Posted on 09/16/2008
Pick up a globe, spin it as fast as possible, and put a finger on any spot. It could be Tokyo. It could be Zurich. It could even be San Francisco. Either way, if your magnifying is strong enough to zoom into one of the city’s vinyl hot spots, chances are it’ll catch a glimpse of a seasoned crate digger. Taking advantage of his international gigs, the Santa Monica based wax spinner DJ Revolution browses record shops around the world, amassing a diverse collection of quality twelve-inches. “I found ‘The Pipeline,’ one of the most sampled classics of all time, for like 4 dollars somewhere,” says the scratch wizard. “That was a gem.”

The lifestyle of a DJ may seem bizarre to outsiders. The hours of meticulously extracting samples, graciously accepting demos, and labriously lugging Technics cases to club booths around the world wouldn’t exactly classify as glory to most. Yet, in his newest release, King of the Decks, Revolution puts turntable culture on a pedestal, rounding up a deft cast of slept-on MCs for a dope carousel of first-rate Hip-Hop. “I didn’t want to spend all my money on Kweli or someone who was adding sheer name power,” admits Rev. “Everybody knows Kweli is ill. Not everybody knows Planet Asia is too.”

King of the Decks behaves as a who’s who of underground headliners, spitting under DJ Rev’s crisp, aggressive production. Everyone from the Special Teams, Joell Ortiz and Termanology to Defari and the Boot Camp Clik dropped by to offer their two cents on Rev’s masterpiece collection. Standout tracks include the KRS One cut “DJ,” which is more like an audio guidebook to the art of wax and the Guilty Simpson & Royce da 5’ 9’’ duet “Do Your Thing,” where the two eloquent MCs flow over one of the funkiest loops that Rev provides on the album. The CD balances between the laid back styles of cats like Evidence and the abrasive styles of MC’s like the volatile New York bred Bumpy Knuckles. “I’m trying to reconnect the DJ with the MC,” says Rev. “So I teamed up with a different artist on every song.”

Upholding the Hip-Hop tradition has been the California DJ’s modus operandi since his spry adolescence. At 12, his grandfather took him to a local college radio station and he became enamored with how the hosts could use the broadcast boards to control all the sounds he heard on air. His grandpops also gave him his first set of turntables, an archaic but sentimental pair equipped with two hand built phono pre amps and a faderless mixer. The gift propelled Rev to his first gig, djing at his Uncle’s wedding that same year.

Perhaps the story really commenced on a Los Angeles freeway, where DJ Revolution drove to the city of angels to stay at his girl’s mom's house, but more importantly, to turn his musical lightning bolts of cuts and scratches into a dream fulfilled. He got a desk job at Hits Magazine, rotting away in a cubicle until his labyrinth of connections led him to a twenty-minute live audition for The Wake Up Show with Sway & Tech. The popular radio show would be Rev’s launchpad to stardom, preparing him for the interviews, albums, showcases, and packed clubs that have branded him a mainstay in underground Hip-Hop.

That doesn’t stop Rev from breaking the purist role that his fans often cast him in. “Shit, I love Ludacris. I don’t need it to be hardcore Hip-Hop boom bap shit all day,” says Rev. “I’m also a fan of club music that you hear on the radio. I like playing some of that stuff when it’s appropriate for the time and place.” He actually addresses those diehard purists in a humorous skit called “Scratch Nerds” based almost entirely on Rev’s experiences with DJ groupies. In the interlude, Rev facetiously confesses that he is a fan of the commercial DJ Whoo Kid, DJ Clue, and DJ Khaled, to a shocked group of dorky aficionados. “I’ll be on stage or I’ll start cutting it up and eventually dudes start making their way to the front stage,” Rev laughs. “All they do is stand there and wait for my next move. As soon as they see me scratching, they start talking to each other.” But, even though those Scratch Nerds are relentless, they still have a place in Rev’s heart. “I love it because to me, it’s very flattering. But if you take it out of context, like the way I constructed that skit on the record, it’s just funny.”

As much as Rev pokes fun at the sacred culture of the ones and twos, he does not deny that he is very much a participant in the lifestyle. “I’m a fan of obscure library Funk from Europe in the 70’s,” says Rev. “I’m a student of it and it makes me make better music.” His perspective suggests that he has resolved that no one genre of music holds dominion over another. So when a conversation about Hip-Hop’s current condition pops up, Rev never fears being lost in the shuffle. “My release is great beats and great rhymes. It’ll fit no matter what state Hip-Hop is in,” he says calmly. “It’s good music and people that make good music always fit in.”

- Sidik Fofana


Watch the new video for "Big Top," by DJ Revolution feat. Special Teamz




For more DJ Revolution, check out his EPK below and learn more about King of the Decks before you cop.