by Jerah and the DEuCE Cities STYLES crew

If you’ve heard him, then you know the deal. If, like me, you only “heard of” him, then it’s time to find his newest solo release, Dead Ringer. If you haven’t been too sure about buying hip-hop DJ mixes in the past, this is a perfect entry point. While it’s incredibly layered, it manages to be seamless, and maintains a simplicity that invites audiophiles of any style. After listening to it, I was so intrigued by the samples and soundscapes that I had to talk to this guy. This is what he had to say.

DEuCE Cities STYLES: So what’s up, I looked for your CD all day and everybody was sold out of it.

RJD2: Yeah, distribution problems are bad, but sold out is not.

DCS: It’s good for you, I guess. So are you guys on a tour?

RJD2: Tomorrow we start at a skate park in Massachusetts. I think we got about 25 dates.

DCS: So I finally did get a chance to listen to your album on vinyl, at [local vinyl shop] Fifth Element, and am really wondering where you are coming up with some of this stuff like the weird movie bits. Some of it sounded like it was taped off of television.

RJD2: Everything came from vinyl, but you have to realize that doesn’t really narrow anything down because I’ve got TV scores, movie scores, and spoken word. Virtually anything was pressed on vinyl at one point in time. To be honest with you, nothing is actually taken from a movie. I have some things that are plays that are narrated to record.

DCS: As a DJ, is it hard to get releases for %@!#$& like that?

RJD2: It’s a dicey subject. Sampling occurs—it’s really a subjective thing. Kinda like smokin’ a joint in your backyard is illegal, but how illegal is it if you don’t get arrested? I’m really not this vague of a person, but this is the one subject I really have to dance around.

DCS: So where did you start out? I saw on your album you gave lots of props to your mom talkin’ about how she really supported you.

RJD2: I grew up in a real artistic household. My mom was a dancer. My dad worked in the performing arts. He did some mime and juggling. My mom was in the modern dance world, and so a big thing in the eighties was this minimalist new wave composer %@!#$& like Phillip Glass & Laurie Anderson. So that’s what she was puttin’ me on, as well as Kraftwerk and The Beatles, and my dad was actually into eighties electro stuff like Herbie Hancock’s Rockit and Twilight 22. He followed dance, ‘cause of my mom and thought that break-dancing was a fascinating culture. So he would bring home all the hot %@!#$&.

DCS: Were they your biggest influence?

RJD2: Not really in a specific way. They exposed me to new %@!#$&, but influenced me subconsciously in the way I looked at art. But it was the kids around my neighborhood who put me up on rap.

DCS: So you’re going to be here with [MC and Def Jux Records founder] El-P on the 25th of September—are you his DJ, or is it more loosely based than that?

RJD2: For all intents and purposes I am. The guy who did all the scratches on El-P’s album is [Twin Cities musician and member of the Rhymesayers crew] DJ Abilities, and he toured with us in May but couldn’t go out with us for the rest of the summer.

DCS: So how did you get up with those guys?

RJD2: I was in this group called the Megahertz—and I still am, but one of the guys, Copywrite, he played this little five-song demo for El-P, and he was interested in it and called me in late ’99.

DCS: So what were you doing before that?

RJD2: The Megahertz were my first exposure to makin’ records. We did a couple singles on this label called Fondlum. It was out of New York City—you know, underground Hip-hop 12 ‘n’ stuff.

DCS: Are you based out of NYC?

RJD2: We’re actually out of Ohio, and I just moved to Philly. But I grew up in Ohio.

DCS: Is there anybody that’s going to be up and coming in the Ohio underground?

RJD2: There’s a couple people here and there. This kid Camus, he’s out of Columbus. There’s a burgeoning little scene, but you’d miss it pretty easily. You probably struggle with the same thing in Minneapolis, but maybe it’s different because you have a history of black music. But in Columbus it’s just a %@!#$&ed up situation. We don’t get any support from the clubs, and it’s a very segregated town, and hip-hop nights never really stay for very long

DCS: So what’s going to be happening at the show here?

RJD2: This kid D? Fakts one, Copywrite, Cage, El- P, myself and Mr. Lif. I’ll be doing a full turntable set.

DCS: Well thanks. I hope I didn’t take this into too many of the wrong places.

RJD2: No, no, not at all. It’s just one of those situations I have to be careful with what gets in print. I understand why. I would say it is arguable the most interesting part of people who do records like this. Before I did this I was so fascinated by the legality of the whole thing I was just amazed by it.

We can all be amazed by it when the Def Jux folks show us how they do in the Mainroom of 1st Ave on Wednesday the 25th. It may be the only place you will be able to pick up RJD2’s CD.