Beat Junkies

Last updated
Beat Junkies
Origin Orange County, California, U.S.
Genres Hip hop, turntablism
Years active1992–present
LabelsBeat Junkie Sound
Members DJ Babu
J Rocc
D-Styles
DJ Rhettmatic
DJ What?!
Mr. Choc
Icy Ice
Curse
DJ Shortkut
Melo-D
DJ Havik
Website www.beatjunkies.com

The Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in turntablism.

Contents

Established in 1992 in Orange County, California by J. Rocc. As of 2014, The Beat Junkie Crew also host their own record pool, clothing line and radio station. The Beat Junkies opened their own DJ school [1] in April 2017, located in Glendale. In January 2018, they announced plans to go online and launch beatjunkies.tv.

The Beat Junkies have won prestigious DJ battles and competitions like the DMC, the Supermen, and International Turntablists Federation competitions and going to world tour exhibitions. They have traveled and performed across the United States as well as Japan, Germany, The Netherlands and Canada. [2] The Beat Junkies as a crew and individually have also featured in many other acts alongside artists such as Jurassic 5, the Visionaries, the Likwit Junkies with Defari, Phil Da Agony, Cypress Hill, Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Dilated Peoples, and Peanut Butter Wolf who was so influenced by the Beat Junkies that he recruited Homeless Derelicts (Grand the Visitor and Architect, currently members of Urban Umpires) who were featured on Beat Junkies Vol.1 and released them as the second ever Stones Throw Records release.

History

The group was established in 1992 by J. Rocc. [3] The original members included Curse, DJ Rhettmatic, Melo-D, Icy Ice, Symphony, & What?!. Shortkut, D-Styles, Havik, and Tommy Gun (who joined in late 1992) were later added. DJ Babu joined the Junkies by late 1993; the newest member is currently Mr. Choc, who was added to the crew in early 1996.

The BeatJunkies have launched their own membership based record pool in the spring of 2014, curated by members of the crew, which provides exclusive cuts and edits at www.beatjunkies.com.

Following the launch of the record pool, the Beat Junkies clothing line also was set into motion late 2014, which aimed at music lovers and enthusiasts alike. Celebrity influencers such as comedian Russell Peters, Chef Roy Choi, Radio Personality Rikki Martinez a.k.a. Letty, and artist AntiGirl have been featured in the 2014 Beat Junkie lookbook.

At the top of 2015, "Beat Junkie Radio" began airing on Dash Radio. The station is curated and hosted by members DJ Babu, Mr. Choc and Rhetmattic. Their live show "Soundcheck" goes on air every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month from 7-10pm, live sets are provided by select members of The Beat Junkie crew, and a variety of musical guests such as Egyptian Lover, Hitboy, Dom Kennedy, Anderson Paak, Knxwledge, The Alchemist and many more have been featured.

In celebration of 25 years, the Beat Junkies have opened up their own DJ school in 2017 - the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound. Located in Glendale, California, the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound offers fundamental and specialized DJ courses, workshops, private instruction, and an opportunity to join their community and learn the art form of DJing "Beat Junkie Style". Their philosophy on teaching is not bound by genre, music style, or technology. They authentically approach DJing as a discipline, a fine art, a passion. Placing a strong emphasis on the fact that there are mechanics, techniques, and history that one must study and master to earn the title of DJ.

Discography

Videos

Album appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disc jockey</span> Person who plays recorded music for an audience

A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs, club DJs, mobile DJs, and turntablists. Originally, the "disc" in "disc jockey" referred to shellac and later vinyl records, but nowadays DJ is used as an all-encompassing term to also describe persons who mix music from other recording media such as cassettes, CDs or digital audio files on a CDJ, controller, or even a laptop. DJs may adopt the title "DJ" in front of their real names, adopted pseudonyms, or stage names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marley Marl</span> American DJ, record producer and rapper

Marlon Lu'Ree Williams, better known by his stage name Marley Marl, is an American DJ, record producer, rapper and record label founder, primarily operating in hip hop music. Marlon grew up in Queensbridge housing projects located in Queens, New York. He performed in local talent shows during the early days of rap music, further fueling his interest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dilated Peoples</span> American hip hop band

Dilated Peoples is an American Los Angeles-based hip hop trio, composed of rapper and record producer Evidence, rapper Rakaa, and Beat Junkies deejay and record producer DJ Babu. The group better known in the UK, they reached the Top 40 of the UK Singles Chart with two tracks, "This Way" and "Worst Comes to Worst." Their songs were featured in the 2003 video games Need for Speed: Underground and NBA Street Vol. 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turntablism</span> Art of manipulating sound using turntables

Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system and/or broadcasting equipment so that a wider audience can hear the turntablist's music. Turntablists atypically manipulate records on a turntable by moving the record with their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on a record, and by touching or moving the platter or record to stop, slow down, speed up or, spin the record backwards, or moving the turntable platter back and forth, all while using a DJ mixer's crossfader control and the mixer's gain and equalization controls to adjust the sound and level of each turntable. Turntablists typically use two or more turntables and headphones to cue up desired start points on different records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Babu</span> Musical artist

Christopher E. Oroc, stage name Melvin Babu, better known as DJ Babu or DJ Babu the Dilated Junkie, is a Filipino-American DJ and record producer. He is a member of DJ crew the Beat Junkies, Los Angeles-based hip hop trio Dilated Peoples together with Evidence and Rakaa Iriscience, and a member of the Likwit Junkies along with rapper Defari. He served as the curator and host of Soundcheck for Beat Junkie Radio on Dash Radio. As of 2017, DJ Babu is the Program Director and a lead instructor alongside fellow crew members Mr. Choc, Melo-D, DJ Rhettmatic, D-Styles and J.Rocc at the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound.

<i>Scratch</i> (2001 film) 2001 documentary film directed by Doug Pray

Scratch is a 2001 documentary film, directed and edited by Doug Pray. The film explores the world of the hip-hop DJ from the birth of hip-hop when pioneering DJs began extending breaks on records, to the invention of scratching and beat juggling, to the more recent explosion of turntablism. Throughout the documentary, many artists explain how they were introduced to hip-hop while providing stories of their personal experiences.

Visionaries is an underground hip hop crew from Los Angeles, California. The crew formed in 1995, and have since released four full-length albums on Up Above Records, and their fifth album "V" on their newly re-formed label Visionaries Crew, Inc. The crew's six members have collectively released over fifty solo and side projects. They have collaborated and performed with many other artists, including Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, Common, Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Dilated Peoples, De La Soul, Blackalicious, Jean Grae, Psycho Realm, J Dilla, Jurassic 5 and Linkin Park.

<i>Masters of Illusion</i> (album) 2000 studio album by Masters of Illusion

Masters of Illusion is the eponymous debut album of American hip hop group Masters of Illusion, composed of producer KutMasta Kurt and rappers Kool Keith & Motion Man. It was released on November 14, 2000, via Threshold Records. The project features no guest emcees, but does feature DJ cuts/scratches by DJ Revolution, DJ Babu and DJ Rhettmatic.

<i>Soundbombing II</i> 1999 compilation album by Rawkus Records

Soundbombing II is the second installment in Rawkus Records' Soundbombing compilation series, released by the label on May 18, 1999. Mixed by DJ Babu and J Rocc of Beat Junkies, the album included tracks from a variety of artists, both Rawkus' signees and popular artists from other labels.

<i>Expansion Team</i> (album) 2001 studio album by Dilated Peoples

Expansion Team is the second studio album by American hip hop trio Dilated Peoples. It was released on October 23, 2001, through Capitol Records. Recording sessions took place at D&D Studios and The Dewgarde Crib Of Hits in New York, at SoundProof and Skip Saylor Recording in Los Angeles, at Encore Studios and Mad Dog Studios in Burbank, at Front Page Recorders in Glendale and at The Studio in Philadelphia. Production was handled by members Evidence and DJ Babu, as well as Alchemist, Joey Chavez, Da Beatminerz, DJ Premier, Juju and Questlove. It features guest appearances from Black Thought, the Beat Junkies members DJ Rhettmatic, J. Rocc and Melo-D, and the Likwit Crew members Defari, Phil Da Agony and Tha Alkaholiks, with cameo appearances from Cokni O'Dire, GuRu, Noelle Scaggs and Shae Fiol.

The Likwit Crew is an American hip hop collective from California, founded by Compton-based rapper King Tee. Considered to have been originated in 1992 when King Tee introduced Tha Alkaholiks trio, composed of members E-Swift, J-Ro and Tash, on the lead single "Got It Bad Y'all" from his third studio album Tha Triflin' Album.

Mr. Dibbs is an American DJ and hip hop producer. He is the Founder of 1200 HOBOS [dj/graff collective]. He was also one of the founders of Scribble Jam.

<i>Built from Scratch</i> 2002 studio album by The X-Ecutioners

Built from Scratch is the second studio album by New York City DJ group The X-Ecutioners. It was released on February 26, 2002, through Loud Records and Columbia Records. The album was produced by Beat Junkies, Chris Frantz, CJ Moore, Dan the Automator, DJ Apollo, DJ Premier, Kenny Muhammad The Human Orchestra, Knobody, Large Professor, Lo-Fidelity Allstars, Mike Shinoda of American rock band Linkin Park, Sean Cane, The X-Ecutioners, Tina Weymouth, and was executive produced by Peter Kang.

Signal – The Southeast Electronic Music Festival is an annual music festival held in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, North Carolina. It is sometimes colloquially referred to as Signalfest or Signal Fest. Begun in 2006 by a group of Chapel Hill DJs and producers seeking to build on the small but vibrant local electronic dance music scene, the festival is now entering its fifth year. It was initially founded as a commercial venture, but has since moved to a non-profit format and is now managed by the Signal Foundation.

George Kordas, better known by the stage name DJ Bonez, is a hip hop DJ and producer, originally from Sydney and currently based in Melbourne, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DJ Scene</span> American producer and DJ

DJ Scene is an American producer and DJ.

DJ Rhettmatic is a producer, DJ and member and part creator of Southern California's first turntable band, the Beat Junkies. Rhettmatic began his DJ career in 1983, with Double Platinum, a DJ group based out of Cerritos, CA.

Soundset Music Festival was a hip-hop music festival held yearly in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area over Memorial Day weekend. Since Soundset began in the Metrodome parking lot in 2008, attendance has grown from 12,000 to over 30,000 consistently since 2014. Over 280,000 fans have traveled from fifty U.S states, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, Australia and New Zealand to experience Soundset in Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of DJing</span> Aspect of history

DJing is the act of playing existing recorded music for a live audience.

The International Turntablist Federation (ITF) was an organization which held a series of DJ battles during the rise of turntablism in the late 90s and early 2000s. The ITF is notable for introducing the concept of category competitions. The categories included advancement, scratching, beat juggling, and team.

References

  1. "The Beat Junkie Institute of Sound Gets DJ Hopefuls Up to Scratch". KCET. 2017-05-26. Retrieved 2021-03-20.
  2. Beat Junkie Overview
  3. J.ROCC - The DJ List