NEW YORK CITY

REGISTER NOW FOR SPRING TERM 2 COURSES STARTING ON MAY 6TH
Registration is now open all Spring Term 2 DJ courses at Scratch DJ Academy – NYC. Come and learn the DJ basics in DJ 101 and DJ INT; improve your mixing and blending in DJ 151 and 152; perfect your scratch technique in DJ 202 and 303; and learn to make beats in BM 101 and 202. All courses are taught by our head instructors, J-Smoke and Excess, and feature celebrity guests like GrandWizzard Theodore, Grandmaster Caz, Alamo, Rob Dinero, and more. Courses start May 6th!
Click here to register or for more information.

DJ REVOLUTION

DJ Revolution has been holding down the decks for 8 years now on the longest running commercial hip-hop show in history, The Wake Up Show with hosts Sway and King Tech. Revolution has also featured his now infamous scratch techniques and production skills with many artists, both established and up-and-coming alike, and has released countless mixtapes. If all this wasn’t enough, he’s also traveled the world to spin with legendary DJ’s like Jazzy Jeff and headline his own club performances.

Scratch: Why did you become a DJ and what made you decide to pursue it as a career?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: I started DJ’ing when I was twelve…long a** time ago. My first gig was my uncles wedding. After that, it was a dream of mine. When I was younger I just liked pushing all the buttons and making s*** happen technically. When I actually got involved with the music, that’s what made me want to pursue it as a profession. My grandfather took me up to a local college radio station to meet the DJ and talk to him. While I watched him press buttons, talk on the mic, and do all sorts of s*** I thought was cool…I thought to myself “I wanna do this.” But again, when the love of music came into it when I found hip-hop and heard the things Flash and other DJ’s were doing with records, I knew that was me all day.
 
Scratch: When you first became interested in DJ’ing, what people were most influential in your life?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: There were only a few who influenced me early on. The biggest being Jazzy Jeff. He was and still is my biggest DJ influence. He is in my head as well as in many others’ as unquestionably the best hip-hop DJ to ever do it. From winning battles, to producing, to inventing new forms of scratching, to performing flawless live sets…..LEGEND. Others that influenced me are Cash Money, DJ Aladdin, Scratch and other DJ’s that made me study my craft hard to catch up to their pace. I had a few other people teach me a few things like how to use multi-tracks and record mixes and s***. This one dude named Playboy helped me learn a lot on how to spin in a club. He put me on the right path.
 
Scratch: How does who and what you spin now compare to what you were spinning back in the day? Do you experiment with more music genres?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: When I first started I was really young, and I liked rock and top 40. Like every other 13 year kid I was into pop culture. Pop culture in the eighties was rock…until hip hop came along. Boom…that was it for me. Nothing else existed for the next 6-7 years. Then I started listening to jazz, old funk and soul, and other funky s*** like that. I am constantly experimenting with all types of music and trying to incorporate it into what I do.
 
Scratch: If someone were to ask you today why you are a DJ, what would you tell them?
 
DJ REVOLUTION:I would tell them: “because I didn’t want to do anything else.” For me, the whole point of existing as a human being is to be able to do what you want…not just what you need to do to survive; to live your dreams or at least die chasin’ em. Making my dream to be a hip hop DJ has enabled me to travel the world many times over. It has allowed me to meet some of the coolest people and taken me to meet and become friends with most of my idols I had as a kid. And oh yeah…I get paid to do what I love, which is having fun spinning and making hip hop. Not a bad job.
 
Scratch: What are you up to right now, and what kind of projects do see yourself involved with in the future?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: Right now I’m involved in a lot of s***…I do production music for TV and films. I produce artists, make mixtapes and keep touring the world DJ’ing. Plus of course there is this weekly show I do on the radio, you might have heard of it. It’s called the Wake Up Show.
 
Scratch: What is the most exciting and memorable experience you have had as a DJ?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: My first time at the Wake Up Show when it was on 92.3 the Beat, King Tech told me to just bring up a regular set of records to play some s*** on the air, like a lil’ tryout. When I rolled up…Q-bert was there, Mixmaster Mike, Apollo, Babu, Melo-d, Rhettmatic, Shortcut, J rocc, Roc Raida, Rob Swift, and a few others were all there. All of them were there to showcase. I was not prepared at all. But it was so fun ‘cuz I got to meet all of them and watch ‘em get down. To make it worse…Sway put me on first! I did my thing of course, and Sway and Tech and I clicked from that point on.

Scratch: What sets you apart from other DJ’s?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: I can do it all. Every DJ should be able to do it all to earn that title, DJ. You can’t just scratch and call yourself a DJ. You can’t just play records in clubs and call yourself a DJ...at least not around me and my circle of friends. The fact that I do it all sets me apart from most DJ’s, but it shouldn’t. It’s a shame that most newer DJ’s cant do the whole package or don’t want to because it’s so easy to get a spot in a club now ‘cuz most promoters don’t give a s*** about the one thing that truly does set me apart from everyone: SKILLZ! My style progresses every time I touch the tables to scratch or get a set together. I have been doing it so long that I don’t do what most people call “practice”. The s*** just comes to me.
 
Scratch: What’s up with your DJ name, Revolution?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: It means what is says…Revolution. I have had this name for 15 years…I had a few others when I was a dumba** kid tryin’ to be cool. But when I got serious…that’s when I took this name.

Scratch:  What are your thoughts on Scratch DJ Academy?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: I think it benefits DJ’s. Young ones and veterans. They all learn from each other; teacher from student and vice versa. It’s great because they are not just taking money from kids to teach them something. They really help people learn a lot about how to make DJ’ing your job. That’s the toughest part. They put the people they teach into the community to learn hands on.
 
Scratch:  Do you have a website? How can get more info about what you are doing?
 
DJ REVOLUTION: Who needs a website when u got www.livedigital.com and myspace (www.myspace.com/djrevolution)? U can find out about everything that’s goin’ on with me between those two spots.