip Hop Slam.

In case you missed it in last week's news update, be sure to read the special report on Bomb Hip Hop owner Dave Paul being interrogated by the Secret Service.

If you are lucky enough to be in San Francisco area on November 20th then do yourself a favor and go to this sure-to-be-amazing show that features the draw-dropping Gunkhole - the turntablist-percussion masters D-Styles, Mike Boogie, Nicks, and Ace. And if that ain;t enuf also in the lineup is Native Guns feat. Kiwi and Bambu, Lunar Heights [Khai Love, Jern Eye, Sizwe], plus DJs Derrick D, Amerriica, Celskiii, Deeandroid, and Winstoner wrecking havoc on tha decks. Thursday, 11/20 at Rasselas, 1534 Fillmore St. @ Geary St. in tha Fill-Moe area of tha Sco'

New mix CDs we've received include the so-so DJ Styles' So Many Styles Vol. III (www.somanystyles.com) and the recommended Paul Nice's ol skool Soul On on the Grill mix CD which includes Ramsey Lewis' "Sun Goddess" and Esther Philips' Home is where the heart is and 27 other dope tracks..... DJ Frane's Electric Garden of Delights (or beats to blaze to vol. 2) is a deep, lushy layered, down-tempo, dank-inspired 13 track CD that DnZ compared to DJ Krush's sound..... Shing02's Limited Express Mix, released on Virgin Japan, is a wonderful CD collection of some of the best of Japanese artist's many releases mixed by DJ Icewater..... DJ Me DJ You's latest, Can You See The Music (eenie meanie records), although at times a little too pop leaning and over-produced, is nonetheless a damn good album that gets better with each listen.... Omid's own album Monolith (Mushi) is nice balance of beats and emcee tracks that include such gems as Double Header featuring Buck 65.... Another great CD is from Paris, France artist RA whose home-burnt CD-R, RA's Demo 2003 - is a hypnotic collection of smoldering, tripped out and dirty (to the point of over-modulating) beats that makes you go: Damn! What the fuck is that?

Peanut Butter Wolf and his old- old school DJ potna Sweet Steve had a unique 20 year reunion show in San Jose (their hometown) at Stank and in San Francisco at MILK. "We wanted to have a twenty year anniversary DJ party to celebrate our roots and what better way than by DJ'ing," said the Stones Throw CEO/DJ Wolf. "By paying homage to the year that we started out DJing together, 1983, and playing music from that year only." This included hip hop, electro, new wave, soul, funk, and punk records. They also decided to use the mixer they both started with a janky-ass Realistic. However after the Stank show they realized that it sucked with too much feedback/static so for the super-fun SF show they brought their new mixers but old 1983 records. They even dug up a great picture from 1983 of the two fresh faced young DJs and spun it into a fun and most unique show flyer.

FOUR NEW RELEASES ADDED TO THE HIPHOPSLAM.COM SHOP

There are four new additions to the SHOP this week: each priced at the anti-music-industry/
respect-for-the-music-fan price of $8.98 per CD. Included are the first and second in the Inivisbl Skratch Piklz live at Hip Hop Slam/Pirate Fuckin' Radio series: The Shiggar Fraggar Show! Vols. 1 & 2, Live at the FuturePrimitiveSoundsession Cut Chemist meets Shortkut (Version 1.1), and the provocative Bay Area compilation What About Us? on Hard Knock Records.

Seventy minutes long the 1997 FuturePrimitive session captures two of the best DJs in the West: LA's Cut Chemist and San Francisco's Shortkut who ably display their equally talented yet distinctively different turntable skills. Both of these DJ albums are familiar with most of the visitors to this site but most likely What About Us? is not. This is the type of thought-provoking hip hop release that we used to take for granted back in ye olde daze of hip hop, back in a time when being conscious or speaking out on the bullshit in AmeriKKKa was the norm rather than a risky career move. As such it is a breath of fresh air in a smog of complacent hip hop mediocrity. There is not one bad track on this 18-track, uplifting hip hop collection but definite standouts include Spearhead's "Bomb The World", "We Can" by Raashan Ahmad, "Hey Bobby" by the Non Prophets featuring Sage Francis, "US History" by Oakland's The Piper, "Yo Naci" by Rico Pabon and DJ Riddm, "Lickshot!" by Lunar Heights, and "Work Itself Out" by Bukue One. Read the much longer review of this album and also more on the other three additions to the SHOP.

BAY AREA DJ PROFILE #010: Mixmaster Mike

DJ name: Mixmaster Mike

Hometown: San Francisco

Do you still talk to aliens through your music? Right now I'm trying to talk to the people on this earth, the lost people here. The humanoids here need to study the lessons still...

DJ Crews: Sounds In Effect, Sound In Motion, Tsunami Sound, Invisibl Skratch Piklz

How would describe the music you spin? It's a strand of hiphop, psychedelic scratch music is what it is... there's no title to it.

DJ battle history: won 1992 West Coast DMC and 1993 NMS/Superman Battle.

What was the first record you bought? That's a crazy question. It was a Led Zeppelin record, and “Rapper’s Delight.”

What was the first record you heard that made you want to scratch or DJ? It was "Crazy Cuts" by DST, Herbie Hancock's "Rockit", Hendrix "Are You Experienced" and Miles Davis.

What's your favorite new record? The White Stripes... its some good shit.

When did you first DJ? 1985 in my bedroom.

What made you want to be a DJ? I grew up listening to a lot of Coltrane and Hendrix. I had a fascination of copying them with turntables. And then a cat came by the name of GrandMixer DST and that was the whole shit. That's what happened.

Most memorable performance of your career? There's memorable experiences every year for some reason. This last year I opened up for Guns N’ Roses, and being able to play in Madison Square Garden alone for an hour to a capacity crowd was probably one of the highs. Then it was me being with my crew the Invisibl Skratch Piklz battling the X-Men...

How do you transport your records to gigs? By car.

Do you play CDs ever at gigs? No, I don't play them when I DJ.

In your opinion who is the best DJ of all time? Wolfman Jack, baby! Wolfman had skills... he was an entertainer. He didn't play records...he made people listen to records! He was also a movie star, too.

Can you give us the details on your radio show? It's in KROQ in LA and it's called Friday Night Spin Psycle, from 10pm-11pm. I have 87%-88% freedom. If it was up to me, I would play all explicit versions.

Best way for folks to find out more about you including your discograpahy: Google. There will be a Mixmaster Mike website. Right now I'm trying to keep myself out of touch because I'm on a hibernation period. I'm doing shows, but I'm in the lab creating something right now... it's fourth dimensional scratch moon beats from Zektar... crazy shit.

This rest of this interview, conducted by Billy Jam, will appear in the forthcoming QBert book. Also be sure to check for the next Beastie Boys album and the next Mixmaster Mike solo joint, both expected to drop next summer.

KOREAN DJ REPORT
by DJ Wreckx

Our mainman in Korea, DJ Wreckx, (who cameo-ed on the Hip Hop Slam compilaiton Global Turntables) writes to let us know that he is currently working on his new album which will come out late 2004. Wreckx also reports that, just like the Japanese and the US economies, that the Korean economy is also in a downward spiral. Consequently the number of parties for him and others DJs are all "going down, parties or events are all held back for now. I tell you, it is shrinking," - he said. "As for me, I'm opening an Internet site called LADYBUG RECORDZ and through this site I'll be doing a radio show. For your reference, I'm thinkin' to make a record company called LADYBUG RECORDZ which will be selling any DJ related or B-BOY records. As far as the Korean DJ scene there is not much of DJs in Korea, but here is my report anyway" ---

Korean DJ Scene by DJ Wreckx
YO YO YO~ this is SEOUL, capital city of Korea~ and this is DJ Wreckx from Seoul sendin' the hottest Korean news.....well let's just cut to the chase.,.,,,First the history: It was early 90's when Korea first discoverd HipHop and its culture and its
muzik. However, it was 0% reaction from people about DJing because it occured just a bit during club music. Personally It was 1992 when I became SKRATCH DJ and I surely tell you that it was no easy finding mixer for skratchin'. For the information, at that time, Technics mark2 was $1200 per one, and the mixer that I used for skratchin' which was in studio was long~ 12 channel mixer. Under these kind of condition, it was hard for us to appeal easily in public. But now Now Korea is changed 100% Properly all kinds of DJin' eqipments were imported and users are increasin constanly. Many people are very interested in DJin'. 'Til now Jay Smoke, Qbert, Shorkut, Shadow, Honda, and A-trak are the hiphop related DJs came to Korea and performed. Well it's not so many people, but I strongly believe that Korean DJ Scene HAS grown much for these excellent DJs came in and showed their play. In Korea, through DJ Wreckx, first DJ performance appeared in '96. There were small number of people (around 100-150), and first TRACK for SKRATCH was shown to public in 2000 year by myself DJ Wreckx. Through this track many people got interested in DJin' field. (it is very awkward for me to talk about myself^^) There are almost ten DJz including myself related to SKRATCH, and we constantly show our play thru' clubs. (though not regularly). Because our DJ scene is so small, more DJs can not be discovered in this environment.

I believe I wrote bit gloomy didn' I ?? However, for the DJs currently in active WILL develope others little by little. (I humbly ask for opinion or advice from readers) well I thank you for all you who read my long report, and by the time you have read this we Korea DJs are reachin' up bit more than before.

Muzik iz my Life DJ WRECKX (djwreckx@djwreckx.com)

SHORTKUT & J-ROCC IN EIRE
by Tall Paul Lowe

Well it all went down in Dublin Oct 3rd at Ri-Ra when two of the greatest DJ's to grace this earth and from my favourite DJ crew the Beat Junkies: J.Rocc and Shortkut with support hometown from DJ Tuk-Ki. First up our current DMC and ITF champ DJ Tuk-Ki who was spinning some lovely tunes and demonstrating skills that got him both these titles. After Tuk's set J.Rocc was first up on the decks dropping some lovely funk and classic soul and jazz breaks for everyone in the house.
This was a great start to the set. The tunes were just amazing and the mixing was just seamless and the scratching was excellent as well. I now understand how J. Rocc has the title of best Club DJ in Hip Hop. And when Shortkut appeared on the scene everything was complete. The two guys just got down to business ripping shit up demonstrating to everyone how mixing and scratching should be done. The two guys were really enjoying themselves and they were really enjoying the reaction from the crowd also.

They took it in turns to impress the crowd with their solo routines and their own individual sets while one was going through the crates choosing the next couple of records or taking a drink. The music they dropped was everything from soul, funk, Hip Hop Old Skool to Reggae. And when they started to drop the Reggae set I thought that roof was going to blow up everyone started to get their groove on. As reggae, Dancehall and Ragga are very big in Ireland. The guys ended the night by giving a demo of their skills on the turntables it was pure poetry as one would say. Everyone that was there went up to see the guys and thank them for a wonderful set.