DJ RHETTMATIC  (July 2008) | Interview By: Javon Adams

As ever, you can read this exclusive interview below and we urge you to leave feedback on our forums or email them to Javon Adams.

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Interview was done in June 2008

Questions Asked By: Javon Adams

DJ Rhettmatic Interview Audio: Listen Here
 

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Dubcnn: The one and only DJ Rhettmatic, welcome to Dubcnn. How are you doing?

Thank you. Man, I’m happy to be alive but thank you for having me.


Dubcnn: No problem man. I thank you for taking a few minutes out of your evening. Can you explain turntablism to those that may not be familiar with the term.

Ok. Turntablism, basically it is the art of using the turntable as a musical instrument. Instead of basically being DJs its also being a term called a turntablist. Basically DJs as musicians, using the turntable and scratching and making music out of scratching. Just pure scratching and pure vinyl manipulation. People are always saying that the turntable is only meant for playing records. Well, us “turntablists” have used it as a musical instrument and made music and beats out of scratches from records. No sampling whatsoever. Just straight vinyl manipulation.


Dubcnn: Now I know you’re a member of two different groups. Obviously the World Famous Beat Junkies which is for lack of a better term a turntable band. And then the Visionaries which is a group of more traditional sense with a DJ and emcees. Is that an accurate description?

Yes sir.


Dubcnn: Cool, cool. Now I had a question, I wanted to ask you…you know, hip hop goes through different stages and I remember when the DJ was very much respected in hip hop. You went through a good time where turntablism, the movement was kind of like an in thing and I felt it was getting back to appreciating the DJ. How do you think the DJ is viewed today?

It all depends on where you’re at in the business per se. I think the DJ, no matter what, whether they’re in the forefront or not are always going to be the backbone of the hip hop culture or even in the rap industry. That’s because they play the music they break the music. They’re the ones that put out the music. They’re the ones that actually make the music. Even the greatest producers were DJs before. Like Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Pete Rock, J Dilla, Madlib and the list goes on. So if you know your history you know that at one point they were DJs. It is a natural progression for a DJ to become a producer.

And of course you’ve got mixtape DJs in today’s scheme of things putting out mixtapes per se and trying to put out the new music. Same thing on the radio and same thing in the clubs. The DJs are the ones that control the crowds. That’s basically it. And if you know your hip hop history in terms of the music, for hip hop music the DJ pretty much started the whole musical aspect of hip hop.


Dubcnn: True indeed. Nowadays you think of technology and many industries, hip hop is no different….DJs used to carry crates and crates of 12” records. I had friends that used to do that and now they can carry a jumpdrive with thousands of songs on them or by using the program called Serato. It seems to have saved the DJ in terms of time and money when travelling but what is your opinion on technology and the DJ?

Like in everything else technology puts its hands on it can be good and bad. Like you said, it’s good because it helps save time. Less stress per se, convenience but at the same time it’s almost to the point where its like easy access and makes cats more lazy.

I personally use Serato but at the same time I still buy records just because I come from that generation. And I’ve always said that technology should be used in enhancing what you do not to take over what you do. And I believe that something like Serato…if you use Serato, for those that have been doing it for a long time you deserve it. My man Premier said if you you’ve been lugging crates for so many years, move speakers and putting in some work and perfecting your skills and craft and stuff then you deserve to have Serato. But if cats have not been deejaying I don’t think they can consider themselves a DJ using Serato.

If you were a wack DJ in the beginning using Serato is not going to help you become a better DJ. If you were already a dope DJ Serato will enhance what you can do to make it a little more easier and you still can be dope. Like Jazzy Jeff is a good example. My man Jazzy Jeff, he’s a legendary DJ. He’s one of the pinnacles of what a dope DJ should be. He was the first person that the Junkies had saw use Serato. We were all skeptical of it..naw man vinyl. But if Jazzy Jeff can f*ck it up on the turntables, cutting it up and transforming, doing doubles and all that stuff on Serato then that made me a believer.

If you were like Joe Schmo and never touched a turntable and got a laptop and can DJ and have only been deejaying for three months and getting parties…your not really considered a DJ. You’re just a ‘laptop player’, you know? No disrespect because you have to start somewhere but I just think its like there’s no appreciation for what a lot of cats put into. Like I said, it’s kinda good and bad. It’s like this, would you wanna hear ….no, that’s a bad analogy because I said that before and….I was going to say would you rather make love to a machine or would you rather make love to a real woman. And I don’t know if that cliché would fit or is a good analogy for stuff like that. Its not really the machine, it’s the person. There you go.


Dubcnn: It seems like people are getting into deejaying because of that technology. They think its easy so they don’t really understand all the hard work that goes in.

Exactly. Totally. It’s like it comes down to the same thing too when you’re making…even using the producer’s thing. People using Fruity Loops and their like saying, ‘If you’ve never used and SP1200 then you’re not really a real producer’. But it really comes down to…it’s not really the machine it’s the person behind the machine, the soul that you give to it. So, that’s what I was trying to get at.


Dubcnn: Got you. Now you mentioned that you still collect records and I was reading that you have a very impressive Soul and old school R&B collection. How big is your collection?

That’s a good question. I don’t know. I’ve been, I still collect and I still buy to fill up voids and spaces that either I slept on awhile back that let me fill that gap. You always want to look for something like ‘I wish I had that record’. I lost count honestly. So, I’ve been lucky I’ve been deejaying for almost more than 20 years. So I’ve been lucky to see a lot of things come and go per se. I’m not old *laughs* but I’m lucky to be an experienced veteran.


Dubcnn: Now, I know that you are a talented producer. You still spin in clubs right?

Yes sir


Dubcnn: I know you cut it up and do all those things so how do those talents influence your production style?

Basically, it’s like I said earlier, some of the greatest hip hop producers or producers in general used to be DJs and musicians before. So, I’ve never learned how to play music, like any type of instrument until I got more into production. But that’s all because of deejaying. It was me listening to records, listening to music and how they arranged it on the production. Also as a DJ when you rock the clubs, I take that experience of like how to take that vibe and translate it from the club into production. That’s an art in itself. Some people are just, some are prodigies but in anything you do it takes time to perfect your art. So probably everything I learned from deejaying into my production.

And basically listening to Pete Rock, Dre and Premo, Diamond D, DJ Quik. Just listening to all the greats and I always try to figure out, “How do they do that?”. And of course back then you never had videotapes or DVDs to show you how to make beats. Compared to now with youtube and cats breaking down sh*t like that. We had to figure it out ourselves. Of course back then too, I come from a generation where the term ‘Biting’ which means copying is a big no no. Like if you were to bite someone else’s style you were considered to be a sucker, you know. That was cause for instant fighting. You’re gonna have to fight for that and get a beat down.

In today’s things I guess it’s cool to emulate what’s hot right now. I mean, that’s just how it is I guess. It’s a weird thing but the way I was raised in terms of this culture originality gets more respect. I mean obviously you have someone like The Neptunes and when they first came out everybody sounded like The Neptunes. When Dre started doing the G-Funk thing everybody wanted to do the G-Funk thing. When Dilla came out everybody wanted to do the Neo Soul quote unquote sh*t. Premo did the chops, everybody sounded like Premo.

For me, when I started off of course I emulated all my heroes but I did it in the confines of my bedroom until I figured out how to make my own style. There is a difference between being influenced and copying. As the saying goes, ‘imitation is a form of flattery’ but there’s a thin line.


Dubcnn: That’s true. Now I’ve always wondered how the process works when you’re laying scratches down over a record. For example, I know you did the scratching on the Rassasination record a few years back. How quickly do the scratches come to mind? Is it when you hear the beat, or the verse or whatever part of the chorus? Is it a quick process?

It really depends. It all depends. On Rassasination Ras (Kass) when he asked me to scratch he actually had a phrase already in mind that he wanted me to do. So it was more of a quick process. He told me, ‘Hey, can you bring this record? Can you come to the studio and scratch this and do it over this.’ That’s an easy process.

The hard process is when you hear something like Premier lay scratches for Gangstarr and you hear all of these, like different samples of hooks and sh*t like that and patterns. It’s a long process in itself. Its almost the same thing like an emcee writing. I would have to take time to listen to all my records and listen to records and listen to each verse to find a phrase that would fit. Literally like, ‘I found one phrase. Let me put that aside. Now let me find another record.’ That can either come quickly or that can take a day or two or even longer. Once I put that together now it’s just to figure out how do I put that all together to make sense. And that’s another process of, in my head, listening to the beat and scratch along with it. Then after that it’s me being a DJ, I’m trying to represent and come off dope. I gotta make sure that I come off with dope styles and techniques to represent me yet at the same time the song, ya know?

Some songs it might be slow and you can’t go do a crazy ‘chirp scratch’ unless it’s meant to do that. It’s like the same thing when you write to a song, when an emcee writes to a song you have to find and fit the mood of the song and the vibe of the song. You can’t just go on an all out tangent.


Dubcnn: That’s true.

Basically it’s the same thing when I make beats or when I do scratching I attack it like I’m a musician and I’m part of the instrument. It has to make sense. Like, you don’t scratch into the verses of the rapper cause that’s not part of it. Unless it was meant to do it, ya know? Unless the emcee asks me to scratch in a phrase or scratch it in here. For the most part you have to learn like Music Theory 101. You just have to know the basic bar structures. Like how long is 16 bars? Ok, the hook goes right there. There’s the bridge, there’s the transition and you gotta know exactly. It’s pretty much just general sense of…common sense if you listen to music and you understand music.


Dubcnn: Right. Now you mentioned a little earlier that you’ve been in the game for 20 years plus. Not that finances are everything but how is deejaying and turntablism and producing and the like been for you? Are you able to ‘eat off of the music’?

I’ve been lucky to be doing this professionally. Of course others have made more money than I have but in the scope of things I’d rather have longevity then just be a flash in the pan. I guess to be still relevant and able to still work and do what I love to do, at the end of the day that’s all that matters. That and plus people respect my work. And of course as I get older I would like to have more financial gain but at this particular point I’m not even trippin’ because I get to do what I love to do for a living. You don’t have to pay me to do this. I’d do this for free, ya know?

It’s not easy though. When you’re in the business you have to realize you have to learn how to find your niche or adapt to it …


Dubcnn: Speaking of the niche, do you find that overseas is a big market for you talents? Or is it just about finding the right niche pockets in the states that you cater to as well?

Um, I think it’s a little bit of both. I think at this particular point in my career I think I’m lucky that I can do a little bit of both. Like, overseas is definitely a big market and they are more appreciative of our talents than in the United States. But I’ve also been lucky to do a lot of stuff over here and work with other cats. Whether it be on the underground scene or on the “commercial mainstream” scene. I’ve also been able to meet people throughout the course of my career just meeting people that I’ve either looked up to and become fans of and been able to work with them. And people that, considered the hottest cats coming to me and saying, ‘Yo, I’m a big fan of yours.’ I’m like, “Huh?” I’m still a fan. I’m a hip hop head no matter what. I love what I’m doing and I love this culture. To be able to do what I’m doing and meet people is a blessing.

When I was younger, I think when everybody is young you want to be the dopest. Of course you want to be dope. You want to be the rawest. You want to be the hardest, #1 and sh*t. But now it’s like, man I just want to be respected. I don’t care about being #1. It’s more pressure being #1 than it is just doing you. You know what I’m saying?


Dubcnn: Gotcha. So tell me are there any projects that people should be on the lookout for? Or anything with you and the Beat Junkies or the Visionaries? What’s going on?

Well, a couple of things. One, The Beat Junkies, we do a once a month club called Nightlife at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood. It’s like every second Saturday. It’s us and Iriscience from Dilated Peoples host the party. We’ve been doing that…it’s a 21 and over joint and we’ve been doing that spot for almost, off and on like 7 years. If people want to see the Junkies get down, not on some turntable sh*t but hear good music and wanna dance and just get your groove on and hear good music and have a good time without worrying about how you dress that is where you can see us. We’ll do a little turntable stuff but it’s more like a Grown Folks hip hop thing. Like, where do you get to hear Gangstarr, Dilla, Snoop and Dre, Reggae, Brazilian music and some Funk all in one place and see girls there dancing to that sh*t too? *laughs* And seeing cats like, once in a while, a Bishop Lamont or Madlib or Sean Price from the Bootcamp Click hanging out at this spot. And getting good music, ya know? So that’s one thing that we’ve been doing.


Dubcnn: And you said that’s at the Knitting Factory?

At the Knitting Factory in Hollywood every 2nd Saturday.


Dubcnn: Gotcha.

And then, production wise there’s a couple of things I’m working on. One is that I’m doing a producer’s album. I’m working with this talented producer named J. Rawls from the group Lone Catalyst. People might not know him but he produced ‘Brown Skin Lady’ off of the Blackstarr album with Mos Def and Talib Kweli. So me and him are doing a producer’s album together. We’ve been working on that for almost 2 years, we’re just busy.

I’m doing an EP with this talented rapper from Detroit called Buff One. I’m doing all the production and he’s rhyming. If cat’s want to check him out you can google him B-U-F-F ONE. He’s done work with Guilty Simpson and Elzhi from Slum Village.

And then, mixtapes, I’ve done mixtapes for Guilty Simpson called “Stray Bullett”. And I just finished doing this mixtape for this producer named Khrysis and he’s down with Little Brother and the Justice League camp. So I did a mixtape with him and all his beats. And I’ve still been doing scratches here and there. I did scratches on the Caltroit album with Black Milk and Bishop Lamont and I’m actually doing some scratches for Strong Arm Steady right now. I’ve done scratches for Talib Kweli and a couple of other people. So, you know just trying to stay busy and trying to get my production game up too. Still trying to practice on the DJ tip but not as much as I used to but you know, I try to.


Dubcnn: Well, sounds good man. Any last words for Dubcnn?

Yeah. Thank you for interviewing me. Shout outs to you Javon and shout out to my man J One who hooked it up and sh*t and C-A All Day!