DJ Rhettmatic

Last updated
DJ Rhettmatic
Birth nameNazareth Nirza
Born (1969-05-10) May 10, 1969 (age 54)
Origin California, U.S.
Occupation(s)
  • Disc jockey
  • record producer
Labels Up Above Records
Member of

DJ Rhettmatic (born Nazareth Nirza) [1] is a producer, DJ [2] and member and part creator of Southern California's first turntable band, the Beat Junkies. [3] Rhettmatic began his DJ career in 1983, with Double Platinum, a DJ group based out of Cerritos, CA. [4]

His talent and musical expertise also extends into the realm of music production that helped him earn recognition and rewards. [5] Rhettmatic highly acknowledges fellow Beat Junkie member, DJ Curse, as his leading mentor. [6] As Curse shared his turntable exhibition, involving scratches and other DJ techniques, Rhettmatic's interest in DJing formed, allowing him to take hold of his musical passion. Rhettmatic claimed the titles of Disco Mix Club (DMC) West Coast Champion (1996) and International Turntablist Federation (ITF) 2x Team World Champion (1997/1998). [7]

Rhettmatic also helped found in 1994 and is the DJ/producer for the LA based underground hip hop supergroup, the Visionaries. [8] He has worked with many in the hip hop community, from the likes of Peanut Butter Wolf, Talib Kweli, Madlib, DJ Premier, Cypress Hill, Mayer Hawthorne [9] and Adrian Younge. [10] His musical masterpieces include "E=MC5" by KeyKool & Rhettmatic featuring Ras Kass, LMNO, Voodoo and Meen Green, [11] and "From the Ground Up" b/w "Ubiquity" by The Associates featuring LMNO & KeyKool of the Visionaries, Rakaa Iriscience & Evidence of Dilated Peoples, and Divine Styler. [12]

In December 2005, Rhettmatic was J Dilla's tour show DJ in Europe, for his last tour ever, along with Frank n Dank and Phat Kat. [13] Rhettmatic has also worked with and done production and scratches for Talib Kweli, OhNo, M.E.D., Aloe Blacc (Stones Throw), Prince Po (Organized Konfusion), RBX (The Dogg Pound), Noelle Scaggs of Fitz & the Tantrums and New York hip hop supergroup The Brown Bag AllStars, as well as having made mixtapes and podcast mixes for Ghostface Killah, Guilty Simpson and Stones Throw Records.

His most recent projects include the Crown Royale album with Michigan's wordsmith Buff1, [14] a DJ/percussionist show/mixtape project with Eric Bobo of Cypress Hill [15] and a joint project with legendary Californian MC, Ras Kass called 'A.D.I.D.A.S.' [16]

DJ Rhettmatic currently hosts Beat Junkie Radio on Dash Radio.

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Up Above Records is an independent hip hop record label based in Long Beach, California, co-founded in 1995 by Doug "Papadoug" Kato and The Visionaries member KeyKool, along with DJ Rhettmatic and Beat Junkies. The label's first release was a 12" single, KeyKool & Rhettmatic's "Can U Hear It". The single's B-side, "E=MC5" featuring Ras Kass, Meen Green, Voodoo, and Visionaries member LMNO, was deemed "an underground classic" by Source Magazine.

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References

  1. Price, Emmett George (2006). Hip Hop Culture. p. 145. ISBN   9781851098675.
  2. "BLAME ONE & J57 – B.L.A.M.E.57 FEAT. DJ RHETTMATIC".
  3. "DJ Rhettmatic Exclusive Interview".
  4. "NPR".
  5. Paine, Jake (March 14, 2010). "DJ Rhettmatic Talks About "A.D.I.D.A.S." Album With Ras Kass". HipHopDX. Retrieved March 14, 2010.
  6. Fantastique, Adriel (2009-08-19). "The Electorate". Real Detroit Weekly. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
  7. "Beat Junkies' DJ Rhettmatic Talks Rare Records, Vinyl Culture". Fuse TV. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  8. Three, East. "RHETTMATIC INTERVIEW". Fat Lace. Archived from the original on 2 September 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  9. Barnes, Andre. "First Listen: Buff1 And DJ Rhettmatic, 'Crown Royale'". NPR. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  10. JES7. "Adrian Younge – Enemies (DJ Rhettmatic Remix) f. William Hart (of The Delfonics)". 2DopeBoyz.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  11. "DJ Rhettmatic – Excerpts From The SP1200 Volume 1 (1994?-?1998)". Rappers I KNow. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  12. "The World Famous Beat Junkies Volume 2". Discogs. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  13. Watkins, Greg. "New DVD Captures Last Days Of Producer J. Dilla". AllHipHop.com. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  14. Femi, Shamz. "Video: Crown Royale (Buff1 x DJ Rhettmatic) "Say What" feat. Eric Bobo". OkayPlayer. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  15. "Video: Bobo Meets Rhettmatic". Nahright. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  16. Kujundzic, Petar. "Clement & Co. presents: Field Studies – Ras Kass & DJ Rhettmatic: ADIDAS". Hypetrak. Retrieved 17 October 2013.