Say Uncle

DJ Craze has been the illest turntablist on the planet over the past decade, and he reps the MIA heavy. Interview here, rest of Q&A below

Da’le da’le
Craze: We on? Boom Boom

I heard a track of yours with Mic Rippa called “One Life to Live” off the net recently which was dope, you been working on new production?
Thanks. That’s what I think Miami is missing, the real hip-hop shit. To me I’ve lived all my life in Miami, I’ve seen hip-hop grow. I started going to clubs and did my first battle at the Zoo in Coconut Grove when I was 15. I’ve been here awhile doing the hip-hop shit, and I always felt there was an element of hip-hop here that was missing. As far as myself, I consider myself as one of the dope DJs in Miami as far as skills and knowledge.
Mic RIPPA was one of those dudes who I thought was one of the best, my crew used to hate him (because we knew he was one of the best). I always wanted to work with RIPPA, so about three years ago I gave him a call since I was tired of not doing hip-hop shit in Miami. Unfortunately, he got locked up for some dumb shit while we were working on his album, we had like five songs done.

So where you at right now on the beats?
I’m all over the place with music, doing drum and bass for like 5 years, but I was still doing hip-hop shit all over the world except Miami. I’m a hip-hop boy, I got tired of the way shit was going as part of the golden era generation, but instead of being bitter and complaining I just moved to something else. To work with someone, has to be something I’m a part of from the beginning. If I can’t work with someone who I think is the best like Mic Rippa, I’m not working with nobody.

What other artists are you feelin locally?
I am feeling Wrek & Mayday, that’s why I worked with Mayday because I was feelin the vibe they were coming from. But that was something I’m not in control of, so I was like that’s your vibe let me come in and do a cut for you [on Groundhog Day] because I respect what you’re doing, Wrek, I gave him like two tracks, so we’ll see what happens there. They’re the only people I feel who are reppin’ from down here now.
In fact there’s a dude that Kanye says he just signed from Miami to G.O.O.D. Music, I want to know who that is. Honestly, I want to take someone and make something with them from the ground up.

What’s your take on the current DJ’ing scene?
Shit is getting exciting for me again. Hip-hop got to a certain level, where the music & skill level is there, hip-hop is not dead, it just went somewhere else. But it kind of lost the fun. That’s why I started doing Miami bass again. I was doing a lot of different shit, drum and bass, and one day I just got tired of everything and I remember talking to my brother and he’s like just do what’s fun for you.

How’d you start bringing back the Miami sound?
Two or three winter music conferences ago, I decided to play Miami bass at this Future Sound of Breaks party as a joke and everybody went crazy. It was one of those sets where everybody was talking about it for the whole week, and I was like maybe that’s my calling. I was doing drum and bass parties around the world and just fucking around with people, I would be like, “ I’m going to play some Miami bass, ya’ll know what that is?” I would play it and the party would go insane.

Dance music has been jumpin off lately..
Right now Baltimore club is poppin, baille funk is poppin, different types of dance music is poppin and it all came from Miami bass in my opinion. Baltimore club came from Miami bass. It came from Frank Ski doing Doo Doo Brown, baille came from Miami Bass directly. So I said fuck it let me know do a Miami Bass mix-cd and everybody was praising it. Go download it, it’s good fun. [Bass Sessions is available now]

Tell us how you get down at Bass Session parties over that you’ve been doing around the country and locally at Studio A for the past year?
The Bass Sessions parties, they’re always a good time…Now I’m moving from that to doing anything I want; from hip-hop, baille, funk, rock, b-more, dance, club shit.
It’s where everything is going. All the hipsters and young bucks are loving the mixing of genres. When I first started getting into hip-hop I was influenced by Miami bass and freestyle. When I first got into hip-hop, hip-hop and house were as one. Like he Jungle Brothers, I think that’s what’s coming back. It’s like I can play you some hip-hop, I can play you some Daft Punk. Everybody was wylin out over Kanye sampling Daft Punk. I was doing these raves where that was poppin and I was like, “I like this shit but I don’t want to tell my hip-hop boys.”

You think DJ’ing is at a peak now?
For me the peak was 95-2000, I think that’s when a lot of people were checking for turntablists. I remember in 98/99 I would do raves with 10,000 people, I would stop the music, start scratching and people would go crazy. Now you do that and they’re like shutup.
I don’t think DJ’ing is in high demand, I think the diverse DJs are in demand. The ones who are out there saying I don’t give a fuck, I’m going to play what I want, those DJs are in demand; like Diplo, Klever, A-Trak. They play everything and are not stuck in one genre, the one genre thing is dead

DJs are becoming like rock stars..
It’s like now, its not only about the music, it’s your look, it’s your style it’s your flava. People are like you can spin, but what’s the character like? This just started a minute ago. I feel it, like people want to be more involved in who you are not just with what you play. A-Trak & Klever just got a full spread in Stuff Magazine saying this is the future of music, fashion, basically everything. It has everything to do with your DJ’ing first off, but people want to be more in touch with you…it’s the Internet, it’s that Myspace shit.

What’s your take on Serato?
Changed everything. I’ve seen a lot of people use Serato, but it’s all about skills. I was the first person to use that format with Final Scratch in hip-hop and drum and bass. When I first started using it, even A-Trak was dissin me, everybody was dissin me like what are you doing. It started catching up and now it’s the regular shit to do. But I would say you got to understand, it’s not what I’m using but how I use it.
With Serato, it’s making everybody better with freaking the cue points and all kinds of shit. The dudes that don’t have imagination are still there, but it’s all about skills. Serato doesn’t matter.

You up on any new DJ’ing technology?
DVD DJ’ing is going to be crazy. I saw it at Winter Music and they did a demonstration for me, A-Trak & Klever and we were all like, this is the new shit. Ableton popped off. Wherever technology goes and there’s some people with skills that can fuck with it, there always will be something new.

Do you ever use CDs?
I don’t use CDs but I can’t front on the people that freak it with the cue points and all that shit. The Scratch Perverts from the UK kill it, they won’t cut on them, they’ll mix, make beats. I can’t hate on it, it’s what you do with it.

To take it back for a minute, how’d you first get into DJ’ing?
I started off as a party DJ, went from bass to hip-hop in high school. There was a dude in my band class from New York that put me on to Brand Nubian, Gangstarr, Tribe. I was like fuck all the New York shit I’m from Miami, and then I started picking up and hip-hop took over my life.

Where did you grow up in Miami?
I was born in Nicaragua, then we moved to San Fran when I was 3, and I came to Miami when I was 5. For elementary I went to a bunch of schools from Coral Way to Sweetwater, went to Braddock for high school.

Where did you first get on DJ’ing locally?
The Zoo. I was 15 years old, everybody was like what the fuck is this kid doing at a club. I battled Fingerprintz, it was classic. I beat him not because I had more skills but because I went up there and dissed the shit out of him, I was mad cocky. From there my name started poppin.

Who were some of the people you looked up to coming up?
Strictly bass & freestyle, listening to Lazaro Mendez, Eddie B & Eddie Mix. DJ’ing wise I looked up to Magic Mike, Aladdin, Jealous J, Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, it was all audio, I was like what the fuck is that? Cash Money on the cut! I hadn’t seen the NMS/DMC videos, then around senior year, I met another kid from NY who showed me the NMS battles. I saw DJ Scratch, Steve Dee, X-Men, and I was hooked.

You were reppin Miami heavy when you started battling..
Hard. When I started doing my shit it was like, you’re from Miami, what you going to do play some bass? I was like yeah, I’ll play some bass, and then kill you on your own shit too. I started getting some props at 16-17, back then I was wack, I lost a bunch of battles and then I won my first battle in ‘98, after that, they were like this kid is undeniable. From there ‘98 is when it all popped off. Got together with the Allies, it was like the right place, right people and I made my whole life from that.

How’d you jump into drum and bass after winning the 3 consecutive DMC titles?
When the whole bling era kicked in, I was never about the bling. I’m a hip-hop dude, I felt there was something more than that. I was DJ’ing at The Gates 97-98 on the beach, the jiggy era kicked in and I was like I can’t fuck with this, the message is wrong.

So you were turning down parties because of the bling?
It was tough because I was one of the top dudes at the time. This is when DJ Khaled moved down from Orlando, I remember he came down to The Gates, “he was like yo nigga this Khaled, you gotta let me spin!” I was like, “dude, go ahead, I’ll roll up a blunt, chill.” He was always a cool guy, he went on and killed it. It was like people really like jiggy shit, I was lost. Maybe it wasn’t my place. Then I started doing the turntablist shit and I was getting booked at all these raves. I wasn’t getting booked at hip-hop clubs and was like, what’s going on?

Were they wylin out in the rave tents?
I was more into my scratching, doing a lot of trick mixing, cutting. They used to put me in the drum and bass tent, and I started feeling the vibe. I liked the British shit, a lot of bass, everybody in the clubs were there for the DJ and they were getting crunk. They were on some other shit but they were getting loose. They didn’t give a fuck who you were as long as you did a good job. I got stuck into drum and bass for like 6-7 years.

Is the DJ battle scene still relevant now?
I keep up with the scene, but it’s not relevant no more. It’s a shame because there’s a lot with skills, but I think what happened is turntablism became like breaking. It got to a level where people can’t understand it anymore, the body tricks are gone, the funk is gone, its just crazy scratching and routines which is a little too much for your average head. The characters aren’t there anymore. Everybody is good but nobody stands out or entertains the crowd. The skills level is crazy. I go to certain places in Europe where 15 year-old kids will burn me on the cut, but the way they talk to me its like, “ah dude, you’re a geek. Go out and have some fun.”

Favorite spot to play in the world? Fabric in London

Miami? Studio A- because I can do what I want there

Favorite Record? Passin me by- Pharcyde, anything Magic Mike did back in the day, Pete Rock & CL- TROY

Favorite Battle Routines? Art of Noise routine in ’98, separated me from the rest, I thought that was the shit, like I bit your style but came up with some shit.

Favorite routine from other DJ? A-trak’s “Missy – get your freak on” routine, till this day gives me goosebumps, anything roc raida did back in the day not just because he’s here.

First time you realized you wanted to be a DJ? At 14 watching my brother, NMS watching ’92 battle (Raida, Mixmaster Mike), most exciting shit when supreme stepped to mixmaster mike, to me that’s the hot shit when you battle and freestyle it.

Advice to DJs coming up? Practice, know that’s what you want to do, and visualize yourself as a world champion. My mom used to tell me “visualize yourself fucking everybody up, and being that dude. Dream about it, when you’re taking a shower pretend your fucking someone up and somehow it will come back to it.”

Last words: Bass Sessions mix-cd on Disque Premier, battle record with Craze & Klever (on cd & record), might start label with Klever putting out all kids of shit.
Some Miami bass shit with my girl, and then some hip-hop shit with RIPPA.. when gets out of jail its going to be a wrap, we’re going to bring real hip-hop back to Miami!

Check out www.djcraze.com or www.myspace.com/Crazearoni