I’m about to use a real cliché saying but it has to be done. If you were to look up Midwest DJ in the dictionary you would undoubtedly see a picture of Chicago’s own DJ Fokis. He is to the Chi what DJ Skee is to Cali, what Flex is to New York. Through his relentless grind, 'Mr. Luxury Tax' himself has made it so it’s his name on the marquis.

From working with Deathrow Records to putting out his own independent EP’s, it’s no surprise he’s earned himself the name, the 'Bull of the Industry'.  While he is a beast on the turntables, Fokis has found ways to generate revenue through different avenues of hip-hop which most have never taken advantage of before.

Fokis is also known for keeping his ear to the street and is dedicated to helping the new school of MC’s reach their potential in the game. Fokis is what a DJ is supposed to be. Sixshot.com recently caught up with DJ Fokis to discuss his upcoming EP, the Chicago hip-hop scene, and the internet as a marketing tool.

So tell us man, how did you get into spinning?

Basically I have the same story that a lot of DJ’s have which is I got inspired by seeing someone else do it. I had a lot of relatives, cousins, and close family members that had the DJ equipment set up in the basement and I alwa ys wondered what it was. A pivotal point for me was at this block party when I was a kid. There was a DJ there and I just stood there and watched him for like 30 or 45 minutes. I wasn’t even playing in the hydrant or riding my bike or nothin’. I was just standing there watching and trying to figure out what he was doing. It all went from there man. It was the early 1980’s up until now.

A lot of people say the role of the DJ and the mixtape game in Chicago is different than it is in New York or Los Angeles. Would you say that’s true?

I would say it’s partially true because we don’t have a major label presence out here. We gotta make our own movements and have our own infrastructure as branding goes. We might not have the dollars behind us that New York, Los Angeles, or even Atlanta at this point might have as far as a major label or an independent label with some good capital behind it. DJ’s such as my peers or myself have to start from the ground up. With the emergence of the internet, I’m a big online guy. I deal with marketing myself mostly through the internet as far as Apple and Itunes.

As far as Chicago goes as opposed to Los Angeles or New York I would day we’re more home grown, more grass roots. We’re quick to do the legwork as opposed to having a label do it for us. I feel we deal with the people on a more personal level.

So the internet has been really useful for you?

It’s been really useful to me. My rise to being popular was through the internet. I released I Can Get Ya Block Knocked Off: Volume 1 with Death Row, Suge Knight, and Warlord back in 2006. We put it on my website as a free promotion and we got a quarter million downloads. From that point on, I started riding the momentum of that wave and I started branding, a lot of merchandising and guest hosting. I pumped out a lot of music from local artists and I just kept the momentum going. I was real consistent.

What is your relationship with Suge Knight and Death Row?

We worked together in 2006 and everything is still good with us. I mostly talk to the former vice president of Deathrow. He ended up parting ways with them and starting his own entertainment company. Suge, they just released a commercial for a reality show that I guess he’s been shopping to the networks but as far as out relationship goes it’s always been good. I got nothin’ but love for them.

Do you try to help out the independent artists in Chicago?

I’m always looking for independent artists in Chicago. I’m always getting press releases and stuff for unsigned artists. You can’t really call yourself a Chicago DJ if you don’t help put Chicago artists. You can’t have a rapper without a DJ and you can’t have a DJ without a rapper. I’m always looking for new artists and I have a circle of artists that I continue to work with and support and they support me as well. It’s a scratch my back and I’ll scratch your back type of situation.

In the future, will you put in work with the bigger artists in Chicago like Common, Kanye, No ID, and Twista?

Definitely, if the love is shown. If we cross paths and I respect their work and they respect mine then absolutely. There has to be a musical chemistry there. You can’t just put two songwriters, DJ’s, singers, producers, or rappers in a room together and expect them to make music. It has to be right. It’s a give and take and I’m willing to accept the challenges of working with the Bump J and Lupe artists of the city.

With all the success Chicago has had why do you think it still feels a little underrated?

I would say it’s the over saturation of the market, too much supply and not enough demand especially when it comes to rap music. People start turning a deaf ear and a blind eye because a lot of the music is not quality. As far as Chicago we haven’t had that empire or that movement yet because everybody hasn’t started working together. We have small circles working together but they’re so small that they might not have that marketing or those dollars behind them to really put it out there. We have our DJ’s out here that do their part but even I have to branch out to other cities.

How do you feel about the fact that there are so many mixtapes popping up on a weekly basis nowadays?

It’s all about the quality. I’m not gonna knock nobody’s hustle. Some dudes are calling themselves exclusive and when I hear it and it’s new to me I take my hat off to them for finding that track. A lot of cats are calling themselves exclusive but they’re taking a song and blending the lyrics with another beat and that’s not exclusive. A lot of cats don’t even know what to call exclusive and what to call an official mixtape. My personal take on it is that a lot of cats are just putting things out just to put them out. They got their hustle game on but do they hold any significance?  Are they gonna change the game? It’s a bargain bin type of situation where a DJ puts out 40, 50, or 60 mixtapes but they don’t have an impact.

Alright Fokis, what do you have coming up that we can check for?

I’m supposed to be starring in a movie this summer. I’m doing a lot of stuff with Red Bull. We just did something with Madlib where producers got to see some of the ins and outs of the industry. Fourth quarter, I’m looking to release an 8 song EP on Itunes, Sony, and Yahoo, called Bullacratic. It’s not a political album but it’s politically themed. You got Republicans, Democrats, and then you have Bullacrats, which fits with my 'Bull of the Industry' theme.

Anything you wanna say to your fans out there?

I appreciate the love and support. Keep buying the music. Check me on Youtube and Myspace of course. For merchandise you can check out Zazzle.Com.