"Go DJ...Thats my DJ"

“Last Night A DJ Saved My Life”
written by JusHH

This song by Indeep in 1982 summed up how Hip-Hop saw its beloved DJ – as a superhero. In the beginning, it was all about the DJ. He was the rock star. He was the main attraction. People came out to parties just to see their favorite DJ rock the house. The “rapper” at that time was literally a guy who helped carry in the vinyl and used the microphone only to introduce the DJ and hype up the crowd. Almost all rap groups had a DJ as a prominent member. Run-DMC dedicated an entire song to Jam Master Jay on their first album. Erick B has four solo songs on the classic Paid In Full album where there were no words just the beat and his scratches. Today, it’s argued that it’s all about the rapper and the DJ has faded to the background. While they aren’t the worshipped deities that they once were, DJ’s are just as successful if not more now.

First of all, the technology may have gotten better (no more need to carry 20 crates of records), but you still need a human being on the 1’s and 2’s to rock a party. And with all the “club bangers” being produced, a good DJ who can hold it down is still in high demand. The best ones have become stars in their own right and are paid quite handsomely. DJ AM has a million dollar contract with the hottest club in Las Vegas; he is flown around the world to spin at all kinds of events and has plans to open up his own club in the near future. The Heavy Hitters are a band of DJ’s that get great gigs all over the country. They’re a “union” of sorts where they all look out for each other and add zeros to their bank accounts. As long as people continue to head to the clubs every weekend, a DJ will be waiting with Serato in hand.

In the late 90’s, mixtapes blew up giving DJ’s another outlet to shine. They took their craft out of the club and created their own mixes of songs using a cappellas and adding them to different beats. DJ Clue and Funkmaster Flex took it a step further by actually getting unreleased and exclusive material from rappers. They were so successful that they became two of the first DJ’s ever to get their own record deals to take their mixtapes national. Some of the biggest rap acts today got their start by a DJ on the mixtape circuit. DJ Drama took the mixtape even further with the “Gangsta Grillz” series. Drama would partner with a rapper and literally create an entire album worth of original material. Many feel that these “street albums” are better than the rapper’s major label releases. Today, you’re not hot if Drama or another top DJ doesn’t work with you to make an album. The mixtape has literally made an artist out of the DJ.

Lastly, DJ’s have simply morphed into the super producers that we hear on every hit track. Before they got behind the MPC, many of today’s producers started out on the turntables at local parties. They may not have the “DJ” in their name anymore but they serve the same purpose. They are in groups (Kids in the Hall, Big Tymers, Little Brother), their instrumentals are heard on cell phones and some are even scoring movies and television shows. Although the more “self-promoting” rapper gets most of the media attention nowadays, the DJ never went anywhere. They’ve been right in the center of things providing us with the bass lines that our Hip-Hop hearts beat to on the daily. The equipment that they are now using is more advanced but don’t get it twisted, Kanye West, Pharell, Danja and Polow the Don are all DJ’s and with the classic music that they are putting through your speakers, they probably saved your life once or twice over the past few years.