DJ Revolution - Talking 'Bout A Revolution
DJ Revolution doesn’t mince words when it comes to the state of most up and coming hip hop DJs, and at O-ii-shi’s 12th birthday plans to show exactly why the majority of his competition pale in comparison. 3D’s Elliot Shields caught up with the King Of The Decks.
Your recent mixtape you did with Malcolm & Martin has met great acclaim, and for good reason. Dusting of a lot of older grooves and still sounding fresh and clean is something a lot of DJs wish they could pull off. Are clearances ever a worry for you on a mixtape like that-
Nope. I never worry about clearances at all when it comes to hip hop shit. I think since it started as and continues to be a sample-based art in general; stressing about sample clearances completely dilutes the creativity and removes an integral part of what makes it hip hop.
You’ve been known to shred using the Serato software, something a lot of big DJs couldn’t do without. Is your laptop an essential part of your gear these days-
Indeed it is. The difference between me and most of the newer celebrity DJs – guys that just woke up one day, bought a computer, borrowed the homie’s hard drive and called themselves a DJ – is experience. Experience NOT using a laptop, years of it in fact. On the flipside, I have MUCH more experience using the laptop-based set-up than most guys out there.
Getting a break in LA is notoriously difficult, especially in the arts. What do you credit your success to-
I credit my success to my talent. The problem is no one will tell these talentless hacks claiming the role of DJ that they are in fact wasting good space and polluting the minds of young impressionable people.
Your track with KRS One quite bluntly deals with the faults of a lot of DJs of today, both on the radio and in the club. Is that a sentiment both you and KRS share- Are there any particular DJ’s that you still have a lot of respect for, that the DJ Revolutions of the future can look up to-
It is a sentiment that both of us share. As for DJs we respect, there are masters of the craft like Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, Premier, Spinbad, Riz and a handful of others. Newer guys are hard to come by, but I meet DJs with absolutely no name or so called credibility in the game that I learn from just the same.
You collaborated with such a large group of artists on your new album King Of The Decks, were there a lot of ideas going back and forth in the studio, or did you have the blueprints for the tracks all pretty well laid out-
The blueprints and basic concepts for most of the songs were laid out ahead of time. All I really had to do was give the artist some direction and let them run with it. This to me is the difference between being producer and a beatmaker. Or a songwriter/composer and just someone who lays down a track on the MPC. It’s all about the follow through with your vision of your record.
You’re back in Australia for O-ii-shi’s 12th Birthday, is Australia a favourite on your tour circuit- Are you bringing any MCs with you-
Australia is a favorite place of mine to tour. Love the vibe, the weather and the people. I would have loved to bring an MC with me. My man Kavi-R and I have been trying to work that out for years and to be quite honest, every time promoters back away from the extra cost, no matter how little or great it may be. It’s costing the hip hop culture a lot more than it would cost one promoter or club to add an MC to a tour.
WHO: DJ Revolution
WHAT: King Of The Decks though Shogun / Plays O-ii-shi’s 12th Birthday at Manning Bar
MORE: Out now / Saturday 11 April
MORE: myspace.com/djrevolution