DJ Symphony | |
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Background information | |
Also known as | Symphony Taylor |
Born | August 1, 1980 |
Origin | Newark, New Jersey, U.S. |
Genres | Hip hop |
Occupations | |
Instrument | |
Years active | 1989 | –-present
Labels | Ice H2O Records, Instant Music Group |
Website | www.djsymphony.com |
Symphony Taylor (born August 1, 1976) is an American hip hop producer, radio personality, and official DJ for GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Symphony has worked with artists such as Digital Underground, Tony Touch, DJ Boogie Blind, DJ Scratch from EPMD, The Beatnuts, [1] Sean Price, P. Diddy, Nas, MF Doom, Alchemists, Mobb Deep, Portia Dee, Rick Ross, KRS-One, 2 Chainz, Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Yelawolf, Onyx, 9th Wonder, B2K's Raz-B and B-Nasty
Born and raised in Newark, New Jersey, DJ Symphony started deejaying at age 9 when his older brothers requested him to be the DJ for their rap group New Poet Society. [2] He played local parties in the New Jersey area and was mentored in the craft by the late DJ Kashief, who was also a popular deejay in the New Jersey area at the time. DJ Symphony started making mixtapes by age 12, and used whatever money he made selling mixtapes to help him buy more vinyl records. DJ Symphony began his professional career in 1995 deejaying in nightclubs, restaurants, colleges and block parties in the New Jersey and New York area.
DJ Symphony became a radio DJ for 103.3 WPRB in Princeton, New Jersey in 1996 and ran a weekly program called Vibes and Vapours. In 1997, he also started to deejay for Rutgers University and did their Black Madness events. Although DJ Symphony devoted most of his time from 2000 and onward to tour deejaying for numerous artists, he returned to radio in 2007 and worked for 102.5 KSFM in Sacramento, California as a mix show DJ for the show Club 102 which aired from 12am-2am every weekend until 2009. In 2010, DJ Symphony became the program director for Radio Invasion 93.1FM a clear channel radio station. [3]
In 2000, DJ Symphony was introduced to the Wu-Tang Clan through Raekwon. He started doing shows as Raekwon's tour DJ and in the years to come, he became official tour DJ for Gza of the Wu-Tang Clan, [4] the other DJs being DJ Mathematics, DJ Dice and DJ Saki. DJ Symphony has toured with members of the Wu-Tang Clan on both domestic and international tours. DJ Symphony was the official DJ for Raekwon from 2006 to 2013 and worked with Raekwon's label Ice H2O Records from 2006 to 2010. DJ Symphony also worked with Ghostface Killah on his Wu-Block Tour from 2010 to 2013. Since 2014, DJ Symphony has worked as the official tour DJ for GZA.
DJ Symphony has evolved from being a hip-hop practitioner to becoming a music teacher. His passion for education and hip-hop lead him to create the Symphony DJ Academy Archived 2019-08-22 at the Wayback Machine at the Solano Town Center in 2013 in Fairfield, California where he teaches deejaying, audio production, podcasting and radio arts. In 2017 he opened Scratch Course, an online DJ program.
DJ Symphony started his professional production career in 2006 when he was signed with Raekwon's Ice H2O Records label. The label put out the song "Papito" with JD Era and opened up the door for DJ Symphony to produce for other celebrity artists. Listed below are some of the songs that DJ Symphony has produced, although the list is not exhaustive:
DJ Symphony's most notable mixtape series was created in 2010 The Certified Crack Mixtape Series with Raekwon. Overall, the Certified Crack Mixtape Series has had over 1 million downloads. [11] In total, there are 20 Mixtapes in circulation.
DJ Symphony helped create the movie score for the film Omerta (2012) [28]
Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop musical collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, Ol' Dirty Bastard. Close affiliate Cappadonna later became an official member. They are credited for revitalizing East Coast hip hop and are considered one of the greatest hip hop groups of all time.
Lamont Jody Hawkins, better known by his stage name U-God, meaning Universal-God, is an American rapper and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He has been with the group since its inception, and is known for his deep voice and rhythmic flow that can alternate between gruff and smooth.
Corey Woods, better known by his stage name Raekwon, is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success following the release of their debut album, Enter the Wu-Tang , in 1993. Raekwon would subsequently pursue a solo career, releasing his first solo album, entitled Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., in 1995. The album received critical acclaim, and is regarded by many critics as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time, as well as a staple of 1990s rap.
Dennis David Coles, better known by his stage name Ghostface Killah, is an American rapper and a member of the hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. After the group achieved breakthrough success in the aftermath of Enter the Wu-Tang , the members went on to pursue solo careers to varying levels of success. Ghostface Killah debuted his solo career with Ironman, which was well received by music critics, in 1996. He has enjoyed continued success in the years that have followed, releasing critically acclaimed albums such as Supreme Clientele (2000) and Fishscale (2006). His stage name was taken from one of the characters in the 1979 kung fu film The Mystery of Chess Boxing. He is the founder of his own record label, Starks Enterprises.
Jason Richard Hunter, better known by his stage name Inspectah Deck, is an American rapper and hip hop producer. He is a member of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and Czarface.
Walter Reed, better known by his stage name Killah Priest, is an American rapper, a member of Sunz of Man, and a Wu-Tang Clan affiliate who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He is known for his intensely spiritual lyrics, containing religious references and metaphors. He is connected to the Black Hebrew Israelites through his rhymes, and is known for his controversial and political subject matter. He is also a part of supergroup the HRSMN along with Canibus, Ras Kass, and Kurupt.
Derrick Harris, better known by his stage name True Master, is an American hip-hop record producer and rapper, known for his affiliation with the Wu-Tang Clan.
Ronald Maurice Bean, better known professionally as Mathematics, is a hip hop producer and DJ for the Wu-Tang Clan and its solo and affiliate projects. He designed the Wu-Tang Clan logo.
"Can It Be All So Simple" is the third and final single from Wu-Tang Clan's critically acclaimed debut album Enter the Wu-Tang . It features production from RZA that samples Gladys Knight & the Pips' cover of "The Way We Were". The song reached number nine on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, number twenty four on the Hot Rap Tracks chart and number eighty two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart.
"Triumph" is a song by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan, from their 1997 album Wu-Tang Forever. It was released as the lead single from the album in February 1997. The song does not have a chorus, instead, solely consisting of an intro and interlude by Ol' Dirty Bastard and verses from the other eight Wu-Tang members and associate Cappadonna. It is the only Wu-Tang song featuring all members, though the song "9 Milli Bros." from Ghostface Killah's album Fishscale also features all members.
Marc Shemer, better known by his stage name Scram Jones, is a producer, DJ and rapper from New Rochelle, New York. He has produced music for Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Styles P, Tragedy Khadafi, Jadakiss, Saigon, Dipset and Troy Ave. He has been featured in The Source magazine's "Unsigned Hype" column. Scram Jones is jewish.
Anthony Messado, better known by the stage name Hanz On or Hannibal The Great, is an American rapper and an affiliate of the Wu-Tang Clan. He released his solo debut, Out Of Chef's Kitchen in 2010, and has since co-founded a record label called Hanz On Music. He is closely tied to another Wu-Tang Clan affiliate named Carlton Fisk.
The Wu-Tang Clan is a New York City–based hip-hop musical group, consisting of ten American rappers: RZA, GZA, Raekwon, U-God, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, Method Man, Masta Killa, Cappadonna, and the late Ol' Dirty Bastard. This list chronologically displays the albums of each group member including collaboration and side group albums. This list does not include compilation albums, mixtapes, or extended plays.
A Better Tomorrow is the sixth studio album by American hip hop group Wu-Tang Clan. The album was released on December 2, 2014, by Warner Bros. Records. The album was supported by the singles "Keep Watch", "Ron O'Neal" and "Ruckus in B Minor". A Better Tomorrow received generally mixed reviews from music critics. The album debuted at number 29 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 24,386 copies in its first week of release.
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is the debut studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon, released on August 1, 1995, by Loud Records and RCA Records. The album was loosely composed to play like a film with Raekwon as the "star", fellow Wu-Tang member Ghostface Killah as the "guest-star", and producer RZA as the "director". It features appearances from every member of the Wu-Tang Clan. The album also features debut appearances from affiliates Cappadonna and Blue Raspberry, and an acclaimed guest appearance from rapper Nas, which marked the first collaboration with a non-affiliated artist on a Wu-Tang related album.
Supreme Clientele is the second studio album by American rapper and Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah, released on February 8, 2000, by Epic Records. The album showcases Ghostface's signature up-tempo, stream-of-consciousness rhyme style, and features guest appearances from Cappadonna, GZA, Masta Killa, Method Man, Raekwon, Redman, RZA, U-God, and others. It features affiliates of what would become members of Theodore Unit and T.M.F. Supreme Clientele contains a large amount of production from group member RZA, who also re-worked and remixed beats from other producers involved, as a means to create a unified and cohesive sound for the album.
Kamran Rashid Khan, known professionally as Lazarus, is a Detroit-based American rapper, songwriter and physician of Pakistani descent. He is known for his singles "GODFLOW", "Break the Walls" and "Man on a Mission" along with his songs "Drug of Choice", "Open Heart Surgery", "Underdog", "MTBK" and "Decapitation Chamber" featuring Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Bizarre, Royce da 5'9", Bohemia and Ghostface Killah respectively.
The discography of DJ Symphony, an American hip hop disc jockey, consist of sixteen mixtapes.
"Wu Tang Forever" is a song by American rapper Logic, featured as the sixth track on his 2018 album YSIV. The song is a homage to the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and features all living members of the group: Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, RZA, Method Man, Inspectah Deck, Cappadonna, U-God, Masta Killa and GZA, as well as Wu-Tang Clan affiliate Jackpot Scotty Wotty; deceased member Ol' Dirty Bastard received a writing credit. The song shares the same title as the group's second studio album.