Interview with DJ Low Key (Denver)
First things first, I’d like to introduce myself as a new author for COStandUp.com. I’m known by many as Miss Rachel, and I used to co-host for Basementalism / Radio 1190. I also acted as the promotions and events coordinator for the show as well, which has lead me to many great friendships and working relationships with many members of the Colorado hip hop community and beyond. My main focus is to continue to support the scene, as well as break you all off with artists, djs, and other performers you may or may not know about.
DJ Low Key was gracious enough to let me flex my interviewing skills as my first writing piece for COStandUp.com. If you don’t know who DJ Low Key is around these parts, there’s a pretty good chance you have been living under a rock. With past residencies at Club Vinyl, Bar Luxe, and many other watering holes and dance floors around the front range as well as a member of the Radio Bums, DJ Low Key is definitely one of the up and coming djs within the Colorado music scene. In 2008, Westword voted him ‘Hip Hop DJ of the Year.”
Miss Rachel: Who do you get mistaken for more often: DJ Bedz or DJ Vajra?
Dj Low Key: (laughs)…I heard all white boys all look the same.
Miss Rachel: What sets you apart from other DJs in Colorado?
Dj Low Key: I try to only throw/DJ parties that I'd wanna go to. There's a lot of great DJs in Colorado (and beyond) doing great things, but a lot of the time they're not doing what they really want to be doing. What I've tried to do over the last few years is just support the kind of music/events/etc that I'm into, not necessarily the kind of stuff I think any average person on the street might like. It's paid off; there's definitely a lot of people out there on the same page as I am, it just takes a little more effort to link up with them. Over time, I think I've started to carve out a decent niche for myself doing something a little different.
Miss Rachel: So what will you hear in a DJ Low Key set at The Solution, Bar Luxe, or any of the other spots you frequently rock at?
Dj Low Key: Well, hopefully you'll hear a lot of music you'll enjoy that other DJs aren't playing. Whether that's some dope new ish you've never heard or an older sleeper track you haven't heard in years or the original sample to one of your favorite songs or whatever, I just wanna be playing something different. There's so much great music out there that gets ignored while DJs play the same familiar songs to death. I'm not saying I'm only playing songs people don't know, but I wanna be expanding beyond the same standards, classics & top 40 charts.
Miss Rachel: Being a person who has followed you for the last six years or so, I can testify to that. Colorado, to me, has always seemed like an area that is a huge supporter of turntablism; almost all of the djs out here have at least one scratch or juggle in their mixtapes or dj sets. Is there any particular reason why you haven't swayed with the norm?
Dj Low Key: Different people get into DJing for different reasons. When I first bought belt driven tables ten years back it was with no intentions of becoming a turntablist at all, I first bought turntables because I wanted to cop all the dope indie 12"s that were only coming out on vinyl and because I was interested in mixtapes. A few years after that I started seeing older DJs spin out a parties and got into the club/party scene, years later mixtapes & parties are still what I'm into. Not to say you won't hear a few cuts when I spin, but I never call myself a turntablist, that's just not the kind of DJ I am.
Miss Rachel: Outside of DJing, you recently held an executive producer spot for Blu & Exile's video, "Blue Collar Worker." How did you get in touch with them?
Dj Low Key: I first heard Blu & Exile's Lifted EP back in '06 and it blew me away. It was only 5 songs long and I couldn't stop listening to it. A few months later Below The Heavens (their debut album) leaked and it was one of the best debuts I've ever heard. Then in late Spring '07 I found out that Blu was coming to Denver as an opening act for the Strange Fruit Project (he wasn't even mentioned on the flyer), so I hit him up to come through the Solution & perform after his set. Me & Sounds Supreme ended up paying him $50 and a bar tab to come through and rock at the spot. He hadn't even officially dropped an album and was mad appreciative that we reached out, he loved the party and afterwards we all grabbed breakfast and stayed in touch. Later that summer an up & coming director I know hit me up trying to get in touch with Blu to shoot a video for his reel. A few months later, I was randomly executive producing the video for "Blu Collar Worker" at Blu & Exile's houses in LA. Actually it wasn't quite that simple, some good friends who work in NYC in the music video business (Eric Maitrepierre & Exile Ramirez, who've worked on videos for Nas' "Hip Hop Is Dead", Fat Joe's "Lean Back" & many more) were instrumental in making the video happen too. I can't mention the video without mentioning them.
Miss Rachel: What did you learn the most from that experience? If you had the chance to produce a video for any other artist out there right now, who would it be?
Dj Low Key: I learned I don't wanna work on music videos (laughs). I wasn't ever really trying to work on music videos, but I was in the position to help make a video happen for one of my favorite albums of the last few years and I had to do it. It was one of those kind of opportunities that comes along that you can't pass up. If I was to be involved in another music video I'd want it to be for Tanya Morgan, that makes the most sense since they're fam.
Miss Rachel: Speaking of Tanya Morgan, you recently went on tour with them, as well as the Hierogylphics. Do you have a favorite memory? What's the worst part of being a part of a national tour?
Dj Low Key: Oh wow, there were way too many memories to pick a favorite. The whole experience was surreal; I remember skipping school when I was 16 to drive up to Boulder to catch the Hiero Third Eye Vision tour, so being on the road with them for the tenth anniversary of that tour was extra crazy to me. Some nights it seemed almost regular but a lot of nights I'd just stand there in disbelief while they performed "93 Til infinity" & "You Never Knew" to close out the show. With that said, the camaraderie of being on the road with like minded cats like Tanya Morgan, Blue Scholars & Hiero was probably the best part. It's like some strange grown up summer camp, seeing the same people everyday for almost 6 weeks in a different city each night. The worst part of the tour was easily some of "independent hip hop tour opening act" quality hotel/motel rooms, accommodations were definitely hit or miss.
Miss Rachel: Outside of Colorado (laughs), which state seemed to have the most on-point hip hop community?
Dj Low Key: Well it's real hard to get a sense of a city/state's community from being at one show for one night. Some of the spots where the local scene stood out most and impressed me in our short time there were AZ, NC & Nebraska. CO was definitely one of states that everyone on the tour was looking forward to and easily one of the top 3 livest crowds/best turnouts. Our scene here is a lot stronger than most people even realize.
Miss Rachel: Speaking about the scene out here, some people may call you a hater in regards to local artists. Any thoughts about local music here in Colorado?
Dj Low Key: I support the music I'm feeling most. I've never felt like I should push an artist's music that I'm not into just because they live in the same city as I do. With that said, there's been a lot of good music coming from CO lately that I play/support. Kid Hum's Fossil Fuel is one of my favorite instrumental projects in years, Whygee & Sunken State dropped a great EP a few months back, Pirate Signal is steady droppin good stuff, Big Wheel/FJP is super dope, King Mississippi needs to drop an album ASAP, Infinte Mindz came outta nowhere and is doing their thing with the big homie Chonz, there's a dude named Khouri who just got me some of his music and it's great, I'll always be checkin for Bumpy Chill and that's just some of the local cats I rock. Although I will say, I think Denver's still waiting for that one breakout rapper to really energize the scene & get everyone excited. I think Whygee might be that dude. If I had to to put my money on anyone, it'd be Whygee. You'll defintiely see some of his music popping up on mixtapes of mine in '09.
Miss Rachel: What advice would you give to cats that you're not feeling?
Dj Low Key: Don't worry about me, I'm just one dude. Just because I'm not feeling your music doesn't mean it's bad at all. It just means it's not for me, I'm picky & jaded (laughs). I know there's stuff I'm into that other people don't like and some cats aren't into my mixtapes, that's fine, it works both ways. Besides that, I'd say just believe in your music, stay focused, work hard to progress your craft, and find other people who are on the same page to build with.
Miss Rachel: I've always looked to you as one of my sources for new music - what are you feeling right now that people may not know about?
Dj Low Key: I post up most of what I listen to on my charts at djlowkey.com, so that's most of what I'm playing. I've been heavily addicted to the new U-N-I & Ro Blvd album, A Love Supreme, since Ro sent me the snippets a few months back, it's INCREDIBLE. Besides that, I've been rockin a lot of new/unreleased stuff from the homies Tanya Morgan & TiRon and some older mixtapes from 8thw1 & J Cole. if you're not up on these guys I highly recommend checking them out. And PLEASE check out that Kid Hum Fossil Fuel joint and his EP with Whygee & Sunken State if you haven't already, especially if you're a CO head.
Miss Rachel: Kid Hum is one of the upcoming producers, in my opinion, from Colorado. Do you have any plans to rock the producer hat?
Dj Low Key: Not anytime soon. I LOVE studying producers and production techniques, but right now I don't even have enough time to focus on all the DJ projects I wanna work on. If/when I get into producing I wanna make sure I can give it the right amount of attention to do it right. Being a good producer takes a lot of time & patience that unfortunately I don't have right now. Kid Hum is definitely doing his thing, he's been around for years but this last year he really came into his own as a producer.
Miss Rachel: What will 2009 hold for Dj Low Key?
Dj Low Key: Hopefully a lot of good things. I have a whole bunch of mixtape projects lined up with some of my favorite new artists. My weekly party with Sounds Supreme, The Solution, starts its third year in a week and we've got big plans for taking the party to the next level. There's more party/special event concepts in the works, including stuff with the Red Bull Music Academy, Frank151, Akomplice & more. I'm gonna be DJing more shows for Tanya Morgan & playing out of state more. I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff, there's a lot of exciting projects in the works right now. 2008 was a great year and I'm doing everything I can to make '09 even better.
Miss Rachel: Care to give any further information about artists that will be featured on your next mixtapes? Any shout outs?
Dj Low Key: I don't wanna get ahead of myself (laughs). One thing I will mention is a long overdue Solution mixtape from me & Sounds Supreme that's dropping in February to celebrate our two year birthday. Besides that, I'll just say some are some tapes with the usual suspects in the works and some with some completely new cats. I'll definitely be posting more info about upcoming tapes on djlowkey.com ( http://www.djlowkey.com ) as they get closer to dropping, I just hate talkin about projects too far ahead of time, just trust good things are coming soon. Big up all the cats making moves in CO, especially my fellow DJs and everyone who supports the scene. Also, gotta thank Rachel & COStandUp.com for hitting me up for the interview and all the sites/mags/blogs/etc popping up to cover everything going on in Denver. And last but not least, thanks to whoever's checkin for me, whether in Denver, Boulder, Breckenridge or wherever, I appreciate you lending an ear.
*** Catch the Solution’s two-year anniversary, February 6th, 2009 at the Funky Buddha Lounge, 7th & Lincoln in Denver. The weekly runs EVERY Friday, 21+. By far, one of the best spots to hear good music.
Easy!
Miss Rachel