Join our very own Beat Junkie Ambassador Dynamix and special guests as he host’s, a portable skratch session from 3pm- 7pm at Wax City 7/10. There will be FREE give aways courtesy of The Beat Junkies and appearances by the Artifacts & Ed OG.
Author: 4Real
DJ Dynamix- Exclusive Beat Junkies Record Pool Mix
Big Up!! To our good friend and Beat Junkie Ambassador “Dj Dynamix. He created and exclusive mix, using only edits from our very own record pool, for your listening pleasure.
Another Beat Junkie Sureshot for 2016 !!!!!
DJ DYNAMIX – THE BEAT JUNKIES RECORD POOL PROMO MIX by Thebeatjunkies on Mixcloud
Beat Junkie Sound Presents: Look Book 1.0 A Lifestyle Brand
Beatjunkie / bÄt jĘNGkÄ /: A driven and creative individual, inspired by the art of music.
THE WORLD FAMOUS BEAT JUNKIES The Beat Junkies, internationally recognized as an unparalleled musical phenomenon, innovated an original DJ art form that continues to entertain and inspire all realms of the music sphere. This crew of DJ virtuosos is comprised of eight accomplished musicians: J.Rocc, Melo D, Rhettmatic, D-Styles, DJ Curse, Babu, Shortkut, and Mr. Choc. Stemming from various mobile DJ units throughout Los Angeles County and the Bay Area, these artists came together in the early ā90s, and introduced a masterful musical style that transformed the DJ art form throughout the world. Talented veterans in creating original compositions, the Beat Junkies introduced their unique DJ forte to audiences on every continent. Their signature music formula, which has become internationally labeled as the āBeat Junkie Styleā, encompasses a practice that takes years to attain. The practice of precision, along with a driving imagination to create music incorporating the DJ techniques such as the blend and the scratch, have become the main factors in defining their distinguished expertise.
In 2015 the Beat Junkies transformed their passion for the āArtsā into a lifestyle brand that caters to all Artists inspired by music. The innovative designs are a play on the History of hip hop culture and its influence on the Beat Junkies. āWhat is a Beat Junkie? Simply anybody can be a āBeat Junkieā if music has influenced his or her life in a special way. It is not just for DJs, it is for the creative artists from all walks of life.ā- The Beat Junkies
Click Here To See Beat Junkie Lifestyle Look Book 1.0
Photography + Art Direction: Maricel Sison
Creative Director: Babu
For more information on the Beat Junkie Lifestyle Brand or Sales Questions. Please contact:
lifestyle@beatjunkies.com
Media:
Behind The Scenes: Look Book 1.0
New York New York……..
New York New York Big City of Dreams! They say if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. Iām not one to get personal on the blog post, but sometimes it just feels right. I would like to tell you how I got introduced to Hip Hop. It was the summer of 6th grade and music had yet to become my passion. In fact I hated Piano lessons and Trumpet lessons. I would much rather play basketball and Mario Bros on my Nintendo. My cousin Phil who was from New York lived with us during this summer break ,while he went to school out here. His best friend was Michael. They had grown up sharing the same passion for music. Well Michael got a job at Def Jam working directly with Russell and Lyor as Def Jam started breaking Hip Hop. Before I knew it was tagging along with Phil and hanging out with the likes of LL Cool J, Public Enemy, and 3rd Bass to name a few. All of a sudden basketball and video games took second place to Rap Music. I fell in love with Hip Hop, It Got Me Open. Over the years I picked Michaelās brain about the Music Business and I knew I wanted to elevate my passion to a Higher Level. Over the years as the Music Industry changed, and Michael could not find a way to Straighten It Out, he decided to pursue other career moves. He had just got a new job working for a business firm and was super excited about being married and a little baby girl that was on her way. Unfortunately Michael did not get a chance to meet his daughter. His first day of work happened to be 9/11 at the twin towers. R.I.P Michael, God Lives Through your beautiful daughter and it is my honor to tell her the role he had in my life and the path I chose. So Today we celebrate the lives of those who perished in 9/11. ā Where Brooklyn At?ā Biggie
Make sure you check out the special NYC pack in honor of 9/11 in our Record Pool Section
DJ PREMIER x BEAT JUNKIES EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
No introduction needed for one of the best to do it, DJ Premier ! Ā His signature sound has helped define Hip-Hop and inspired the DJ Community World Wide. Rhettmatic recently had the chance to get caught up with our good friend DJ Premier/ Preemo after his show at the Yost Theater in Santa Ana. Ā Shout out to Keebler, Jeff, and the whole team at Headquarters. Ā Special big up to the Man himself Preemo, for giving us a ton of exclusive music for the Record Pool. Ā Make sure you go to our Record Pool section for the latest releases from DJ Premier’s own record label “Year Round”, and that Classic Premier Sound.
When did you know you wanted to be a producer?
DJ Premier: I knew I wanted to be a producer actually when I started reading the James Brown produced music. It always had a James Brown production. I did not know what a producer was, but it seemed like it fit what I thought it was once I became one. They must be the ones who are setting the whole tone how it is suppose to go down. He may not be playing everything; he may not even be playing any instrument; but he is going to be like ādo it like this, or no no no, do it like that.ā That is how I am, āput that there, and no that is in the wrong spot,ā and it does not always have to be Hook/Rhyme, Hook/Rhyme or Verse/Hook, Verse Hook. Sometimes it can be unorthodox. You can do it any way, if you just feel it a certain way. That is why I like how James Brown says, āIf it feels good, then it is good.ā You do not want to follow a certain pattern; how does it feel when you do it? And that is how I do it! I do all my stuff organically and on the spot. I never knew about making beat tapes and stuff like that, and that just wasnāt me. Him (James Brown), Quincy Jones, Marley Marl is my all time Idol. I feel like he is the James Brown of Hip Hop production. It was just so funky with the records he made. It was just like, Yo there is so many great records, but he just had a style like so unexplainable. That is what made me say, āI got to do it!ā Where somebody like him would say āIām doing it right without being a biter!ā No biting! Weāre from the era where biting (pauses).. MAN!!! We saw many fights where people were going, āyou bit my shit!ā We witnessed beat downs over biting. Now you can sound the same and everybody will be like āyah, yah, just turn it upā and itās like nah, nah, sound like your own self, so I can like your shit or otherwise your like a loaf of bread that doesnāt have a brand, you know what I am saying and I already got Wonder Bread.
Out of all the songs that you produced for Biggie, Jay-Z and Nas, which one is your favorite?
DJ Premier: (Exhales) Man! I like them all the same in different ways. I mean there were certain scenarios that gave birth to certain records. Certain Nas records were amazing, when we did New York State of Mind. Showbiz was there when I was cutting it.Ā Ā Showbiz was the one who put me into D&D. He was doing a session with Lord Finesse remixing āReturn of the Funky Man Remixā and wanted me to scratch. So I went there to lay my scratches and they had to leave. So he was like āYo when they finish the mix, make me a CASSETTEā and I made me one.Ā Ā So I hopped in my Mazda MPV and popped it in and it was just thumping. So I said “this is where I am going to make the next Gang Starr album “Daily Operationā at D&D, which is now Headquarters Studios.
How did you connect with Biggie for āUnbelievable?āĀ
DJ Premier: Unbelievable came about by, I donāt want to say luck. Ummmm it was by him (Biggie) catching me at the right time. I was really busy at that time. You know Pete Rock, Large Professor, Showbiz, and me. We were all so heavily busy. We would all see each other and be in the same circles of music. Diamond D you know. The whole D.I.T.C crew, all that stuff. We were around all that, Tribe and De LaĀ (Soul) you know even Mr. Cee and (Big Daddy) Kane. We were all in the same circle of parties and events of things going on. So we all talked to each other about what we were doing next.
So it was like a fraternity?
DJ Premier: Yeah, yeah! Like all the time. So BIG and them were younger dudes. Even Jay-Z was a younger dude to us, not a lot younger, but young enough where we were glad to see them be next chapter of them bringing it in right. And then they did it, and Iām so happy for their careers. All that stuff there was a time when you had to do it right to be given a thumbs up everywhere you go and a salute. Street music man! It could go as mainstream as you want it to, but it had an origin. And I like the origin of the purest form, which is dope beats, dope rhymes, and scratching.
Youāre pretty much the innovator of the Hook Scratch?
DJ Premier: That is just from watching people. When Terminator X did stuff, when Jam Master Jay and Cut Creator and Bobcat and Joe Cooley and you know what Iām saying. Even (Dr.) Dre was cutting shit up back in the N.W.A, ahh the Arabian Prince, and World Class Wreckin Cru days.
Are there any young producers right now catching your ear?
DJ Premier:Ā Ā On the young producer side, not really. Even though I study every one of them to see what theyāre doing. I like the effort they put into staying in the game like the way we do it. The sound just does not grab me like the sound I was influenced by. Iām not being selfish or anything like that. It is just that I like what I like. So the newer stuff just doesnāt grab me.Ā Ā I like some of the artists, I like J.Cole, I like Drake, I likeā¦.ah some of Big Seanās stuff.Ā Ā Iām not always into the production, but they got lyrics. So if we ever click, letās get it in and I will give you a dirty one, but you know I just like raw lyrics. Iām from a certain funk! Iām a descendent of the funk! Like George Clinton and James Brown.
What is one song you wished you produced?
DJ Premier: I always say I wish I produced āThe BridgeāĀ by MC Shan. That record with just the drum roll, the echoes, just everything about that record as simple as it was. I remember hearing it at a RUN-D.M.C concert at my college Prairie View. Dana Dane and Clark Kent opened up and RUN-D.M.C was at the ‘apex of apexā and they came to my school during the āRaising Hellā time.Ā Ā Like that was one of the most amazing things to witness, especially down there. It was one of the illest things; and when they were switching turntables to set it up and make sure the sound was right they were playing a 98.7Kiss mix from Red Alert, and I just started hearing, āLadies and Gentlemen (beat boxing), we got MC Shan and Marley Marl in the house tonight (tonight) (echoes). They just came from off tour and they want to tell you a story about where they come from.ā I was like, āwhat the hell is that?ā I thought they were saying, āthe breaks, the breaks, the breaks, the breaks,ā and Kurtis Blow was already popular with āThe Breaksā six years prior.Ā Ā And I was like, āwhat is like āthe breaks, the breaks, the breaks?āā I went to New York for the summer and went to a record store and I was like, āwhat is that record āthe breaks, the breaks?ā and the guy was like, ānah it is āthe bridge, the bridgeā and it was on Bridge Records.ā It looked like a ghetto, gutter, hard record, the green label and Bridge Records. And then I already knew Marley Marl from Dimples D and Roxanne Shante‘s early music. So to see that I was like, āhe got another one, but it donāt sound like a drum machine programmed record.ā It sounded like the record (Impeach the President, by Honey Drippers), but how is he making the record loop like that? I did not understand that and I was like, āI got to learn that science. Whatever that science is I got to learn that because that is dope!ā And that is what made me start doing it.
In Remembrance of Aaliyah Dana Haughton…
In remembrance of Aaliyah Dana Haughton, we have released a special “select” edit pack in our record pool. Ā Although her life was cut short in a tragic plane crash. Ā Her beautiful soul and angelic voice will live through her timeless music. Ā In 2008 “The Fader” magazine did a piece on Aaliyah by interviewing those who were very close to her. Ā Below is an excerpt from that article through the eyes of Missy Elliot.
Rest In Peace Aaliyah. 1-16.1979-8.25.2001
MISSY ELLIOTT
Me and Timbaland flew to Detroit. They was testing us out to see if we could make a hit record for Aaliyah, because she was coming off the project for R Kelly and I guess they wanted to try some new producers. We was kinda nervous because we hadnāt done records for any artists of that caliber, but when we first met her, she treated us like she knew us for years, like we grew up with her. She was always very sweet, always smiling and she made us feel like we was big producers when we didnāt have no record out. Even coming off a big album, she never once treated us like we were beneath her.
Me and Tim, our sound was so far left that it was kinda hard for people. They liked it, but they didnāt know if they really liked it, because it was so different from everything else on the radio. But the weird thing was, as soon as we did āOne in a Million,ā she immediately thought it was a hit. We didnāt have to convince her, she was like, āIām telling you, this is hot.ā I knew then there was a chemistry. She wasnāt close-minded. She was an artist that got it.
After that, we became family. She was my little sister and Tim was my brother. And we became the Super Friends! We felt like we was gonna save the world. We was gonna change music every chance that we got. We felt like we was gonna always be family. Forever.
I think when “If Your Girl Only Knew” first came out, people kinda said, Oh, she got a new sound. But then when “One in a Million” came out, the beat and the melody were so different from anything. I was in a club one night, the DJ took it back TEN TIMES, no lie. And this was in the middle of him playing, like, Biggie records and Tupac records, and here goes āOne in a Millionā in the middle of all this street rap! Thatās when I said, OK, this is something differentāwe are going somewhere else, we are kind of switching the sound.
Sometimes when Iām talking to Ciara, weāll bring Aaliyah into the conversation. I know that she would be somewhere in outerspace at this moment, because she grabbed onto the same mentality that we had: be risky. We always said we donāt want somebody else to do it before we do it, so letās just take it there. How do you know that people are gonna like it or not if you donāt at least try it?
I never seen Aaliyah get mad. She was always so relaxed and reserved. I remember one time at an awards show, me and her and Tim went and got these outfits. I aināt dressed like somebody else since junior high school, but we all got these Pony burgundy outfits. We was so mad cause we felt like sheās gonna win, and she didnāt get anything! And she was like, Itās cool. But us, we was like, āNah, man, thatĀ One in a MillionĀ album was a classic!ā But she was like, Iām just happy to be nominated. I never seen her go out of character. She was always sweet and caring and compassionate. Just a good person.
With the sunglasses, I think it was just persona. I mean, she was always a star, but when people canāt see your eyes, they really donāt know how you looking. Your eyes tell a lot, and by her covering them, they really never knew what her personality was. I think once she took the sunglasses off and got into her girl clothes, it was like, Wow, sheās grown. I think people started to feel like they knew her.
Even though she had the big baggy pants on, there was still like a sex appeal. She was like that round the way girl, cause at that time, you had a lot of females dressing in baggy clothes. She kind of related to the regular chicks but at the same time she had a sex appeal to her, so I think it translated. It was a mystique, and it gave her room to keep growing each album.
I still get guys that are like, I used to love me some Aaliyah or I got her on my screensaver. I think every guy had a crush on Aaliyah. If a guy tried to approach her, she was always nice, but you know, it wasnāt like, OK, Iām gonna call you in an hour! But she was always like, Thank you so much, and that was that. She was very focused on her music and her family, so I donāt think she really took to anything they said, until her third album, when she was like, āOK, Iām grown now. Maybe Iāll give you a call.”
Right before she didĀ Queen of the Damned, she came to my hotel and she had these huge gold teeth from one of those comedy stores. I kept begging her to do the lines, and she was doinā them with these big teeth that was sticking out of her mouth. And we just laughed and laughed and laughed, over and over again. That was my last, greatest memory because, like, sheās a clown! She liked to have fun.
I was in Jamaica when I found out she passed. Somebody called me, but there were so many different rumors on other artists like Luther [Vandross] and Whitney [Houston] at the time that I really cursed another artist out cause I thought they were playin. People were calling cause they thought me and Tim was with her. Then when they started saying this person was with her and this person and this person, I kept hanging up on people. But when I called Tim I could tell something was wrong.
Itās like losing a family member. Itās not like Aaliyah the superstar, the celebrity. Itās like my little sister. You feel empty, you feel in shock, you feel angry. Thatās a feeling I canāt even really explain.
Most people look at her as an angel. Thatās what she was. Iām not saying that because people feel like they have to say great things because somebody passed away. It is what it is. She was a sweet person with great, incredible talent who didnāt compromise who she was for the world. It was like: Iām gonna be a trendsetter, Iām gonna be an icon, even when Iām gone, you gonna always remember me.
Serato Performance Video- D-Styles
Check out D-Styles video from 2012, as he performs an exclusive routine for Serato. Make sure you check out our Record Pool for the latest Edits by D-Styles
DJ Worx x Beat Junkies Record Pool
Check out www.djworx.com (latest reviews on DJ Related gear) as they review the launch of beatjunkies.com and digital record pool. http://djworx.com/digging-beat-junkies-record-pool-crates/
Beat Junkies x Power 106
Power 106 Video Recap Right Here:
Thank you to Power 106 for letting us drop by to announce the launch of our new site and cut it up with the Power Mixers. Word up to all the DJS at Power for their support. Ever, E-Man, Nick Ferrer, Eric Dlux, Big Syphe, Justin Incredible, Cokee, P-Jay, Inferno, Carisma, Reflex, Fuze, Vick One, Epic Twelve, Sourmilk, Felli Fel and Ingwell.