Hey man how you doing? Thanks for taking the time to speak to us down here in Africa. So for those living under rocks can you explain who DJ JS 1 is?

I'm 28 yrs old, born and raised in Queens, New York. Ive been djaying for about 13 years now. I am a member of Rocksteady Crew, NYC. I am partners with and DJ for RAHZEL, from the ROOTS. I am a producer and turntablist who loves all types of music. In the past 3 years I have been putting out my own records to show the world what I do....

How did it happen that you decided to start deejaying?

Growing up in New York during the 1980's I was surrounded by hip-hop. I originally started out as a graffiti writer (I have done graff with legendary writers such as IZ the WIZ from Style wars, etc..) Everyone was trying to break dance. I had a small collection of records that we used to try and break dance to. Once the record collection began to grow, I decided to get two turntables and a mixer so I can "mix" the records that I had. I always listened to Red Alert and Marley on the radio, and loved Jazzy Jeff. Dj Scratch from EPMD, JAZZY JEFF, CASH MONEY, ALLADIN, were all influences...

You recently released Ground Original which is a compilation of some of the finest hip hop acts. How did that whole thing come about?

For those who did know of me, they knew me as a "trick" djay, or turntablist. I wanted a way to show my production talents as well. i have been producing for as many years as I have djayed, but no one knew. I started asking around to get different mcees to record with me. Believe it or not, because he respects talent and true hip-hop, KRS-ONE was the first mcee to agree to record a song with me. From that point on I tried to get everyone that I liked, to record with me. And I got a lot of them!!!! 

How has the album been received throughout the world?

Well, so far, I have not heard anything bad... The list of artists on the album is very credible. No garbage mcees, only true lyricists. I have both legendary and up n coming mcees. From Japan, to Europe, across the US and Africa, all feedback has been positive. 23 tracks of pure beats, lyrics, and scratches...

I read that you getting set to release a couple of other projects in this year, can you tell us a bit about that?

WE have many projects in the works. Some are untitled as of now... We have another album dropping this year sometime...it is untitled, but we have songs with JERU DA DAMAJA, RAHZEL, COMMON, SUPERNATURAL, J-LIVE, C RAYZ WALZ, and more.. I also have a side-group called MONSTERZ. That album will drop this fall... the group is myself, my partner DUB-L (who i produce with), C RAYZ WALZ, RAHZEL, and BREEZ EVAH FLOWIN... I also have my old school mix cd out now called FLASHBACKS. I just did RAHZEL's new beatbox mix cd which will also drop this year. I have ROCK BREAKS out now ( a break beat record), and more break beat records on the way.. plus more...

Back to the GO album, I can't get over that Percee P verse. Which was your favourite track, like I know you can love all of them, but if somebody had to put you in front of a tank and force you to choose one which would it be?

First, yes Percee P is sick with his flow... Well there is two songs that are my favorites... ESSENTIALS feat. KRS-ONE, and BEYOND feat. OC... those r my favorites.. they just came out perfect. exactly what I had always wanted... and I luv AKROBATIKS second verse...

I see that you like Black Sabbath. That is also one of my favourite groups, especially their older stuff, for me they had this really raw sound. Then you must also probably like shit coming from the 70's. Have you heard some Rare Earth and Osibisa shit? What other groups are you digging?

LUV SABBATH.. luv LED ZEP... luv old school KISS, luv AEROSMITH, luv PINK FLOYD, really luv HENDRIX... I also luv Parliament Funkadelic... damn..soo much..I just luv music.. especially raw sounding improvisational music more than pre-fabricated "bubble-gum" radio music..

Have you had the chance to listen to hip hop coming from South Africa?

actually no.. until I get there to dj, it is difficult to get.. in the United States, people r fairly close-minded about their hip-hop.. we dont get anything from around the world..trust me.. and that sucks. Id luv to hear it...

How many records do you have in your collection?

OH GOD, who knows? Well, my collection is very thorough. I have a large variety of records from rock to 80's pop, to jazz, etc... throughout the years I tried to keep my record collection as small as possible by not purchasing or keeping records I dont like or will not ever use... In total I would say I have about 75 solid crates of good records..no bullshit records.. some people have 200 crates but only 50 are really good..

If there was a fire and you could only save 3 records which ones would it be and why?

whoa.. I hope not!!! help!!! hmmm.. never thought of that... I would keep the 3 records I enjoyed scratching the most on stage through-out my life.. I have spent the most time scratching PUBLIC ENEMY's WELCOME TO THE TERRORDOME... LL COOL J's ROCK THE BELLS, or GET's NO ROUGHER... and RUN DMC's PETER PIPER... they r not my favorite records of all time, but the ones I use the most...

What was the first vinyl you ever bought?

not sure actually.. hmmm.. well the first vinyl I bought was a whole crate of records from some dj who quit.. the first I remember buying in the store was RADIO by LL COOL J...I think?

What's the best spot to buy vinyl? Do you ever buy blindly, like just by looking at the cover?

yes I do buy blindly but lately that has been bad..there is too many horrible records out now.. the best spots are... in NY FATBEATS and BEATSTREET for hip-hop.. A1 and SOUND LIBRARY r good for classics and breaks, etc... I like finding small record shops in different smaller cities... u never know what u might find...

What's the most you ever paid for a vinyl?

I try not to spend too much because everytime someone buys a record for a lot of money, someone else finds that same damn record in a $1 bin somewhere... u never know. I have spent $40 on a single before.. and $80 for some old school hard to find records... but I am not spending $200, etc on certain records..I'll find them...

Have you ever thought of hiring a truck and travelling from East to West Coast and just stopping by every town and cleaning old people of their vinyl they have hiding in their attics?

I would luv to do that... all donations r accepted. every house has records in it..most of them r never ever used..what a shame...

What is your reason for waking up in the morning?

I luv life.. I really do... there is soo many great things to do.. first, I am living my dream.. I get to make money and travel the world djaying, along side the greatest beatboxer on the planet... I luv to create.. music or art, whatever.. I luv putting my creative works out into the world... I luv playing basketball.. I luv food... I luv girls ( a lot)... I luv playin with my dog... there is soo much to do and see, why sleep?

What would you say is the highlight of your career?

I dont have one specific one, but I have a few that stand-out... 1) I got to spin live on MTV in TIMES SQUARE NY for millions and millions of people on NEW YEARS EVE 2000 for the new millenium..wow! 2)I got to djay on the same stage and turntables as RUN DMC at least 7 times.. one time JAM MASTER JAY sat on the side of the stage to watch ME! he hugged me afterwards and told me I was one of the sickest djays he ever saw!!! now that is a fuckin highlight!!! 3)I also got to spin with DJ JAZZY JEFF at his house and he asked me to show him some of the new cuts... wow! 4)doing a song with KRS-ONE about me... how many djays have a good song with KRS-ONE bragging about them while RAHZEL is beatboxing... highlight!!!

and the most embarrassing worst thing you ever experienced in this biz?

Well it depends.. I was embarrassed when I had to djay on BETelevision on a show with the HOT BOYS.. I hate that commercial crap..lol! But one of my worst days was last year at the ROCK STEADY ANNIVERSARY in NY... I was on the flyer to dj. It was rock steady, the biggest event for "real" hip-hop in NY.. all my friends were there, and due to a scheduling mess up, I didnt get to get on stage.. that was the worst.. I was sooo mad and embarrassed..everyone was asking how come I didnt dj... outside of that, so far so good..nothing else too bad.

What do you like most about deejaying?

I luv scratching.. I luv how I can manipulate a record to make different sounds kinda like an instrument.. I dont do routines or usually plan out what I am going to do.. I luv being able to put on a record and scratch like HENDRIX strummed... it's a great form of expression.. you can scratch how u feel..play records to reflect your mood... bring the audience on a journey with you... 

What deejays do you think got that something special right now?

In a world where EVERYONE is a dj now, there are still a few standouts... as djays I luv BABU, MIX MASTER MIKE, TONY VEGAS and PRIME CUTS... as producers I like PREMIER and PETE ROCK...

I've never been to New York, hell I don't travel that much, can you tell what it's like living in New York and being surrounded by so much hip hop?

Well in the 80's and early 90's NY was more dangerous and dirtier, but the greatest place in the world for hip-hop...It was just raw and untapped talent.. a growing artform.. today it is different. Capitalism, ($), has taken over the scene. Today radio stations and MTV, etc.. dictate what everyone likes... many of the more talented acts and underground records get lost in the mix... most of the clubs only play top 40 hip-hop and have strict dress codes. no sneakers or hats, etc.. that is not hip-hop. graffiti has died out drastically, eventhough some people still do it... it's all about the money now, not the culture... NY is very very crowded... a lot of people... a lot of traffic... the best things about NY are the variety of people and cultures that r here...the amount of different stores, restaurants, etc.. u can get anything at anytime on anyday..its NY!!!!

What do you think of the scenes out in Europe?

I absolutely love the music scene in Europe, however, as time goes on, it is also get infiltrated by big business and is slowly turning commercial like the US.. but in Europe the break dance scene is still alive...u can find trains with graffiti still running!!! they r more open-minded about what they listen to. now if they would only get their food as good as ours, i would move there.. lol!

If somebody is gonna book you for a show how would you explain to them how your show is?

Well usually I play with Rahzel. Now that show is one of the best 2 man shows on the planet. We battle eachother live on stage (man vs. machine), etc.. when I djay solo, it depends on the crowd.. I usually play old school hip-hop, break beats, originals, and mix in rock, 80's, funk, etc... but I scratch everything up... I put on a visual show as well.. besides scratching I do visual body tricks..behind the back, under the leg, lightning fast beat-juggles, etc... u gotta give the people something to hear and look at.. I model myself after the classic old school djays like grandmaster flash, jazzy jeff, afrika bambaata, cash money, only with updated techniques and scratches, etc... something like that? I guesss u just gotta see it..

Hey man thanks for talking to us, do you have any last words or shout outs?

First, I would like to say thank you for being interested in doing this interview. I never dreamed that I would be communicating with someone soo far away about music I made... it feels good. I also wish people in the US were as willing to show interest in artists from there... I would like to shout out my production partner who helped my produce my album... DUB-L.. I would also like to shout out RAHZEL for bringing me around the world with him..we have done over 450 shows together in the past 4 years... spanning over 150 cities and 20 countries...
and finally our management, AJILE TURNER...
check out WWW.DJJS1.com
thanks soooooo much....
go to www.FATBEATS.COM, www.SANDBOX.COM, www.UGHH.com to order the GROUND ORIGINAL ALBUM.

much respect.
PEACE.
DJ JS-1

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