The Studio Star Behind the Fresh Prince: Jazzy Jeff in Rap Express (1991)+podcast

Here is an interview I did with my man Jazzy Jeff a few months ago. I first met Jeff when he did his solo album. I was handling the promo for BBE and I got to hang around with him, take him record shopping with journalists while he was supposed to stay at the hotel etc. So we got to chat but my job was not to harrass him with questions, which got a little bit frustrating. So now I don’t work for BBE anymore so last time he came to town I had the opportunity to sit down with him for 45 minutes to do a proper interview.

Part 1 : On Philly, meeting Will, Word Up, and New-York rappers
Part 2 : On Jive, Hollywood, Kenny Dope, Skillz, Serato, and his favourite DJ
Part 3 : On Columbia, his crew of producers, and BBE

And not that you care, but the magazine scan below is from Rap Express in 1991, the offspring of teen metal magazine Circus. No, I couldn’t find any feature on Jazzy Jeff from any reputable hip-hop magazine.

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince : Capital Radio freestyle part 1
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince : Capital Radio freestyle part 2

Categories : Freestyle, Podcast, DJ.

The Way Of White Folks : DJ Shadow letter to the Source (1991) + new interview

Yeah, I had a hard time finding the MD with the interview, but it was even more difficult to find another mention of DJ Shadow in The Source, besides this letter he wrote to magazine as a young fan in may 1991. I think Elliott Wilson may have mentioned him or Latyrx in his Independents’ Day column years later though.

So here is the audio of the interview I did with him where he talked about the Unsigned Hype demo, Dave Funkenklein, Paris among other things. The only problem is that the interview was not made for radio or broadcast so the sound is not so good, the main problem is that you don’t really hear my questions, sorry.

DJ Shadow interview Part 1 : on his first time spinning on the radio, Dave Funkenklein, the demo, what gear he was using and meeting Paris

DJ Shadow interview Part 2 :  on his little dude days as a digger, meeting James Lavelle, how much of a failure his career was in the US and why he didn’t produce many rappers besides his own crew

DJ Shadow interview Part 3 : On why he changed his sound, his relationship with the press, why he lets the major choosing the singles and why Keak The Sneak and Turf Talk are the best new artists out right now

DJ Shadow interview Part 4 : on how his under-the-radar projects since Private Press should have let us know he was changing, how he still like playing his old stuff, “Broken Levee Blues”, “This Time” and why he has so many songs with vocals on “The Outsider”

Unsigned Hype : DJ Shadow in The Source (1991)

Another Unsigned Hype frow way back, that time Matty C was reviewing a demo tape by the young DJ Shadow. It was in the june 1991 issue of The Source.

I did an interview with Shadow a couple of month ago where we discussed this tape, as well as his beginnings, how he (never) met Dave Funkenklein, how he ruined his american career etc…

It’s in French. I also have the audio (in english) somewhere. I don’t know how people who read this blog feel about audio interviews. Personally I don’t like to listen to interviews on a computer, but I could post it (and others) if you want, just let me know, leave a comment and i’ll see.

DJ Shadow : Last Stop (DivShare)

Deep Concentration : DJ Premier in Rap Pages (1996)

Cover story on DJ Premier from the DJ special issue of Rap Pages. For anyone interested in Dee Jaying this April 1996 issue of Rap Pages is a collector item, I’ll scan more from it if some of you are interested.

DJ Premier : Red Alert Chant

Givin It To Ya Slow : DJ Screw interview from RapPages (1995)

An interview with DJ Screw from Rap Pages, november 1995, part of a larger feature on Houston.

ESG : Flipping