So Shiftee… wow, what a career you have already had for someone so young! Tell us about the strange venue where you had your first battle…
“My first battle was at a car show in Queens, NY. I was 16. I had been practicing hardcore for about 2 years, telling my parents the whole time “Mom, Dad – this stuff I’m doing is really important, it’s really creative, it’s an art form!” Then we get to the venue and see nothing but half naked bikini models and tricked out rides! Needless to say my parents were a little skeptical about my new interest.”
Who were the DJs you were looking up to as you started at?
“A-Trak, P-Trix, and Craze were the main ones. I liked how they put together well-composed routines, but still made sure everything was technical and innovative. I’m not going to front though. My first few months, I thought DJ David was the G.O.A.T.”
What made you want to become a DJ in the first place?
“I thought maybe it would lead to a starring role in Juice 2. I’m still waiting for the call! Nah nah nah nah (but seriously, call me Juice 2), just being fascinated with hip hop music and wanting to be a part of the culture.”
What tunes were thundering around your bedroom walls as a teenager?
“Common, Black Star, Nas, D-Styles & Flare’s ‘Pharaohs of Funk’, lots of Rawkus Records, lots of DMC Champs recordings.”
So hooking up with the brilliant New York DJ crew Lo-Livez, a big step up for you, was there any trepidation you felt joining and playing the likes of Precision, Boogie Blind, Cutfucious and Tragik?
“A little, but I more so looked at it as an excellent opportunity to learn. My parents, on the other hand, thought they might be child molesters.”
Why are you such a good Battle DJ – what are your key attributes?
“My key attributes are glasses, scruffiness, technicality, nerdy swagger, and poop jokes (also fart jokes, very poopy poop jokes, and jokes that involve both farts and poops).”
Biggest hip hop star of all time and best ever record?
“The Notorious B.I.G. was very big. I’m not sure about the best ever record, but I’m pretty impressed with Nico Surings, who set the Guinness World Record for running 100 meters barefoot on ice (17.35 seconds!). Also noteworthy are ‘Apache’ from the Incredible Bongo Band and the rare acetate of The Velvet Underground and Nico that went on ebay for like $160,000.”
We hear you have just been appointed to teach at Dubspot in New York where your designing the student curriculum – tell us all about it.
“Yes, I’m very excited about this. DubSpot is a world-class electronic music production & DJ institute in NYC. Their approach and course offerings honestly remind me of a university graduate program in music. The other instructors’ resumes are, quite frankly, intimidating, but I’m thrilled to be coming on board. In particular, I’m looking forward to presenting Turntablism as an academic subject. I want students not only to learn how to do techniques, but also how to think about them – their potential, their applications, etc. Like imagine somehow Turntablism started being offered as a class at an Ivy League school. This is what I want the class to be like (but more fun).”
As well as winning a host of titles such as DMC and ITF your doing a Math Degree at Harvard University. Do they party hard there and are the girls as hot as the movies make out?
“No and no!”
You’ve performed at some of the world’s finest clubs including the famous New York’s Webster Hall – where has been best club you’ve rocked?
“I have a soft spot for B.B. King Blues Club in NYC, since this was the site of my first DMC in 2002.”
Who has been the best Turntablist and Battler over the years and how do you think the two areas have changed?
“Best” is tricky, but I’d obviously put Q-bert right at the top. No one has been more influential in the scratch game. For turntablists, I’m also a big fan of Kid Koala. In my opinion, he’s maybe the only DJ who has made albums using the turntable that work beyond the novelty of his method. In other words, he doesn’t just make great scratch music. He makes great music. For battlers, I must go with A-Trak & Craze. Their bodies of work are truly staggering. Turntablism and Battling have changed a lot due to the rise of technology and the universal accessibility of pretty much all music and information. It’s cool because it levels the playing field – almost everyone has access to the same YouTube videos, Wikipedia pages, sounds, etc. Naturally however, this proliferation has also meant a bit of over saturation and redundancy, which can be tiresome. Still overall, yeah yeah good stuff, but of course with room for even more yeah yeah good stuff.”
What other music do you listen to at home, some of the stuff you composed with percussionist Mike Fleder for instance included children’s fairy tales…
“Yeah, Mike and I try to get a little funky sometimes. I enjoy listening to whatever keeps me confused and/or engaged. In the past few years, mostly lots and lots of Animal Collective, but also Steve Reich, The Books, TV on the Radio, Bob Dylan, Woelv, The Velvet Underground, Zimbabwean mbira music, and whatever my friend Charles suggests.”
Are there any up and coming DJs we should be checking out?
“Fosho! One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve started to travel more is that everyone everywhere is nasty, especially on the cut. For example, I was chilling in Sofia this past December, and DMC Bulgaria champ Niky I was dropping crazy scratches like whoa. Uh, watch out for anyone who takes my class at DubSpot!”
What was the night you won the 2007 DMC World Supremacy Champion like, you were the first ever American to win it…?
“Yessir! The whole event was surreal. Like I just went up there and did some DJ routines, and next thing I know I’m supposedly a world champion. Very gratifying and humbling, because winning a head-to-head battle takes a great deal of both preparation and luck.”
What’s 2009 gonna bring to us from Shiftee?
“Hopefully silly YouTubes, DMC title runs, touring, teaching, falafel eating, party rocking, and strange music.”
What is 256 x 871 ?
“Real mathematicians don’t do numbers! (222,976)”
Thanks…
“No prob. Same time next week?”