To people who aren’t in depth when it comes to Hip-Hop, the job of being a DJ might just be oblivious to them. Reason being is because most likely their eyes are fixated on the person walking back and fourth with the microphone on stage, rather than looking at someone who isn’t spot lighted standing behind a table with two record players and miles and miles of wires coming from everywhere which resemble octopus tentacles. It just doesn’t seem too appealing now does it

Sometimes it’s easy to compare DJ’s to NFL place kickers: Their occupation goes unnoticed unless they mess up, and then all the blame gets put on them. Outside of the record spinner community, only a handful technique technicians have managed to become household names amongst those that know the very least about their profession. 

Radio DJ’s and club DJ’s usually have a good rapport with the people who absorb their sounds via ear drums, and for the individuals who listen to LA’s Power 106, DJ Revolution should have an even better relationship with them.

The sound man behind Sway and Tech’s Wake Up Show has 15 years of cutting, scratching, and spinning experience under his belt—and now adds the title of producer to an already impressive resume. Inking a deal with Duck Down Records for the release of his King Of The Decks project, the 1200 specialist is determined on recreating the chemistry between “rhyme-sayer” and “record player”; so recruiting acts like Sean Price, Guilty Simpson, Royce Da 5’9”, Bishop Lamont, KRS-One and Joell Ortiz is definitely a start. 

SixShot.com: Talk about your project a little, King Of The Decks…
 
DJ Revolution: Well all those songs been floating around in my head for a couple of years now, I just didn’t have the resources and the timing wasn’t right. But when I started putting all these songs together, the “King Of The Decks” came from this tattoo that I have. I had my artist draw a card with me in the center, and I told him to make me a playing card, so I could put it on my arm. I looked pretty fresh, and then I thought about making it an album concept. I wanted to make a whole bunch of songs that fell under that umbrella, and not necessarily all DJ-oriented but have a heavy DJ influence.
 
SixShot.com: Was it hard getting the people you wanted for the project?
 
DJ Revolution: It wasn’t hard reaching out to them, but it was hard coordinating all the sessions and making sure all the business was straight. I was doing all of that myself, and I was doing that before I had any situation with Duck Down. The song I have with KRS-One was already completed before I even started talking to Duck Down. So as for the business aspect, it was really hard because I really don’t like doing administrative work, I’m more of the creative type. But I suffered through it because it was worth it, and the end result is ridiculous.
 
SixShot.com: So is it all original music?
 
DJ Revolution: Yup… It’s all new music one hundred percent, all original stuff straight from scratch.
 
SixShot.com: Did you produce a lot of the material?
 
DJ Revolution: Yeah, I produced 99.9% of the songs on there. Besides that, Marco Polo did a track and I collaborated with [DJ] Nu-Mark from Jurassic 5 on another song. 

SixShot.com: Was it a natural transition for you going from DJ’ing to producing?
 
DJ Revolution: I think it is a natural progression for most DJ’s, but I’ve been making beats for a long time. There’s a difference between making beats and producing, you know? I was DJ’ing for about 7-8 years before I started making beats, and producing is different because you’re interacting with the artist; you’re making a record you’re not just making a “beat.” I feel like once you’ve been DJ’ing and you know music well enough, pretty much any DJ can make a good beat if you have any kind of creative talent.

But to be a producer, that takes a little something extra. That takes a lot more drive, energy, and creative force. When you sit down and work with that artist, you have to think about how is this going to react in the club, and on the radio. A lot more aspects go into it, and I think only experience can give you that. But as far it being a natural progression, I feel like it is.
 
SixShot.com: I read something where you said that you were trying to re-connect the bond between MC’s and DJ’s. How do you think both parties initially lost touch?
 
DJ Revolution: I can’t pinpoint it, but it started happening when Hip-Hop got big. At one point it just started blowing up really quickly, and the people who were blowing up just happened to be solo artists, and I think it happened so fast that the artists didn’t even realize what was happening. So when they didn’t take the DJ on the ride with them, that’s when we lost it. It’s like the bus came and the DJ was three steps behind the MC; then the MC saw the DJ running toward the bus, and he got on the bus anyway and left the DJ behind. 

That’s the way I look at it, it’s probably less dramatic than that, and probably didn’t happen that fast but in my eyes that’s the way I see it. I just think MC’s and producers got so big, that they weren’t utilizing the expertise of the DJ, and that made the music suffer. Right now a lot of superstars are just using DJ’s as tokens for their tours, it’s like they just snatch some DJ with a name and throw him on stage. So that’s what made the bond so important, and now it’s broken.
 
SixShot.com: With that said, how do you feel about the state of DJ’ing now? Do you feel like it’s becoming a lost art form?
 
DJ Revolution: I don’t think it’s a lost art that’s dying off, but the DJ aspect of Hip-Hop has splintered off several times. It splintered off once when people decided not to do it with the DJ, and then it splintered off into Hip-Hop DJ’s, and then turntable DJ’s. Right now there are so many sub-cultures of the DJ that it will always be thriving because there’s always going to be something for a DJ to do. Technically, it is a lost art, but if you pick up the rug you’ll see a whole community of DJ’s under it.
 
SixShot.com: Do you have any memorable moments from working at the Wake Up Show with Sway and Tech?
 
DJ Revolution: After all the time I’ve been there; there’s been so many of them. But the last time Biggie was on our show; that was an incredible night. He was on our show exactly one week before he got murdered. We were actually the last Hip-Hop show that he ever did. Up until that point, all the shows he ever did were pop shows. We had the last real interview with him where Sway and Tech were getting all of the dirt out of him, and we were putting all these crazy beats on, and he rhymed to them. He was just murdering it, and it was incredible. He came with Lil Cease from Junior Mafia, and we were just having a good time. 

It was a late night, and we let him go for broke, and he killed it. Then the next week we’re on the air, and the station is a block away from where he got murdered. So we’re on the air, and all of our pagers are going off at the same time, and we were getting phone calls saying that Puffy got shot, and this and that. We couldn’t get any information because we were live on the air and we had a show to do, and most of us didn’t find out until the next afternoon because we went home and went to bed. So that was a pretty incredible moment.
 
SixShot.com: Any others that come to mind?
 
DJ Revolution: All of the times Eminem came to the show was incredible because he stands out and he always leaves an impression too. He came to the show like eight times before he got his deal. He was out here [California] for like a good seven months, and he was out here with nothing. He was on the Spit Kicker Tour with [Talib] Kweli, Mos Def, and all those guys, and he came up to the show and burned them all. But the most incredible time was when I first did the show.
 
SixShot.com: What happened?
 
DJ Revolution: They told me to come up there, bring a few records, and just do a set. No battles, no cutting or scratching, just come up and have a good time. At that time they were interviewing for new DJ’s, and they wanted to check me out. So I get up there and Qbert is up there, Mix Master Mike is up there, Roc Raida is up there, [DJ] Babu and all the Beat Junkies are there, and all the X-Men are there and they’re all ready to do their championship battle routines.
 
I was totally unprepared and I had no idea, and I found out later that Tech had no idea they were showing up either. So then to make matters worse, Sway was like, “Revolution, you’re going up first!” “You’re on in front of 8 Million people right now, so don’t f*ck it up!” I was thinking to myself, “Ah sh*t!” “This is my first time on the radio show!” It was pretty intimidating, but at the end of the day that’s what the game is about, not cracking under the pressure. So I held it down, did my thing, and I made a lot of great friends that night, and here I am.
 
SixShot.com: Speaking of not cracking under pressure, I also know that you DJ’ed for Rakim and Kanye West. How were those experiences for you?
 
DJ Revolution: Well Rakim was a different situation than Kanye [West] and all the other people I DJ’ed for. Rakim and I had the same lawyer, and Rakim knew who I was because he’s been to the show, but we were never formally introduced. Then our lawyer told me that Rakim was going on the road for a while and that he needed a DJ. So he called me up and we got a vibe going, then we did a show and everything worked out; and it just went from there. To me that was way more incredible then sharing the stage with Kanye [West]; that was ten times better than sharing the stage with Kanye [West].
 
But with Kanye [West], I’m pretty cool with [DJ] A-Trak who’s his regular DJ and I guess ‘A’ was taking a break or going on vacation and he couldn’t do it. So he hit me up and asked if I could do it. At first I didn’t really want to, because DJ’ing for artists is not really what I do. For Rakim it was cool because that was a once in a lifetime opportunity or just to do it for any other legendary artist. I’ve met Kanye [West] before, and I’ve known him for years way before ‘Through The Wire,’ and I wanted to leave Kanye [West] in my mind the way he was already.
 
SixShot.com: What do you mean by that?
 
DJ Revolution: When you get up close and personal with an artist, it changes your opinion of them, and that can make you change your opinion about their music; and I love dude’s music, and I didn’t want to have any mixed feelings about it. I know how he is; I’ve met him and I know his personality and I know how he is. But I eventually gave in and I took the opportunity, and I went on the road with him. That was a lot different because Rakim was playing for 4,000 to 5,000 people; Kanye [West] was playing for 25,000 people. On stage, he is EXTREME all the time, he’s on ten all the time and it was an interesting experience to say the least.