Back in the mid – late 80s, we were wide-eyed, eager club goers from the less than salubrious western suburbs of London, venturing ‘up west’ to try and find the clubs that were playing the funk, soul, jazz, hip hop, electro, disco and early house that our ears were craving. Then spending every Saturday schlepping round the cooler record stores of Soho and the West End looking for the sounds that we were hearing.

Everyone hanging around the counter waiting for the latest import delivery. As well as the deleted albums, 7s and 12s of rare grooves, jazz, funk and soul from back in the day, we lapped up anything that was new, shrink wrapped and came from exotic warm places like New York, Chicago, Spain, Italy and Belgium. For us, as DJs and music collectors, it was all about hanging out in the record shops waiting for the next delivery. Now the music is delivered direct to our hard drive from the artists themselves. Of course the travelling aspect of our job is so much easier now. Two boxes of vinyl that weighed around 30 kilos to a CD wallet and now simply a USB stick, cuts out that nail biting wait by the carousel to see if your box will turn up.

Our collective, eclectic tastes in music are part of the make up of X-Press 2, that whole ethos of finding new sounds but dipping back into the past is part of what we, as clubbers, dancers, DJs and now producers, have always loved about what we’re involved with.

There seems to be a lot of this going on in house music right now, with younger, newer producers and DJs looking back and taking inspiration from what’s gone before and trying to interpret that, but in so doing, creating something all their own and consequently, new. I suppose it’s the constant cycle and recycle of dance music and just what we were doing 20 years ago. We were listening to a lot of disco records, European techno alongside new productions from Chicago.

We took all that and made our own version of it. Something that we’ve continued to do so until now, with the release of our current album, The House of X-Press 2. The results of 25 plus years of inspiration and two years work. Inspired too, by the film Paris Is Burning. A film about the voguing and house ballroom scene in New York from the late 80s/early 90s. A scene at it’s peak around the same time that we started making music.

Twenty years later and the technology that we used couldn’t be more different.

Back then it was a sampler, a PC running some sequencer software and all manner of other kit. We’d spend the first two-three hours every session sampling then getting the samples in time, working out any time stretching on a pencil and paper.

Nowadays we do pretty much everything on one computer program. It’s reduced an entire room full of analogue desk, keyboards, samplers, record decks and outboard gear down to one desk top machine, that samples and stretches pretty much instantly.

The record decks are still there. The one piece of analogue kit that we’ll never lose.

Source:  http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/xpress-/x-press-2-record-decks-analogue-djing_b_1228104.html

Botswana’s house DJs are proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Two of the country’s talented disc spinners, DJ Ricky Lamar and female DJ Jam-n-I have been nominated for the Southern African Dj Magazine Award.

The awards are held every year and according to Sizwe (full name please), a representative of SA DJ MAG, the magazine is “committed to delivering an exciting platform that ultimately rewards artists and those directly involved in the production of music.”

Giving insight on the criteria that was used to select the nominees, Sizwe revealed that a total of 17 categories were opened for selection. Once selections were closed at the end of November 2011, “we moved directly to the judging process where the nominated artists were considered in this initial evaluation process.” DJ JAM-N-I has been nominated in the category of Best Female DJ where she competes with six other DJs from South Africa; Zinhle, Lady Lea, C’indo, Ms Pru, Erica Elle and Ms Jones. Ricky Lamar has been nominated for Best Breaking Through DJ with Groove Candi, Ph, Just Mo, Bullistic, King Deetoy and Deep Xcape.

The two are the only Batswana who have been nominated for these awards and despite the excitement, they are still unsure of certain things.

“I am so excited to be nominated for this award and competing with the likes of Zinhle, DJs I look up to, it means a lot to me. However, I am a bit uneasy because I was told by a friend of mine who lives in the UK who sent me a link of the website and I saw my name there.  SA Dj Magazine has not contacted me and I wonder how it’s going to work ,” says Jam-N-I.

Ricky Lamar heard the good news from a friend, “I can remember the day very well, it was on a Wednesday when I found out from a friend and as exciting as it is. I think I would have preferred if SA Dj Magazine told me about the awards so I can ask questions and find out more about these awards.”

This has left many wondering how prestigious these awards are. There is nothing wrong with the awards, insists Sizwe, revealing that, “the process of updating and refining the SA Dj Mag Award has been an ongoing activity since the inception of the awards. It is an evolutionary process, as the awards have to reflect the state of the Southern African recording industry and the changing tastes of consumers.”

He added that they were in discussions with Sun City about the possibilities of hosting the event at the Super Blow arena on the 3rd of March. “We also opened discussions with ZAR management should we fail to secure a deal with Sun City next week and only then can we start contacting the nominees and make arrangements.’’

Voting will close on the 1st of March and the voting number is +2783142102626. To vote one must send the DJ code to the number +2783142102626, Best Female DJ Jam-n-I (BFD7) and (BT5) for Ricky Lamar.

Source: http://www.gazettebw.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=12276:botswana-djs-nominated-for-dj-magazine-awards&catid=20:timeout 

The X Factor and America’s Got Talent executive producer is developing a reality competition series searching for the world’s best DJ.

Cowell’s SYCO Entertainment is partnering with Jada Pinkett-Smith and Will Smith‘s Overbrook Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television to launch the format, which is expected to be shopped internationally and domestically.

“DJ’s are the new rock stars, it feels like the right time to make this show,” Cowell said in a statement announcing the news.

The as yet untitled DJ show joins The X Factor, America’s Got Talent, American Inventor, Celebrity Duets Pop Idol – andAmerican Idol – and a slew of other reality competition series that Cowell has had a hand in.

Cowell reacted to the DJ news Wednesday on Twitter, clarifying his role in the potential series.

“Excited to announce new DJ show. I will NOT be judging this show. Excited to be working with@jadapsmith. Stay tuned!” he tweeted.

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/simon-cowell-dj-talent-show-jada-pinkett-smith-284898 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYml12HpVX8

They’re among Pioneer’s most popular products, sought after by DJs who want equipment that looks as good as it sounds. With their superb high-definition audio, stunning club-quality effects and sleek user-friendly design, the industry-standard CDJ-2000 and DJM-900nexus offer the ultimate in style and substance.

So, DJs are in for a serious treat as Pioneer launches limited edition white versions of its flagship multi-player and mixer. And, with just 1,000 units of the CDJ-2000 Limited and 500 of the DJM-900nexus Limited available worldwide, these unique pieces are sure to be snapped up quickly.

With the CDJ-2000 and DJM-900nexus, club-quality sound, high-end design, professional effects and cross-equipment connectivity come as standard. Featuring customised symbol plates embossed with limited edition serial numbers, the brilliant-white versions of Pioneer’s ever-popular player and mixer will stand out in any environment.

The CDJ-2000 Limited and DJM-900nexus Limited will be available from February 2012 at a SRP of 1,599 GBP including VAT.

- KEY FEATURES OF THE CDJ-2000 LIMITED

1.) Supports music from any source and works intuitively with DJ software
- The player supports various media formats, so DJs can simply plug and play music from laptops, USB keys, SD memory cards, CDs and digital files in multiple formats, including MP3, AAC, WAV and AIFF.

- DJs can play from our rekordbox™ software, directly from the player, for ultimate flexibility and creativity. rekordbox analyses the BPM and beat position of songs from your computer, allowing DJs to categorise music by genre and create playlists before a gig. Songs and playlists can be easily transferred from rekordbox to the player via USB, while cue and loop settings can be recalled during the set for truly crowd-pleasing performances.

- Adding yet another layer of user-friendly flexibility to the CDJ-2000 Limited is the built-in PRO DJ Link, which removes the need for lots of connections and cables and allows DJs to concentrate on what they do best. Using just one LAN cable, DJs can connect up to four CDJ-2000s and instantly share music and data between the players. Plus, the DJM-900nexus can be linked to the players, so highly accurate BPM and beat location information can be sent straight to the mixer from the CDJ-2000s.

2.) Delivers master-quality, club-standard sound
Accurate sound reproduction is guaranteed with the CDJ-2000 Limited’s master-quality, 24-bit/48 kHzsound card andhigh-efficiency, Wolfson Microelectronics-manufactured D/A converter, so DJs can deliver club-standard audio that will please even the most discerning ear.

3.) Large, full-colour 6.1-inch LCD display
An oversized, full-colour screen enhances the CDJ-2000 Limited’s operability: playlists are easy to browse through; album artwork is clearly displayed; waveforms are instantly viewable; and track information can be read easily.

4.) Needle Search™ function
Pioneer’s unique Needle Search function replicates the experience of using an old-school turntable – DJs simply touch the jog wheel at their chosen point in the track and press play.

- KEY FEATURES OF THE DJM-900nexus LIMITED

1.) Four-channel sound card offers excellent input and output with no loss of sound quality
An integrated 24-bit/96 kHz USB sound card allows for pristine sound reproduction and eliminates the need for third-party audio interfaces, while the 32-bit digital processor ensures there is no degradation of the source audio. The mixer’s four input and four output lines operate simultaneously and the output signal path can be changed to suit DJs’ needs – whether they are performing, recording or producing.

2.) Complete Traktor compatibility so DJs can simply plug in and play
Laptops can be connected to the mixer using just one cable, allowing DJs to instantly access Digital Vinyl Systems such as Traktor. The DJM-900nexus Limited’s output can be sent straight back to Traktor so DJs can record their mixes at the push of a button. Plus, Traktor’s timecode feature lets DJs spin and scratch digital files using vinyl and CD control without the Traktor sound card.

3.) A wide range of high-definition effects for truly creative DJing
The DJM-900nexus Limited is home to the intuitive X-Pad, a touch-sensitive strip that allows DJs to simultaneously engage Beat Effects and adjust functions like Reverb, Roll Time and Phaser LFO – using just one finger. The X-Pad lends itself to truly brilliant performances, offering an instant trigger with Quantize timing for live edits that are perfectly on beat. And because there’s no longer any risk of using manually timed effects, it’s easier to be much more creative.

Professional-quality effects include:
- Reverb: Deliver processor-intensive reverbs without relying on unstable laptops. The Reverb function brings studio-quality effects with a two-minute tail, pitched room size control and input frequency filtering for crowd-stunning results.
- Spiral: Create psychedelic breakdowns and interludes with a single hit using this pitch echo. Modeled on a tape delay effect, it offers the kind of stunning feedback looping usually only found in studio plugins.
- Slip Roll: The ultimate beat-mashing tool, the Slip Roll effect puts rhythmic slicing right at DJs’ fingertips. Use the X-Pad to continuously re-sample and loop chunks of audio as you slide between loop sizes, perfectly in time with the beat.

4.) Built-in Pro DJ Link enhances performances
Linking the DJM-900nexus Limited to a CDJ-2000 allows perfectly accurate BPM and beat location information to be exchanged between mixer and player, so effects can be applied without losing the beat. Status alert lights flash when the CDJ has been engaged, so DJs know when a track is playing out to the speakers. The true benefit of Pro DJ Link can be seen with Beat effects as they can apply rekordbox BPM and beatgrid information from compatible Pioneer DJ players to keep the effects in perfect time. Cue Link, meanwhile, acts as an additional audio channel so DJs can preview tracks through their headphones, straight from rekordbox.

5.) Next generation durable fader
The DJM-900nexus series boasts Pioneer’s most robust faders to date offer the ultimate in durability both above and below deck. The internal fader component is positioned out of harm’s way, sparing it from drink spillages during performance, while the external P-Lock Fader Caps prevent the faders from slipping accidentally.

- MAIN SPECIFICATIONS – CDJ-2000 LIMITED

Playable media Music CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD±R, DVD±RW, DVD±R-DL, USB devices, SD memory card
Playable files MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF
USB storage support file systems FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, HFS+
Frequency response 4 Hz to 20 kHz
S/N ratio Min. 115 dB (JEITA)
Total harmonic distortion 0.0018％
USB ports A port x 1, B port x 1
Audio outputs Audio Out x 1 (RCA), Digital Out x 1 (Coaxial)
Other ports Control x 1 (ö 3.5 mini-plug)
Audio output voltage 2.0 Vrms
Power rating AC 100 V (50 Hz/60 Hz)
Electricity consumption 28 W
Maximum external dimensions
(W x H x D) 320 x 106.4 x 405.7 mm
Weight (unit) 4.6 kg

- MAIN SPECIFICATIONS – DJM-900nexus LIMITED

No. of channels Audio 4-channel, MIC 2-channel
Inputs CD/Line x 4 (RCA), Line x 2 (RCA), Phono x 2 (RCA), Digital In x 4 (Coaxial), MIC x 2 (XLR and 1/4-inch Phone multi-use x 1, 1/4-inch Phone x 1)
Outputs Master Out x 2 (RCA x 1, XLR x 1), Booth Out x 1 (1/4-inch PHONE), Headphone Monitor Out x 1 (top side 1/4-inch Phone x 1), REC Out x 1 (RCA), Digital Out x 1 (Coaxial)
Other ports Send x 1 (1/4-inch Phone), Return x 1 (1/4-inch Phone), MIDI Out x 1 (5P DIN), USB B port x 1, Link port x 1
Sampling rate 96 kHz
D/A converter 32-bit
A/D converter 24-bit
Frequency response 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Total harmonic distortion Max. 0.004%
S/N ratio Min. 107 dB (Line)
Head room 19 dB
Power rating AC 100 V (50 Hz/60 Hz)
Electricity consumption 42 W
Maximum external dimensions
(W x H x D) 　 331 x 108 x 409 mm
Weight (unit) 7.1 kg

- MAIN SPECIFICATIONS – rekordboxTM MUSIC MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE

Supported OS Mac OSX (10.4.6 and above), Windows Vista® Home Basic/Home Premium/Ultimate/ Business, Windows® XP Home Edition/Professional (SP2 or above)
Playable files MP3, AAC, WAV, AIFF
System requirements
CPU Mac OS X: Intel®Core Duo (or compatible processor) 1.83 GHz or above, Windows Vista® and Windows® XP: Intel® Pentium® 4 (or compatible processor) 2 GHz or above
Memory Min. 512 MB
Free space on HDD Min. 250 MB (excluding space required for saving music files, etc.)
Disc drive CD-ROM drive
Display Resolution of at least XGA (1024 × 768)

About Pioneer Europe
Pioneer Europe NV is the regional European headquarters of the Pioneer Corporation, a global leader in electronics and audio/video products for the home, car, commerce and industry, particularly in the following core multimedia technologies digital versatile disc (DVD), in-car navigation and AV systems. Its shares are traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

For all media enquiries, please contact Pioneer within your countryhttp://www.pioneer.eu/eur/content/company/company/locations….

For images please visit http://www.prosvlink.net press access password: prodj321
For videos please visit http://www.youtube.com/pioneerdjglobal

Alternatively, contact Pioneer DJ (European Marketing Dept): pioneerdjpress@pioneer.eu

http://www.djsounds.com
http://www.youtube.com/pioneerdjsounds
http://www.facebook.com/pioneerdjglobal
http://www.twitter.com/pioneerdjglobal
http://www.youtube.com/pioneerdjglobal

Source: http://www.responsesource.com/releases/rel_display.php?relid=69637

The dance music giant showed his caring side by acting on a message left by shop manager Becs Croce on his website.

The presentation, which has gone on sale for £200 at the Regent Street branch, has been turning heads since going in the window on Monday.

Fan Becs, 38, left the message on fatboyslim.net in October, a few weeks before he appeared at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon.

“When we received the signed T-shirt and picture I was over the moon.”

- Fan Becs

She said: “He does a lot of work for Oxfam and had a gig in Swindon so I wrote and asked him if he would donate anything, as I thought it would tie in nicely.

“When we received the signed T-shirt and picture I was over the moon, I was jumping around and I think there were a few squeals.

“I had it looked at by the Autograph store, in the Brunel Centre, and a valuations team before we turned it into a presentation.

“It looks so good I want to buy it myself, and I can only be hugely thankful and grateful that we have some brilliant people who support the charity.”

The presentation includes a black T-shirt signed by the multi-million selling DJ, real name Norman Cook, above a photograph also bearing his signature.

The items were sent through the post after Becs left a message on the ‘Ask Norman’ page of his website.

The superstar followed up on his Twitter feed by sharing Bec’s tweets about the donation with his followers.

She said: “I don’t want to sound like a stalker, but I think he’s great. I’m a massive fan.

“We are very lucky that he sent us the donations, I’m chuffed.”

Cook, 48, played in a packed-out Oxfam shop last year as part of his involvement with the charity, saying he wanted to help fight poverty.

The event at a branch in Dalston, East London, was held to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the Oxjam festival.

He said at the time: “The reason I’ve been involved with Oxjam in previous years is that, as well as being one of the highlights of my DJing calendar.

“I see it as the best way for people to use their love of music to help a really worthwhile charity like Oxfam.”

Source: http://www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk/news/9482716.DJ_Fatboy_Slim_responds_to_fan___s_request_to_help_Swindon_Oxfam_shop/ 

Growing up in Paris, Garnier’s first club experiences would not compare to what he would encounter when he traveled to cities with more established electronic dance music scenes. In the late ‘80s, Garnier found himself in Manchester for work and devoted his spare time to music as he held residency at the popular club, Haçienda, under the alias, DJ Pedro.

Through the internationalism of the club scenes in the UK at this time, Garnier absorbed the sounds of acid house and techno coming from the US as interpreted by the British. A trip to New York followed several years later, and by the time he returned to Paris to settle down once more, Garnier was beaming with inspiration he was ready to share. His first acclaimed track, “Acid Eiffel,” spurred the acquisition of house music in France as the development of French electronic dance music as a whole began to take off. In following years, he kept up with music production and played often in local hot spots—such as Le Boy, Le Queen, Le Palace and The Rex—as he gained attention worldwide as a DJ.

Now, with over 25 years in the making, Garnier shows an amount of dedication to his work with the projects he takes up, from hosting his online radio show, Pedro’s Broadcasting Basement, to writing his biography, Electrochoc. He also allows his eclecticism to shine through his productions by allowing them to branch out from their techno base to contemporary cutting-edge territories, with his latest full length Tales of a Kleptomaniactouching on jazz and dubstep. Recently he developed a way to change up his music delivery to his audience via the Live Booth Sessions (L.B.S.), aka Loud Bass and Samples, project, which merges DJing with live instrumentation for a new and intimate club experience.

L.B.S. is made up of Garnier and his friends, Scan X and Benjamin Rippert, on machines and keyboards respectively. Garnier acts as a composer for this performance that clocks in at five hours—a unique set for his first SF appearance in over ten years that is not to be missed.

Source: http://pulse.sfstation.com/2012/01/18/laurent-garnier-returns-for-first-sf-appearance-in-10-years-with-cutting-edge-dj-performance/

Tiesto has certainly done well for himself, enough so to herald DJs as the new rock stars and attempt to lend some credibility to that claim by way of a 10-episode behind-the-scenes original web series.

In the Booth is the online original program we told you about back in June 2010, produced in partnership with Believe Entertainment Group (the same entity behind The Lebrons), featuring days in the lives of the globe-trotting, millionaire DJ Tiesto both on and off stage, as well as a number ofBehind the Music-style talking heads commenting on the series’ star.

The trailer dropped this week, with promises of the debut to air this week as well.

It looks okayish, especially if you’re a Tiesto fan, but it also looks exactly like anything that’s aired on Biography in the past twenty years. If Tiesto is a rock star for Genereation Whatever-Comes-After-Generation-Next, then he should’ve aimed for a much more contemporary production style in his documentary to show it.

Here’s a tip for celebrities who want to get themselves on camera in any type of biographical capacity. Check out VoyR.

Source: http://news.tubefilter.tv/2012/01/19/are-djs-the-new-rockstars/ 

Don’t know Ill Will? Well, then we don’t want to know you, because after hosting some of Hip-Hop’s most downloaded mixtapes, Ill Will is at the forefront of online mixtape DJs, and has embedded his footprint on the Los Angeles and online Hip-op scene for years to come.

Always thinking ahead of the curve, DJ Ill Will’s path in the game hasn’t been like typical club or street DJ. After leaving South Bend post-college and making the jump to Los Angeles, Ill Will has been developing his lane online for roughly the past five years, mostly via the Alumni Music Group brand and its flagship artist, Kid Ink, who has 30 million plus views online.

Trust us when we say that your wifey knows a song is a hit record, especially when she hears the “cuff yo chick,” drop on a DJ Ill Will mixtape. But that name brand recognition didn’t just evolve over night. Ill Will credits his early embrace of the more Pop and R&B-sounding Hip-Hop artists in ’07, as the bridge that led to his work with Soulja Boy, Tyga, Ya Boy, Wiz Khalifa, Gudda Gudda, Bow Wow, Jae Millz, Yung Berg, Trey Song, and Drake, to name a few.

So what does Ill Will think it takes to make it these days? What is the best way for artists get their music posted by taste-making bloggers and popular websites? Take a look at AllHipHop.com’s exclusive sit-down with one of the hottest online mixtape DJs in the game, as we go to school with Ill Will and find out what it takes to be an “Alumni.”

AllHipHop.com: Ill Will, what’s good, sir!?

DJ Ill Will: Chillin,’ man. We on the West Coast, so I’m just getting my day started, was in the studio late last night.

AllHipHop.com: Ok, that’s whats up.

DJ Ill Will: Yeah, we were in there with Kid Ink and Ty$.

AllHipHop.com: Word, that’s dope. So to get started, for the viewers that don’t know, tell us a little bit about your background.

DJ Ill Will: Yeah, to be honest I’m originally from South Bend, Indiana, graduated from college and moved to L.A., no aspirations to join the music industry. It just so happened I kind of became friends with a lot of upcoming rappers.  So, I did my first mixtape in ’07 just to support some kids locally and kind of help them find a different kind of fan base. I have always been big on using online blogs and forums, before it was as big as it is now, and a lot of these kids that we knew were just ‘hood rappers that were talented, but they didn’t really understand the online game. I just started dabbling in the mixtape game just to really try to give them another outlet and sense of awareness and it kind of just exploded and went from a hobby to a career [laughter].

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, man, over the last couple years, you have had some of the biggest mixtapes to drop in the game. From Wiz to Kid Ink, to Chris Brown and Tyga to Soulja Boy, you have been busy, bro.

DJ Ill Will: Yeah, it was perfect timing, and when I first started online was kind of frowned upon and people were considered internet DJs, and as time went on, and as the Internet became a focal point, I think that it really kind of turned the tables for my career because it went from frowned upon to being embraced, and already I was a foot ahead of the competition because I had built my awareness online, people trusted my brand. So you know once that whole thing hit, when people would be like, “you have to get it poppin online,” I was just one of the go-to guys. It kind of just happened that way, and I was just working with Tyga and Chris Brown and Bow Wow, Soulja Boy, and it kind of just exploded after that.

AllHipHop.com: Ok, that’s not a bad start. So, Tyga and Chris Brown and Bow Wow were some of your first real big mixtapes?

DJ Ill Will: Yeah, definitely, as far as like Tyga, I been working with Tyga since ‘07 or ‘08, and being he is from L.A., I was heavy in the streets out here, because I was working with all the West Coast artists. Tyga, I’m not saying he was a fan, but he was aware of my importance out here on the West Coast, and as he evolved, I tried to evolve as well to work with bigger and bigger acts, and taking advantage of that.

Then he teamed up to Chris and he reached out to me to be a part of that project, you know because obviously he was just being a loyal person because I was down with him when nobody else was really f*ckin with him. So working on the project with Chris was definitely one of the biggest projects I did, and probably the only thing that could compete with that is Wiz’s Burn After Rolling and Meek Mill’s Mr. Philadelphia, things like that. Obviously, Kid Ink’s projects now are doing extremely real well at this point ,so I could say they are definitely in that competition level of those projects as well.

AllHipHop.com: Talk to me about your relationship with Kid Ink. He’s the main artist you are working with right now, right?

DJ Ill WIll: Yeah, I’m the CEO of the Alumni Music Group, and Kid Ink is the flagship artist on the team. I was successful getting my money up, and I was doing well in the mixtape game, and I was looking for something else because I don’t want to be a mixtape DJ at 50 or 60 years old. So, I had been looking for years for the right artist to manage, and you know I took a couple shots and tried it just didn’t fit. But when I heard him, I was like, “Wow, this kid is gonna be a problem.” I sat down got the business right, and we explored what we both wanted to do professionally, and it was a perfect fit, and bam, it’s been a blessing, the kid is a work-a-holic, which is perfect for me.

AllHipHop.com: That’s whats up, man. So, how did you come up with phrases and drops used in your mixtapes?

DJ Ill Will: Early on, I was only doing West Coast mixtapes, and I was going for a more rugged appeal, and I just realized, I’m not a real rugged gangster dude, and I wasn’t trying to bite off those mixtape DJs heavy in the streets and those type of DJs that have that appeal.  So I said let me separate myself from the music that I don’t do and I always liked the urban pop and R & B. I always f*cked with more urban pop than electro or club pop.  So I sat down one day, I came to a realization that I needed to be in a different lane, being more pop than street. So I started dabbling in the R&B mixtape scene, dealing with a few artists that were more pop than street, then that’s when it all started making sense. Then my friend was like, “You’re like the only mixtape DJ that my girl will listen to; you’re my wifey’s favorite DJ.” I was like, “Ohh that’s so ill, I gotta use that.” So that was so ill I had to use it, and that was recorded and remade and redid, so it was really clean.

Basically, man, like my whole awareness popped off on the Internet when I would leak these big records on the Internet from huge artists. When I was leaking these big records from huge artists, I would put, “cuff yo’ chick,” on all the big records. So I don’t put “cuff yo’ chick,” on every record – only the dope ones – and I just put it on all these records and so I  put that tag on only a 1/10 of the records that are really out there and only the biggest ones. So if you hear “cuff yo chick,” you know its gonaa be a big record, it just kind of evolved and the records spread across the world to where it kind of just brainwashed them.

AllHipHop.com: OK, tough question, man…Live Mixtapes or DatPiff?

DJ Ill Will: Dat Piff all day.

AllHipHop.com: How come?

DJ Ill Will: Well, my relationship started with Dat Piff started with me just being a fan, and I just was like if you are going to be the featured mixtape, you made it. That’s how big of a fan I was. I never reached out to them, but the timing was right and they reached out to me, and the relationship was built organically. But the dude that runs the site KP is one of the coolest, dopest dudes I met on the website. So DatPiff and HotNewHipHop are my sites I go to everyday.

AllHipHop.com: The L.A. Hip-Hop scene is really budding, things are really shaking out nicely out there. Can you explain your take on the LA Hip-Hop scene?

DJ Ill Will: I mean, L.A. right now is on the verge of breaking, and I think it’s a whole new wave, I think it was a very confused movement for a while. It was like so West Coast, like gangsta with khakis and Chucks, gangter, Crips and Bloods, and it was like so many kids thought they had to follow that format, and it wasn’t right. People felt they had to make certain types of records with that khakis, low-rider, g-funk sound music, and because the way the West Coast was perceived outside of the west was the same, and I don’t think it was right or that people believed it.  So I think eventually these young kids were like, “f*ck that, we don’t listen to that,” and just started creating their own sound, thats where you see the YG’s popping up. Nipsey Hussle is one of dopest artists out right now; Kid Ink, Schoolboy Q is getting big now, Kendrick Lamar, Casey Veggies, Dom Kennedy, Pac Div, there’s so hot many artists out here on the West Coast and it’s not just regionally. I am really excited to be a part of it, because I really believe in it this time around.

AllHipHop.com: That’s crazy, man. It’s dope, man. Just thinking about it, you just listed off a whole bunch of artists, bro. Its impressive what the West has to offer now.

DJ Ill Will: [laughter] Yeah, man. There’s a huge movement out here and these kids are doing their own shows and its never been like that on the West Coast. To even pack a club, it would have to be three or four New West acts, but it would be 500 rappers standing around mean-muggin.’ Now, it’s like thousands of White kids at a Kid Ink or Tyga show, kids screaming and yelling, trying to pull their shirt off. It’s crazy.

AllHipHop.com: It’s funny how it just takes a lil’ bit for the scene to evolve.

DJ Ill Will: That’s exactly what happened, and even Wiz, I would consider Wiz as a West Coast artist. He’s as West Coast as it gets, to keep it 100, and I think that he helped evolve the scene, letting artists know that you don’t have to go that lane and opened some doors and let artists know that you can still be accepted and appreciated.

AllHipHop.com: Throughout the convo, we have talked about online marketing and developing an online presence. If you can, give your overall feelings about the online world with mixtape DJs etc., your feelings about the growing your buzz as an artist.

DJ Ill Will: Well, I think right now it’s more competitive than ever, and it’s really tough for a new person to crack. I think that it all really begins in the streets. You can’t just get on the Internet. I don’t think that you can just go out there spamming people with your link. I think that it starts with the buzz and movement in the streets, getting people to talk about you, and share your info with people online. I think the work ethic and the quality has to be high quality dope artwork and videos.

I think videos are the new mixtape. If you are shooting quality videos for dope records, more people are going to take two minutes out of their day to watch a video than to go to a website, download a link, unzip it, burn it to a CD and put it in their car. There are so many steps that it takes to actually get people to listen to you, I think that if you shoot five dope videos to your records then your buzz is really going to change. The YouTube movement is crazy. Kid Ink has 30 million YouTube views, and I can’t tell you how important it has been for our movement.

You have to understand it’s so competitive. There are like a million artists out there, and it’s just so hard that its really key to get people not depend on HotNewHipHop’s, Rap Radar, 2Dopeboyz, NahRight, OnSmash, and Hot New Hip-Hop. It’s too competitive to dry e-mail them and expect them to embrace you; it’s just not going to happen.

AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I know what you mean, bro. It gets hectic.

DJ Ill Will: You can try and keep up with it, but then it becomes your job to listen to music 24/7. You couldn’t imagine how many people bang on me, and you can’t take it personal and its really not personal because they don’t know me and I don’t know them. I would have gave you the chance, but you are couple years late online. So to add, I think they need to find a local DJ to run with them, that’s going to be key for them, to have a middle man and someone that can push their music for them.

AllHipHop.com: That’s good advice, man. Everyone thinks they need to be on those sites.

DJ Ill Will: But you really don’t. Odd Future, they created a movement from the streets and of “ 2dopeboyz,” or “f*ck NahRight,” because they were getting no support. Like they worshiped those websites and never got embraced, and they went a different route and those websites still don’t f*ck with them, and they got a huge buzz.  They never got that blog support from them, they created a new movement through the streets. They went through YouTube, Tumblr, Twitter, whatever they did. They are where they are and people are forced to f*ck with them, because they are so hot and once you create a certain amount of traffic, whether you like an artist or not, the Internet game is all a business. If you aren’t bringing traffic to the site, then you aren’t going to be in business long.

AllHipHop.com: Explain your role as a producer, or any role you are looking to take in the future as an A & R.

DJ Ill Will: I think a lot of people, they think that I produce and make beats, but I definitely am not that guy.  (laughs) Any bit of production that I do is more along the lines of picking out beats for a project as an A&R to find the right sound and right producer and getting in the studio with Kid Ink.  Like, this is the kind of sound that I want to go with you, just trying to evolve the sound, and take it to that next level by being creative, but staying in the same mold.

I would consider my self as a producer with Ink because I have been there from the ground up with him as far as helping him evolve his sound. Whether it just is feedback or production that I get to him or by saying, “yes this is the right record,” or, “no this isn’t the right record.”  So, I would consider myself a producer in the aspect that I help him decide which records to push and which records are hot and which ones to keep on the shelf and which ones to push. People hit me every day like, “you are the best producer ever!” But I have never made a beat in my entire life.

AllHipHop.com: [laughter] So when you DJ, are there any particular pieces of equipment that you like to use?

DJ Ill Will: Pretty much, I bring my Serato, and I deal with whatever the club has to work with. Technology has evolved so much at this point that quality should never be an issue, but the key is always making sure your brand is always quality and top of the line.

Source: http://allhiphop.com/2012/01/19/dj-ill-will-alumni-status/