DJ Slice is an Accomplished Turntablist, Tested Battle DJ, and Producer who recently Remixed NYOil's "Y'all Should All Get Lynched." The version you hear now... That's a DJ Slice Beat. -So Who is DJ Slice? Where did he Come From, and how did he hook up with NYOil?
What were your first experiences in Hiphop?
Honestly, my 1st experiences were from watching Rerun from What's
Happening back in the mid to late 70's. I got enamored with him as a dancer
which led to me watching Soul Train and gaining influences from some of the
dancers on there. I knew nothing about the dj, mc, bboy elements as I had
moved to Delaware in 76 so was not much going on back then.
The movements and discipline that it took to create the moves on
the floor and the attention you got if you did something that was really
dope..
Talk about the Hiphop Scene as you were growing up and some of the Artists that had an Impact on You as a person.
I was floored with some of the things that folks would do on the tables, on
the dance floor and on the mic. The 1st time I heard both Jazzy Jeff and
Cash Money on the audio tapes that got passed around from their house/block
parties were legendary. I was a sophomore to in my junior yr in High school
which was 1983/84 when this was going down. They had the single biggest
influence on me as they were from my hometown (Philly) and even though I
lived in Delaware at the time, that's a hop skip from the illadelph so their
tapes easily made it down there. By that time. Hip hop had become huge to
the kids in the schools. At parties somebody was always battling someone
else in any faze of the element to see who was better and for street cred!!!
I also learned of the Zulu Nation around 1982. Was deeply interested but
didn't join a chapter officially until 1993 in Miami under Omar Islam. It
still has an impact on me today with how I view Hip Hop & the life I
live around it.
Were you too young to fully digest what they were putting out there or was it a matter of accessibility? It
was more about lack of accessibility. DE was a slight step behind on a lot of
things back then. I could even make the case that I was a lil young to truly
understand what was going on but it was soo much fun back then, that I probably
never really thought about it. It was always about topping either my last
performance whatever it was or being better than someone else. Being competitive
which is the tru nature of a real hip hopper was the big deal back then.
For those who may not be familiar: What is the Zulu Nation? Zulu
Nation was started by Africa Bambattaa November
12, 1973, which spawned Hip Hop a yr later. "The official birthday of Hip
Hop is November 12th, 1974". He started it to get the street gangs to find
another outlet from killing each other on the streets. For more info go to http://www.zulunation.com/hip_hop_history_2.htm.
I can explain it but it's best that my fellow aspiring hip hoppers go to the
site to learn/digest for themselves.
How did you get started deejayin'?
I saw Grandmaster Flash back in 79 at the Fever during a battle
between rival dj crews. I was only 12 at the time but all the girls wanted
to be around him while we were on the floor gettin all sweaty and dirty. I
was like Damn.. I wanna do what he's doing. 1st time I saw anyone do
anything with records like he did.. scratching, relaying to of the same
records back to back.
Who would you say are your primary influences?
DJ Cash Money and Jazzy Jeff were my primary influences as they were closer
to me. There are others including Tat Money & Master Vic. The Philly
style of dj'ing at the time was soo much different the the ny style as cats
were doing edits with the words, making the records talk, doing tricks and
still making the records talk and doing rhythmetic scratches such as
transforming and quick stabs/chops, click cuts... Flash simply because he
used stuff and hardly any one knew what it was. He made me want to dig for
obscure stuff that no one else would know where I got it from. Today, Craze
is a heavy influence along with the X-Men & members of my crew The
CrateKickers.
Did you start out battling?
Na, I started out doing the tape to tape mixtapes. Scratching
on my Mom's record player. Fooling around with it till I got embarrassed by
Cutmaster B at his crib.. I was into tellin folks I could cut when I wasn't
even good. After he and a few of my friends clowned me at his crib, I
started to take it more seriously.
When did you start entering the competitions? I got into a few house party battles/street battles and all but
my 1st real battle was the Delaware Scratch off in 1987 which I took 1st
place.
Hiphop started with the Deejay. -Even after the explosion of Turntablism: Why has the DJ not been restored to his rightful place at the head of the Hiphop table???
Because MC'S, rappers and record companies don't value the dj's place in
their business. Nowadays you don't need a dj to make your beats or do cuts
on a record much less tour with you. Why pay a dj to cut on your record when
you have machines with pre recorded scratches in them already? Why pay the
dj the same money you pay the rapper when the rapper writes the words? The
corporate has simply phazed the dj out and told the rappers that he is not
needed. If a dj is involved he's gonna eat more than you. So the dj gets the
boot. Also, that eliminates having to give the dj any shine on stage. with
the advant of cd's, serato and soo many digital mediums..
Do you think that time will come, or that Deejayin' will continue to evolve on it's own plane?
It will continue on it's on plane until a group decides that the dj is just
as important as the mc..
Tell us more about your feelings regarding “Digital Djing?”
2 words.. It's Wack!!!
-Even
Serato? I'm
not into the whole digital thing like that even though I do have Torq. I like
what it allows dj's to do but some don't even respect the digging aspect of
being a tru dj. All of a sudden a dj can download a bunch of stuff without
having to dig for it. Kinda takes away from the essence of being that dude with
all the cuts. Knowing where certain things come from and having the cover from
the record.. Serato just makes these ordinary dudes seem spectacular but in
reality, they still can't mix much less scratch or even truly rock a party. Even
worse is that you have cats getting into battles using serato to put their
routines together.. then pressing that routine on records so that they sound
like they are doing alot of issh when they are really not!!!
You mentioned your crew, The CrateKickers. -Tell us what y'all got going on right now.
We're working on a few mix tapes, We have started a tablist
showcase here in De similiar to Tableturns trying to encourage the scene
here in the tri state area. We're going to enter the DMC teams this coming
yr in addition to making a bigger splash on the tablist scene nation and
worldwide. For more info check out http://www.cratekickers.com
Your name came to my attention when the "Y'all Should All Get Lynched" video caught fire. -How long have you been producing? I started dabbling in production with a few childhood friends
after I got out of high school. My fascination for finding the illest
samples along with Marley Marl, Steady B, Mantronik really influenced my
love for production and digging to make stuff no one had heard before..
How did you come to work with NYOil?
I got a bulletin a few months back to check him out. So I went to his page and heard the original version of lynched before the video and it was on a beat he put together. The vocals just sounded like they were recorded on a basic mic but the lyrics were really smack you in the face real hard
type lyrics. So I hit him up and asked him could I put a beat to the lyrics.
After some going back and forth on the messenger, he sent them to me. I put
them to a new beat, added cuts and sent them back. He then insisted on
cutting them over to the new beat and from there is where it all came to
fruition.
The
Track Speaks to the Current State of HipHop. You've aligned yourself
with NYOil, so we know his words rang true for you. -What are the
biggest issues you see in Hiphop today?
There is no consciousness in Hip Hop now. It has totally gotten
away from the grassroots creativity that made us different from every other
genre. Bambattaa's whole purpose was to get the gangs away from the street
violence and now every one is trying to be street because the record
companies are dictating to the rappers with their lil raggedy checks and
material essence that the state of hip hop is they way they want it to be. I
remember when you was not an mc without a dj in your crew. U had real
dancers and they were part of your records. They took pictures on the album
covers and everyone knew the dancers names & the dj's names. They knew
who everyone in the crews names were. It's all ass, tits and drugs. U don't
need lyrics to rap now. Just Pro tools or some kind of recording program and
someone else's creativity. No one is creative anymore..
Definitely don't want to take anything away from NYOil, his Lyrics, or the Timeliness of
the Track especially considering the fact that it was so NEEDED right now. -but I think the production
definitely took it to another level and made it that much more potent.
It's a powerful piece. Are you getting crazy calls on production now??? I appreciate the love on the production. I wanted it to be
something that would be like damn and something that when whenever folks
find the records I used they'll be like shit, I can't use that because
it was used on the NYOil joint. I'm starting to get a few calls but not from
the labels yet. I think in time once the song gets to the mainstream, in the
right ears and such, then I'll get the calls. My studio is getting the bulk
of calls not only for that song but for several other projects I am involved
with.
What advice do you have for young deejays just starting out?
Learn the basics 1st. Don't be so quick to download everything.
Spend some time in some old record shops digging for exclusive shit. Learn
how to beat match without a program. Do it by ear. Learn the basic scratches
1st & don't be all gung ho into watchin videos to learn scratches. U
just may come up with some of your own by not listening to everyone else.
What would you say is the biggest obstacle you've been faced with in your career and how did you overcome that? I
have had a few from the loss of mechanical royalties in my dealings with Luke
Records (Specifically Joe Weinberger) Losing a studio I owned down in Miami
(1999) Losing my share of friends/business partners because of this business tothe struggles of running the studio here in Delaware. Each time with any
struggle, I have gently leaned on a few key people including my mother for guidance. Got silent so that I could hear God (The Omnipresent) speak to me.
What's in the future for DJ Slice?
Hopefully to make some really good records. Have my studio become really
successful and expand off of the good music and mixes that come out of it.
As a tablist I wish to cut for 1 to maybe two mc's. 1 male 1 female.. and
maybe even a group. Kinda go back to the way it was when you had the dj
alongside the mc when stuff went down.. Wanting my crew to do big things. <http://www.cratekickers.com/>
, Become the kind of production arm that is Quincy Jones. The type of
songwriter like Stevie Wonder. Maybe even become World DJ Champion. And last but not least, Represent Philadelphia, Delaware and Miami Florida to the fullest as I represent all three.
RUN TINGS definitely wishes DJ Slice the Best as he Continues on that Journey. It's so good to see a Real DJ (and Dope Producer) that's not only Conscious of the Issues facing Hiphop Kulture, but also Doing his Part to Bring them to Light and Correct them.
DJ Slice Key Battle Stats:
Delaware Mix off Champion 1987 & 1988
Bobby Dance DJ Battle Champion 1988 (Philadelphia)
5th Street DJ Mix off Champion 1990 (Miami Florida)
C.I.A Scratch off Champion 1990 & 1991 (Miami Florida)
Budweiser DJ Mix off Champion 1990 & 1999 (Miami Florida)
Gemini DJ Finals Champion 1999 & 2000 (Miami Florida)
Marrs DJ Battle Champion 2000 (Miami Florida)
Hip Hop Elements Mix off 2nd place (Miami Florida)
Paradox DJ Battle 3rd place 1999 (Ft Lauderdale Florida)
Guitar Center Prelims 2nd place and Finalist 1999 (Miami Florida)
Guitar Center Prelims 1st place & Finals 2nd place 2001 (Cherry Hill New Jersey)
Guitar Center Prelims 1st place & Finals Champion 2002 (Cherry Hill New Jersey)
2002 Guitar Center Regional Finalist Top 4
(Washington DC)
2003 Guitar Center Prelims 1st place and Finals 2nd place (Cherry Hill New Jersey)
Somehow it has managed to elude our attention that aside from all of his other accomplishments, DJ Slice is the also the reigning DMC Running Man Champion.
Check It about 4 1/2 minutes in...
Peace, Love, Unity, and HAVING FUN:
There it is!
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