Hot 97
DJ Premier on Creating NY’s Classic Sound
Iconic hip-hop producer DJ Premier recently sat down with DJ Enuff on Hot 97‘s New At 2. Preemo talked about growing up in Brooklyn and how he created the classic New York sound.
Premier also named his top producers of all time and discussed how he got J. Cole on Gang Starr‘s recent track “Family and Loyalty.” The two DJs shared stories of working with The Notorious B.I.G. and P. Diddy during their early years.
Watch the full interview above.
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Related Post: Watch Gang Starr’s ‘Family and Loyalty’ Video Feat. J.Cole
Watch DJ Ace’s Routine for ‘5 Minutes of Funk’
Lieutenant Acu Rhodes is not only one of NYPD’s finest, but he’s also a talented DJ. The 20-year veteran, who oversees Brooklyn’s 78th Precinct, doubles as a turntablist named DJ Ace.
In 2014, Ace went viral when a video of him getting busy on the tables while in uniform was shared on Facebook. Since then, he has used his skills and popularity to spread positive messages about law enforcement.
Ace recently got a chance to display his skills on Funkmaster Flex’s 5 Minutes of Funk segment on Hot 97. He threw down an impressive 10-minute routine scratching various vocal samples over classic breaks.
Watch it above.
Related: Watch DJ Precision’s Routine for ‘5 Minutes of Funk’
Watch DJ Precision’s Routine for ‘5 Minutes of Funk’
Every guest on Hot 97’s 5 Minutes of Funk series brings their own strengths to the table (no pun intended). On the latest episode, DJ Precision, the youngest member of the legendary X-Ecutioners crew, delivers seven minutes of pure turntablism.
A former four-time DMC USA champion, Precision gets busy with classics like The Notorious B.I.G.‘s “Juicy,” Lauryn Hill‘s “Doo Wop (That Thing),” OutKast‘s “The Whole World,” and Prodigy’s “Keep it Thoro.”
Watch DJ Riz’s Routine for ‘5 Minutes of Funk’
DJ Riz, an original member of The Flip Squad DJ crew, has put down a creative routine for Funkmaster Flex’s 5 Minutes of Funk segment on Hot 97. The Brooklyn native mixed classic tracks as lead-ins to the songs that sampled them and used some clever wordplay in his extended 20-minute set.
Riz is currently one half of the house production team SikDuo. He also co-hosts the Rap Is Outta Control mix show on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation channel.
Watch it above.
Watch DJ Eclipse’s Routine for ‘5 Minutes of Funk’
DJ Eclipse, an original member of the independent hip-hop group Non Phixion, has been featured on Funkmaster Flex’s 5 Minutes of Funk segment on Hot 97. The Queens-based DJ threw down an extended set consisting of mostly East Coast rap and breakbeats.
Eclipse is currently a member of the influential Rock Steady Crew. He also hosts a mix show on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation channel called Rap Is Outta Control.
Watch his routine above.
Related: Watch Mista Sinista’s Routine for ‘5 Minutes of Funk’
Kid Capri on What It Means to Be a Real DJ
Kid Capri performs live. (Photo source: kidcapri.com)
Legendary hip-hop DJ Kid Capri was a guest on Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning show on Monday. The Bronx native, who’s credited with popularizing mixtapes in the ’80s, discussed the current state of DJing and hip-hop. He also reflected on some of his career’s greatest moments, like receiving a shout out from The Notorious B.I.G. on “Juicy” and contributing to Kendrick Lamar‘s DAMN. album.
When asked about what it means to be a DJ, Capri had plenty to say.
“My focus is to make sure I’m the best thing they’ve ever seen, and it doesn’t matter to me if this guy that’s coming on before me or after me has a platinum record and he’s the biggest guy. … And that’s the focus, to make sure that these people say, ‘Kid is the greatest I’ve ever seen.’ And that’s it. And that’s what real DJs are supposed to do. [They’re supposed to] come in there and make sure that everybody’s happy and be able to step out of the box and be good at it, where you not just playing one type of music. You’ll be able to play for anybody anywhere.”
Capri went on to give a personal example of “playing to the crowd.”
“When I did Khloe Kardashian’s wedding with Lamar [Odom], I knew that they was Armenian. So I went in, and I played the top Armenian records, and the whole place just shook. It was crazy to see how these people were so happy to hear this music because they didn’t think I knew it. But that’s the job you gotta have anywhere. When you go to Japan, you go to Haiti, you go to all these different places, they like our thing but what about what they do? When you got a place like Texas, they have so much Texas music that never get heard on the radio that doesn’t go anywhere. But when you come from New York, and you play that type of music, the first thing they saying is, ‘damn, how he knew that?’ And it drives them nuts, so and that’s what it is, it’s about knowing your job, knowing that it’s not about just MP3s. It’s about going out there, making sure every state is taken care of as if you’ve lived it and that’s what I do.”
Watch the full interview below.
Related: Watch DJ Premier’s Tiny Desk Performance and Genius Interview
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