Having left the X-Ecutioners, Rob Swift returns to bring us an inspiring hip hop mélange of thought-provoking and innovative tracks, acting as a catalyst to the part of your brain that has been dormant, quietly awaiting the mental and musical stimulation it requires. The album features the lyrical craft of The Large Professor, Breez Evahflowin, Akinyele and Prints Haze, serving as the messengers for our new reality.

Complete with clean cuts from a master of vinyl surgery, Rob is the plastic surgeon of turntablism - giving each track a whole new look. The album also features the musical ingenuity of DJ Melo D, DJ Quest, Psycho Les, Tweak, Sean C, Anthony Saffery, Ricci Rucker, Toadstyle, Bob James and Dave McMurray.. 

Culminating in a unique Hip Hop experience, WAR GAMES delivers a musical world of power and vigor that is bound to whisk you away to the world of Rob Swift. The album comes complete with a DVD edited by director John Carluccio (Battle Sounds, Hop-Fu) allowing you to see the inspiration behind its creation. A vacation from the mundane, your ears will thank you for your kindness. 

Buy the WAR GAMES 2 disc set (CD/DVD) now

WAR GAMES double vinyl will be available in November 2005 through DJ Honda Recordings. 

WAR GAMES: TRACK LISTING 

1. Intro 
2. "The Mad Bombers" 
3. "A Terror Wrist" feat. DJ Melo D (Beat Junkies) 
4. "The President Is Speaking" 
5. "Terrorism" feat. DJ Quest & Bob James 
6. "America's Past Time" 
7. "Another Friendly Game of Baseball...Xtra Innings" feat. The Large Professor 
8. "41 Bullets" 
9. "Dream" feat. Breez Evahflowin 
10. "Military Scratch" feat. Ricci Rucker & Toadstyle 
11. "A Ghetto Poem" feat. Dave McMurray & Anthony Saffery 
12. "Piano for Condoleezza" 
13. "The Holy Trinity" feat. Akinyele & Prints Haze 
14. "A Nation With A Mission" 
15. "Vietnam?" feat. DJ Quest 

WAR GAMES DVD FEATURES 

1. Full length WAR GAMES movie, a visual and graphic jolt to accompany the WAR GAMES tracks. 
2. Live performance by Rob Swift, in April 2005, at the Bowery Poetry Club, NYC. 
3. Rob Swift's appearance in a Gap commercial with DJ Shortkut and Shannyn Sossaman circa Fall 2001. 
4. "Ak Ha Ha" music video by Akinyele circa 1993 feat. DJ Rob Swift. 
5. John Carluccio's TTM Method - a form of scratch notation invented by John Carluccio (Battle Sounds, Hop Fu) and demonstrated by Rob Swift. 

WAR GAMES TRAILER
John Carluccio

WAR GAMES: LINER NOTES BY DJ ROB SWIFT 

"Where were you the morning of September 11, 2001? I remember waking up that morning, turning the TV on and there it was. Flames were coming out of one of the World Trade Center buildings. I started flipping through channels to see which station would provide the clearest information about what was going on. All of the anchors were reporting that morning’s event as an accident, '...apparently, a plane has crashed into the World Trade Center.' As I saw the building engulfed with flames I questioned, 'How can a plane possibly crash into that building and it be an accident?' I knew there had to be more to what was going on. Then BOOM! Right before my eyes I witness a second plane crash into the WTC. Immediately I knew this was no accident. Those planes intentionally crashed into those buildings. As the seconds turned to minutes, I heard reports that a third plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. It was now obvious, that morning’s events were acts of terrorism on the United States of America. 

"That day has changed me forever. Whenever I board a plane I can’t help but pause and pray that I avoid the horrific experience those 9/11 passengers must have felt. Since then, I’ve even looked at my talents as a DJ differently. I realize more and more that I need to take advantage of the fact that through my music I can speak to thousands of people. So when I began brainstorming about my third album, I decided to compose music that revolved around some of the events occurring throughout the world today. Hence, WAR GAMES. 

"This album isn’t necessarily about my views politically. It’s more of a social commentary on what I see being reported in the news media day in and day out, whether it’s the terror of 9/11 or the reality of police brutality and poverty. My goal on this album is to spark people’s minds. I want to get people thinking and talking about what’s going on outside their homes. In today’s age of pop music and 'bling bling', an album like this is desperately needed! 

"Lastly, you should know that the picture you see to the right of this page was the original cover photo I chose for 'WAR GAMES.' Like KRS One on the cover of 'By All Means Necessary,' the picture is paying homage to a classic photo originally taken of the late great Malcolm X. In the original photo, Malcolm is holding a rifle and peeking through his curtain windows. It was a powerful image which conveyed a feeling of Malcolm protecting his home. Today, I feel the way Malcolm did decades ago. The difference now is we have to protect our 'home' land. But due to corporate bullshit, I was stopped from using this picture for my album cover. It’s ok for these corporations to promote images of Keanu Reeves toting all types of assault weapons on movie posters and DVD covers. But I can’t hold a 9mm on the cover of my own album, without being accused of looking 'too threatening to American consumers.' If that’s not a contradiction, I don’t know what is." 

AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ROB SWIFT 

"I was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens the son of Colombian immigrants. Thanks to my father, I grew up in a household full of music. My dad was a DJ. He would spin Salsa and Meringue records back in the day. All his friends would hire him to DJ at weddings, New Year’s Eve parties and other events. He would ask my older brother and I to help him carry equipment to clubs and such, but he never took the time to teach us how to DJ because he was afraid we’d break his equipment. 

"My older brother secretly taught himself when my Dad wasn’t around. On our days off from school, my brother would wake up early in the morning and the minute my mom and dad left for work, he would invite his friends over to our house and they would make mix tapes using my father’s equipment. That’s how I got introduced to Hip Hop, by literally sitting in my living room and watching my brother and his friends make music. After years and years of simply watching, I decided I was ready to learn. 

"When I turned 12, I asked my brother to teach me. Once I learned my first scratch I was hooked. Something about the sounds that came through those speakers when I performed a scratch just tapped into a part of me that I didn’t know existed. As time passed I became more and more devoted to mastering everything about the turntable. I lived for the art of DJing. 

"In 1990, I met Dr. Butcher (former DJ for Kool G Rap), one of the best DJs in Queens at the time. Like my older brother, Butcher took me under his wing and taught me everything he knew about being a DJ. See, up until then I was aspiring to be like the DJs I heard on the radio but Butcher taught me to strive to be better than the DJs I looked up to. With Butcher’s guidance, I spent the next year of my life learning more about my own artistic potential. After a year of complete devotion to the turntable, I entered the 1991 East Coast DMC. I placed third. Although I was frustrated that I didn’t win, that night ended up being a pivotal turning point in my career. Steve Dee, inventor of beat juggling and winner of the battle I entered, asked me to become a member of his crew, The X-men. The following year, I entered and became the 1992 East Coast DMC Champion. 

"Over time, Roc Raida, Mista Sinista and myself decided to create a sub group, an extension of the X-men called the X- ecutioners, which would also feature a new recruit, Total Eclipse. As a member of the X-ecutioners, I became part of one of the most influential turntable bands in the world. I recorded full length LPs for major labels (Loud, Columbia), worked with multi-platinum bands like Linkin Park, made appearances on MTV, The David Letterman Show, and Last Call w/Carson Daly, just to touch the surface. However, the more success we achieved the more I began feeling limitations were being put on my creativity. I started feeling pressure to make music that would reach commercial success and as a result I realized I was forcing my creativity to make record companies happy. 

"Luckily, opportunities arose for me to freely express my creativity on the side. I managed to record 2 solo albums: "The Ablist" and "Sound Event" and I collaborated with artists like Herbie Hancock and Bob James on other projects. Eventually, these outlets still couldn’t deflect the creative stress I felt from dealing with the pressures of trying to record platinum X-ecutioner albums. 

"In September of 2004, I made one the most difficult decisions I ever made in my life. I chose to leave the X- ecutioners in hopes of regaining the creative freedom I missed so much. So now I start work on the next opus in my career, one that leaves me with more opportunity and risk than ever before. No longer do I have anyone’s shoulders to lean on; It’s just me now! 

"My album, WAR GAMES, is my 3rd solo album. With this new creative freedom, my aim is to make a social statement this time around. A totally new concept in turntable music. I want to spark minds and challenge how we view the events going on in the world today. So here is to a new creative journey. The ride is free so hop on!"

Buy the WAR GAMES 2 disc set (CD/DVD) now

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