Case currently lives in Philadelphia where you can find him riding his bike looking for records, hunting for hole in the wall diners, or drinking excessive amounts of coffee. He loves travel, clean design and vintage sneakers.
Diamond D Interview
- Aug 16, 2011
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When it comes to hip hop or records in general, you would be hard pressed to find anyone much more legendary and at the same time humble than Diamond D. From his beginning in the South Bronx as a DJ for Jazzy Jay, Diamond released a slew of hip hop classics on his own as well as with D.I.T.C, and went on to record and produce grammy nominated hits for The Fugees and Natalie Cole. He took time out of his day to catch up with us about records, his history, and future undertakings. -THE BAG MESSENGER
THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you first get into music? When did records come into the picture for you?
DIAMOND D: I first got into music through my uncles Gary and Kevin, and than started collecting records at eleven years old
THE BAG MESSENGER: How did Ultimate Force come about?
DIAMOND D: We all grew up in the same projects in the South Bronx. Myself, Master Rob, LMD, Show N Tell and Charlie Rock. Eventually it turned into just me and Rob.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What did you learn from your first deal that you were able to bring to Mercury for your solo deal, and than Tommy Boy for the D.I.T.C deal?
DIAMOND D: I learned to KEEP ALL OF YOUR PUBLISHING! I had nothing to do with the Tommy Boy Negotiations
THE BAG MESSENGER: How did D.I.T.C come about? It was you and Lord Finesse to begin with? What kicked things off for the crew?
DIAMOND D: We we're just neighborhood friends who came together. Master Rob and I released "I'm Not Playing", and than Showbiz and I helped produce Lord Finesses' first LP. Than I produced Showbiz & AG and Fat Joe's first singles. Finesse brought in Big L and Buckwild, and than Buckwild brought in O.C
THE BAG MESSENGER: Where were you guys shopping for records? Was it strictly record shows and dealers, or were you making road trips, and hunting down leads?
DIAMOND D: Back than it was all of the above, and really the same rules still apply.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Any favorite finds, or crazy digging related stories?
DIAMOND D: I found a mint copy of Funky Drummer on King Records for $2 in Detroit this year. There are too many digging stories to get into. LOL...one word "Roosevelt"
THE BAG MESSENGER: How was working with the Fugees? How did winning a grammy in 1996 change your life?
DIAMOND D: The grammy brought me more recognition and more money, but my Grammy nomination for Natalie Cole's "Daydreamin" three years ago meant more because it was my song directly, as opposed to me being a part of a Grammy award winning LP.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Has your production setup changed over the years? Are you still using a MPC 2000 XL?
DIAMOND D: I'm using a MOTIF ES8 and MPC 3000. Basic setup...Protools and Logic
THE BAG MESSENGER: How much time are you spending in the studios these days? What are you working on?
DIAMOND D: I'm in the Lab often. I'm working on a new LP, I'm producing with different MCs and I'm also producing a project for an artist out of New Orleans called Big Rec.
THE BAG MESSENGER: You spend a lot of time on the road, what's the key to packing for a tour?
DIAMOND D: Pack light, and leave room for merchandise...and diggin of course.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What are you listening to now?
DIAMOND D: I thought that was big of Kanye and Jay Z to release "Otis" and take hip hop back to the essence. A soul loop and a kick. Raw!
Outstanding: Charlie Wilson & The Gap Band’s Hip Hop Legacy
- Jan 10, 2011
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Good music is timeless. The GAP band has been moving dance floors for decades, and the use of sampling has propelled the work of the group into current music. Check out this mix recorded by my friend DJ Synapse highlighting the legacy the Gap band and Charlie Wilson have left in hip hop. It is refreshing to see Charlie Wilson be so gracious about his role in sample based music, and wonderful to see him working with a friend. Enjoy the mix.
-Case
TRACK LIST:
1. Yearning For Your Love - Gap Band (Original)
2. Runnin' (Jay Dee Remix) - The Pharcyde (Samples "Yearnin' For Your Love")
3. Life's A Bi#ch - Nas (Samples "Yearnin' For Your Love")
4. The Joy FT. Pete Rock, Jay -Z - Kanye West
5. There Goes My Baby - Charlie Wilson
6. All Of The Lights - Kanye West (Feat. John Legend, The-Dream, Ryan Leslie, Tony Williams, Charlie Wilson, Elly Jackson, Alicia Keys, Fergie, KiD CuDi, Rihanna & Elton John)
7. Download (Remix) - Lil Kim Ft. T-Pain, Charlie Wilson, The-Dream & Soulja Boy
8. Computer Love Remix - Zapp Feat Shirley Murdock & Charlie Wilson
9. Boy You Knock Me Out - Tatyana Ali feat. Will Smith (Samples "Outstanding")
10. Happy - Ashanti (Samples "Outstanding")
11. Summer Bunnies - R. Kelly (Samples "Outstanding")
12. Alright (Humps For Your Trunk Mix) - Kris Kross (Samples "Outstanding")
13. Da B Side - Da Brat Feat. Notorious BIG (Samples "Outstanding")
14. Every Little Thing I Do - Soul Four Real (Samples "Outstanding")
15. Outstanding - Gap Band
16. Blow Your Mind - Redman (Samples "Outstanding")
17. Snoop's Upside Ya Head - Snoop Dogg Ft. Charlie Wilson
18. Oops Upside Your Head - Gap Band
19. Mo Pussy - DJ Quick (Samples "Oops Upside Your Head")
20. Burn Rubber On Me - Gap Band
21. Humpin' - The Gap Band
22. Supa Sexy - Charlie Wilson Feat. T-Pain
23. You Dropped A Bomb On Me (Remix) - Gap Band
24. Fake Hair Wearing Bi#ch - 2 Live Crew/No Face (Samples "Oops Upside Your Head") 25. Tommy's Groove Outro
Outstanding: Charlie Wilson & The Gap Band's Hip Hop Legacy by edubdigital
DJ APT ONE INTERVIEW
- Jan 04, 2011
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Tucker & Bloom caught up with DJ APT ONE of the Philadelphyinz. Easily spotted by his moustache and signature Pittsburgh Pirates hat, APT ONE is well known in Philadelphia as a force both behind the turntables and the mixing board. Read about how he first got into music, what he's been busy working on, and the origin of the name Philadelphyinz (rumor has it the name has roots in the Mayan calendar). Embrace the man behind the handlebar moustache, and read on.
-THE BAG MESSENGER
THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you first get into music?
DJ APT ONE: Some of my early memories involve my parents singing to me before I'd go to sleep. I used to love to improvise my own songs. I remember my dad singing Mississippi John Hurt's "Irene Goodnight." But he tactfully removed the verse about jumping in the river and drowning.
My dad is a huge music nerd. I still go home and burn CDs from his collection. He went to SXSW with me this year - it was awesome. I got a call from him over the winter where he said "yeah I think there are a few dozen shows I want to see in Austin this year, I'm gonna go." He has a really good grasp on what I do in music - it can be awfully hard to explain DJing and production to people who grew up before that was a thing.
THE BAG MESSENGER: How did the philadelphyinz come about? Where does the name come from?
DJ APT ONE: Oh man. I get this question a lot and there's no real quick answer so here goes.
So in 2005 I was doing some parties where I had a string of my buddies that I grew up with in Pittsburgh down in Philly rocking with me. Philadelphyinz is sort of a portmanteau of the words "Philadelphia" and "yinz." Yinz is the equivalent of "y'all" in Pittsburghese, which is a really strange dialect of English with all kinds of weird words. You don't really hear it outside of Western PA, Eastern Ohio and West Virginia. It's pretty wild. Anyways.
Ultimately, Skinny and I struck up a partnership this way - we hadn't DJed together much since we were in high school but he had moved to NYC from St. Louis and I had him down DJing a bit and we really clicked. We used the name for the party because it had these two geographic influences - it was Pittsburghers in Philly. We didn't really expect to have the party continue for so long and we certainly didn't intend to name ourselves that - nobody can spell the fucking name and most people have no clue what it means. Other people started referring to us by the name of our party and after a while we just stopped fighting it because people knew what it was and the name was out there. Skinny and I have played in dozens of cities as Philadelphyinz and we run a record label together and still do that party (and others like Hot Mess) together til this day. I love that dude like a brother - as in "that's my dude but i wanna put him in a headlock half the time." I think he'd say the same about me.
THE BAG MESSENGER: When did you get involved with production?
DJ APT ONE: I've been producing since the early 2000s, and it was just a natural progression from DJing. I spend a lot of time producing - making remixes for other artists, making edits and remixes for DJ use and making my own original production. I have had a lot of success with my edits and the RCMP records I've been doing the last couple years and I have dozens of tracks ready to go when they find the right home.
THE BAG MESSENGER: We're you always involved with collecting music?
DJ APT ONE: It's all about Jerry's Records in Pittsburgh. One of the biggest all-vinyl stores in the world. It was on my walk home from high school. I'd grab some pizza or some Chinese and just post up there for hours.
THE BAG MESSENGER: How has serato changed the way you get down?
DJ APT ONE: I'd be lying if I said it hadn't changed the way I do my thing, but I am probably on the more puristic side of digital DJ culture. I held out against switching to digital until 2007 and I watched the way the tail was beginning to wag the dog, and I decided that although I had to go digital in order to play the music I was making (and save my lower back from destruction), I'd try to stay very focused on keeping my musical identity as somebody who trusts his own musical instincts. Having access to such a huge volume of digital music makes it easy to be lazy or be a trend fucker. I'm a digger and I like funky music, and I gotta remember to keep those things core to my identity.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Do you still buy records? What are you looking for these days?
DJ APT ONE: I do- I mostly look for good disco, house or funk gems and look for sample sources. I'll pick up anything I think I can play and if it's cool but maybe not playable, I'll edit it. I also collect a few esoteric things - Pentangle-type British electric folk, old Bob Wills style country. Weird shit.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What do you listen to for fun?
DJ APT ONE: My favorite thing to listen to for fun is Andre the Giant and Butter on 105.3 WDAS on Sunday nights. I love listening to cats who have been playing funk, soul and hip hop for like 40 years play that shit live in a nightclub. I love listening to how they treat particular records and I always come away from that show with a new respect for certain classic records and what they can do if used effectively.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What would you be doing if you weren’t a DJ?
DJ APT ONE: I'd be in grad school. I dropped out to do this full time. I had an itch I couldn't scratch and I knew that if I didn't take my chances as a working DJ and producer NOW, the window would close and I'd regret it later. Grad school's not going anywhere and as far as I know I'm not getting dumber as time goes by.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What are some of your places to visit? Favorite crowds to play for?
DJ APT ONE: The best crowds I've played for (outside of Philly) are most definitely Providence, DC, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. I don't know what it is but folks in those cities always go bezerk! My favorite crowd to play for is probably the gay, black over 30 crowd but I'm not picky - anybody who is open and down to have a good time is my kinda party person.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What's the key to packing for the road?
DJ APT ONE: Pack efficiently and make sure you have easy access to all your esoteric DJ electronics so you can take them out beforehand at airport security. It saves you a lot of time. Also, do anything in your power to avoid checking a bag.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Every DJ has a horror story or two....what is the worst thing to happen at a gig?
DJ APT ONE: This is another question that a short answer doesn't do justice.
I was DJing a Beautiful Decay magazine release party in NYC with Burnso. Must have been 03 or 04. He and I had a group called Myron Cope Experience up until 05 or so. We played a set with lots of Kraftwerk, Black Moon, Barry White and probably Aaliyah acapellas over Ante Up. We rolled deep on wax with mashups before anybody called them that (and before Serato made it silly to bother mixing two records together live for 3 minutes).
Anyway, we get done playing our set and these guys from Madball come on after us and DJ. They just slam in a bunch of hardcore records. I had no idea who they were or what DMS crew or anything was. I still know pretty much zero about hardcore. Never really cared for it or knew anybody who did when I was young. I found out after the fact that these guys are pretty much legendary head cracking motherfuckers.
Our boys from Philly who came up were friends with my buddy Dos Noun, who was also performing. These kids were complete degenerates, and they start getting flipped out like "THIS MUSIC FUCKING SUCKS PLAY SOME RAP" etc., They're climbing up into the booth and getting in these Madball guys faces.
All of a sudden I see Dos get sucker punched by some hardcore dude and the dance floor basically turns into a big riot. We gotta go rush to get our boys' backs. Big rumble goes down, nothing too serious, but then half the Philly kids get thrown out of their own show and this dude Rooney is in front of the old Downtime in the middle of 30th Street in Manhattan waving a crowbar at his best friend's manager for kicking them out. Several of the guys who were on "our" side were dust-head criminal miscreants that I would never vouch for in real life but basically we had no choice. They are basically waiting outside the club for their own managers and these DMS dudes until cooler heads prevailed and the left. It was ugly.
We rode the train to the Bronx with 5 damn crates of records at like 5AM covered in blood and beer. My friend Annie was vomited on in the club at some point. Real human wreckage. We go way the fuck up in Riverdale near that IHOP everybody knows. So we copped some 40s at a bodega and crushed em. Then we get to Annie's apartment - it's the size of a shoebox and me and Burns had to sleep head to toe on the same tiny futon. There wasn't even floor space for one person. Burnso copped a can of Spaghetti-O's at the bodega and ate the thing cold and farted the rest of the fucking night
That last part is the real horror story. Game over.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Where do you find inspiration to do what you do?
DJ APT ONE: The streets of Philly. The bar around the corner from my crib in West Philly has a house band that plays George McCrae's "I Get Lifted" almost every week when I'm waiting for the 9PM trolley to the gig - that's all the inspiration I need.
The DJs in this town blow my mind. Watching Cosmo Baker or Brendan Bring'em rock it is inspirational in and of itself. I also get a lot of inspiration from watching my homies do what they do - all my friends teach me a lot about music when I watch them play. You can't suck and make it in Philly.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What are you working on now? What can we be looking for in the future?
DJ APT ONE: I just cut a remix for my boy Nick Nack from Austin, and I'm working on getting some of my huge collection of bootleg funk and disco edits out there on wax and digital with my boys Eleven and Cosmo from the Rub and my homie DJ Audit out of Canada. I have a project with a bunch of ex-P-Funk members that will hopefully see the light of day soon as well.
I have a lot of cool stuff coming out of Young Robots camp (my label). We've got a new single from one of my groups, RCMP, as well as records by Skinny Friedman, New York's Pumpkin Patch, Relative Q (also of RCMP), Detroit's Frankie Bank$, Dash Speaks and myself in the next year, so stay tuned. YoungRobots.com all day baby.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What do you think DJ culture is going to look like in the next ten years? (Will the DJ become more of a performer or less?)
DJ APT ONE: I can't really say what is in store for DJ culture. Digital DJing tools have really made the game less about what music you have and more about what you do with it. There will always be toolish DJs out there who promote their asses off, and that doesn't bother me, but if Philly has taught me anything, it's that often times, the cream rises to the top. The people who can present a unique musical aesthetic to a crowd will always make waves.
Interview With Bowls
- Nov 09, 2010
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Bowls is no stranger to record stores. When we both lived in the same city, I felt as if I was perpetually in a race against time. Speeding from shop to shop, stretching to snatch at records before he got his hands on them. I would often see him later to compare finds, only to hear that he had already seen the records I bought, silently passing over them, tallying their worth, and moving on to other things. That is Bowls in a nut shell, quality over quantity. He isn't looking to own every good record (where would he put them all?), only the ones that he loves (believe me those are plenty of enough). It takes a certain temperament to move through life this way. Knowing what you want before you find it is not an easy thing, and continuing to seek it requires a commitment and patience that few still have. Bowls is willing to wait, silently flipping through dusty stacks of records, shifting boxes to reach in to deep nooks and crannies...searching
-Case
THE BAG MESSENGER: How did you first get involved with DJing?
BOWLS: Well I started listening to hip-hop back when I was in 5th grade (1995), and I decided that I wanted be a DJ in '96 when I heard OutKast's "Wheelz of Steel." I was living in Paducah, KY at the time and I had never seen or talked to anyone who had DJ equipment, but in 1999 I finally got a belt-drive turntable and started buying records. By late 2000 I had a cheap Numark "DJ-in-a-box" setup, which later gave way to a pair of Technics 1200s around 2002. That was when things got serious for me, because I knew those decks were built for performance. I started out spinning parties in high school, but I didn't play in a club setting until I moved to Nashville in 2004.
THE BAG MESSENGER: When did you first get into collecting records? What was shopping for records like in Kentucky?
BOWLS: When I first started looking for records in '99, I had no real point of reference. I knew I wanted to be a "hip-hop DJ" or whatever, so I started ordering a bunch of records out of a distributor's catalog at CD Warehouse. Put a check next to the 12"s and LPs that I wanted, then pick them up the next week. At that time, I just assumed I should be buying doubles of all the "underground" hip-hop 12"s, scratching over instrumentals, and making mixtapes. No one was there in Paducah to school me on the breaks, represses vs. originals, spots to dig, etc. Luckily, it was just a matter of time before the whole concept of SAMPLING was fully realized. I loved the fact that some of those original records could actually be sitting in an antique shop right down the road. Since that revelation, I've spent thousands and thousands of hours sifting through old vinyl. I went digging in St. Louis a lot from '00-'04, and then my collection just exploded after I moved to Nashville for college.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What kinds of things are you looking for these days?
BOWLS: Recently I've been digging a lot of prog and psych-rock. I've gotta be in the mood for it, but there's something satisfying about hearing a nice, mellow funk-groove float in after three straight minutes of noise. I bought a ton of jazz records last summer, and I'm always looking for good hip-hop 12"s. Honestly, I'll give pretty much anything a listen these days...the days of judging an LP by the cover are long gone!
THE BAG MESSENGER: You're into a lot of sample source stuff. What records have found through seeking a sample that you fell in love with?
BOWLS: I've found countless dope records from knowing that Pete Rock/Premier/Madlib sampled them, but I probably get the most satisfaction out of finding artists with solid catalogs that I can dig into. If it weren't for hip-hop/crate-digging, I might still be under the impression that Kool & The Gang was just some 80's group that made "Ladies Night." Its something I really don't take for granted, because my parents weren't into music at all. Can you imagine living life without knowing that Kool & The Gang made a song called "Music Is The Message?" Thinking that James Brown was just that dude who sang "I Feel Good?" I'll be in debt to hip-hop for the rest of my life.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Any interesting digging stories? Favorite finds?
BOWLS: On a family vacation to Florida back in the early 2000's, I looked through the phone book for record stores. My mom dropped me off at this one place that had full discographies of every "major" group/artist you could think of. Like 10 copies of each release. I thought that was pretty cool, and then the owner said, "Hey, have you looked around downstairs?" Downstairs was over 150,000 UNSORTED 12" singles. One of the first records I pulled out was the Pete Rock & CL Smooth "Straighten It Out" promo, which of course has the elusive "Vibes Mix" of "T.R.O.Y." on the b-side. That made the hundreds of Miami Sound Machine 12" sightings a little more bearable. I found quite a few good records there.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Where are some of your favorite places to go? Favorite places to dig?
BOWLS: St. Louis has been a favorite city of mine for years now. Lots of music history and lots of well-stocked stores. Of course I hit my spots in Nashville all the time. I've made a couple trips to Japan with my younger brother, and that's always a great way to spend tons of money on records.
THE BAG MESSENGER: You play only vinyl. How do you feel about Serato?
BOWLS: Serato is great, and I definitely intend to get it at some point. Initially, I agreed with DJ Premier when he said that DJs need to "earn the right" to use Serato by building up a good record collection, but that really doesn't make sense for aspiring DJs in 2010 and beyond. New music isn't being pressed up on wax as frequently, some DJs grow up in towns where digging spots are scarce (I was one of them), and lots of people just flat-out don't want to spend the money. With that said, I consider myself someone who literally pays to play the game. I love it that much. I talk to a lot of DJs who started performing in the last five years or so, and its safe to say that I probably spent more money on vinyl this past summer than they have in the last three years combined. Its a strange feeling. I know all the OGs and real diggers still buy records in addition to using Serato, but the love for original vinyl pressings, and just the act of digging in general, seems to have really diminished with the new wave of DJs. I came to terms with that a while ago, and I'm fine with it. Being a good DJ involves skills and great taste these days, not a dope record collection. That's just the way it is.
THE BAG MESSENGER: Whats the key to packing for a gig?
BOWLS: Considering I still use strictly vinyl, a lot of my preparation involves picking out which 45s I want to bring. If I'm spinning for just an hour or two, I don't want to lug more than one crate of LPs/12"s to the party. That box of 45s lightens the load while still packing a punch, and I always make sure I have a good balance of genres between the two formats. Besides remembering my headphones and needles, efficient record selection is my main thing. Yes, I know that Serato users never, ever have that problem haha.
THE BAG MESSENGER: When did you first meet Count Bass D? Can you describe getting to know him?
BOWLS: I met Count at his BEGBORROWSTEEL album release party here in Nashville. A couple months later, his wife shot me an email and asked if I'd be willing to intern for them. At the time I was studying the music business at Belmont University, so I definitely took that opportunity. I watched as he released Act Your Waist Size on Fat Beats Records, saw how he and his wife communicated with the label, met his kids, went with him to a show or two, assisted with whatever they needed, and finally helped him break down his studio before they moved to Memphis. He's just a cool dude all-around and I gained a whole new appreciation for his music after getting a feel for his lifestyle. (Let it be known that he once woke me up at 7:15 AM to take him to the airport. After a trip to the bank, we got there at 7:42..."right on time" for the 7:50 flight. When I asked him where he was headed, he told me that MF DOOM called him earlier that morning. He needed Count for his show in NYC that night.)
THE BAG MESSENGER: Every DJ has a horror story or two....what is the worst thing to happen at a gig?
BOWLS: DJing outdoors is always interesting when you spin vinyl, especially LPs. I was playing some dance classics at a rooftop party one night, only to have the wind pick up my needle and drop it on a slow jam. Oh and I once had a guy ask me to play Justin Timberlake....while I was playing Justin Timberlake (apparently this happens more than you'd think). After reading about drunk club patrons vomiting on turntables and mixers, I feel like I've been pretty lucky thus far.
THE BAG MESSENGER: What can we be looking for in the future?
BOWLS: I'm trying to put out my Ahmad Jamal mix (Bowls Plays Jamal) sometime early next year, along with the follow-up to a boogie/funk mix I did back in 2009. Besides that, I'm just looking forward to playing more gigs and featuring more Nashville DJs on the Music City Living podcast. Oh, and buying more records. You can bet on that!
J-Rocc Cooking Ingredients
- Nov 08, 2010
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A good DJ is able to breath new life into old songs. A great DJ is able to make you excited to hear those songs. J Rocc is able to take songs you know and make them sound like completely music. Listen to this mix with headphones on. Sleep on it at your own peril.
-THE BAG MESSENGER
Click here for free download of Cooking Ingredients
Track listing...kind of
01. Intro Track
02. 3 Breaks For You
03. Smoothed Out
04. Sho Is Funky
05. Another Smooth One
06. Little Bitchard
07. $$$$
08. Eugene Edit
09. Latin Fuzz Guitar
10. Schmit
11. James The Preacher Man
12. Classic
13. Spacey
14. Out Looking Inside
15. Hoggin
16. Gotta Get Away
17. Rufus Breaks
18. Woman Shut Up
19. Windy Edit