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He was DMC champion at 17, has his own show on Itch FM, has just started up his own label and has worked with Kashmere, Jehst, Asaviour and errrr Keith Chegwin. The third volume of his ‘official mixtape series has just dropped on the Man Can Scratch imprint and features some of the sick new exclusives from Jehst, Verb T, Asaviour, Bill Zoot, Kaspa, Skreintax and more... If you haven’t heard of DJ IQ you can be forgiven…but only just. With his debut LP set to drop this summer (which includes a number of tasty collaborations) UKHH.com’s latest interviewer Straika went down and spoke to this young pretender about his dedication to the game… You were just 14 when you got your first turntables. By 17 you were DMC champion. How the Hell did you manage that?  Well,
I guess I had a certain drive to do it. I was just on it hard,
practising. I’ve always wanted to be the best I can be at whatever I’m
doing, you know. So err yeh, a lot of hours put in, and I was just doing
it cos I enjoyed it. I used to enjoy watching other DJs as well, DJs
that were better than me.Were you a mild-mannered schoolboy by day and superstar DJ by night and did your homework suffer? In the end I think my homework did suffer yeh, I held it up for a while tho. Looking back at it now, I think it was a time period I probably should have stuck out till the end but at the time, I just weren’t interested. I mean, I suppose there are pros and cons. On one hand my schooling suffered, but I also feel like I got a little head start in this hip hop shit. It was a gradual thing as well; I didn’t just decide one day ‘Fuck it, I’m done with school’. I just juggled it for years, but then like overtime and as shit became more serious, started getting more work, you just got weigh shit up sometimes, decide what you wanna do, how you wanna spend your time. It got to A-levels where there were certain crucial dates that if you missed, there’s no way you can really take the exam you know, it’s especially towards the end where everything gets hectic, at this point I was DJing for Jehst on the Falling Down Tour. There were nuff gigs happening all over the place and from there I started to hustle the DJing fulltime. So How did you hook up with Jehst in the first place and what was it like to be DJing around Europe at such a young age? Well basically, I was DJing on Itch FM at the time and I used to fill in for MK on occasions when he couldn’t make it, usually cos he was away gigging. So then me and A-Cyde would do the show. Usually I was in the mix playing and cuttin up records and A-cyde would do most of the hosting. Although; saying that, that wasn’t always the case. I’ve got really funny memories actually of me and him just talking and joking around on Itch, I’ve probably still got those shows on tape somewhere. But errr, yeh basically A-Cyde just had the link; at around this time Jehst needed a new DJ so A-Cyde more or less tipped me off to his manager that I might be the man to fill the slot. And it just sorta happened like that really, I started DJing for Jehst and things went from there. You have a growing catalogue of mix tapes to your name - what, for you, makes a good mix tape? A good mixtape, I dunno it’s hard. Essentially, I like to hear a balance of good skills and good song selection. It’s always nice to include tracks that you know people haven’t heard, or remixes you think people might have missed anything to make your mix more distinctive. For example, if you check the mixes in my Official series, that’s kinda what it was all about, just the mix of good tunes, tidy skills and exclusives that you’d only hear on my CDCos it’s about that as well, if you have material that is only available on your Mix CD, no where else, you got something special, it just adds to the exclusivity of your product. I always like to do intros for my mixes too, with cuts and wordplay, stuff like that. I just always did it. I used to listen to MK’s tapes, Shortee, Beat junkie tapes also and they sorta showed me what a good mixtape was and sounded like! And from there it was just in me, which was the way to do it. You gotta have an explosive beginning you know…  “...I have a very sure idea of what I think is the realness, the best shit, and I’m gonna always try and bring that across in what I do...” Tell us how you got into production and who have you worked with? I started DJing in the beginning cos I was into beats, and I wanted to mix them. So then naturally things just progressed and I got more into it, from when I was DJing for Jehst I seemed to be around more beat makers as well. Just watching mans, absorbing stuff and learning. Then eventually I bought an MPC and got busy. I really think, and like with any fine art, it takes time to get good. I haven’t been producing for that long but I’ve been sharp and I’ve been on it. So in a couple of years I’ve got good, been making a lot of beats. Been demo-ing up a lot of tracks with other artists. I guess all will be revealed with the album out. Your debut LP, Brainfood, is due to drop this summer. Tell us what we can expect from the album and the impressive array of collaborations.  Expect
good music, expect banging tracks. From names you’ve heard of to some
names you might have not. The point being tho that I feel they’re all
just dope tracks, and they all sit together on par with each other,
musically.I’d hope that it was quite a refreshing album as well, it is to me. Also, every rapper on my album I back as just plain dope you know? I’d never work with mans just for the sake of it, or because there’s a rapper out there who seems to be ‘hot’ for a second. I have a very sure idea of what I think is the realness, the best shit, and I’m gonna always try and bring that across in what I do. Each beat is basically tailor made for each rapper as well. Let me explain: When producing; say you’ve got a beat, and you know who you want on it, your thinking damn this rapper would be so dope on this beat, but sometimes you can’t always plan for what the artist is gonna be into you know? However, with BrainFood it’s like I got lucky or something! Cos’ near enough every beat, when I made it, I had the rapper first in mind that ended up spitting on the track! So for example; tracks with Sir Smurf Lil’ Kashmere, Jehst, Asaviour, Verb T, Kaspa; they were all beats that I wanted them on right from the start! So that’s another special thing about this album, its pretty much tracks from head, dreamt up, made and crystallized into a CD for you to buy! Other collaborations on the album include Yungun, The Foreign Beggars & Dr.Syntax, Dubbledge, Konny Kon, Bill Zoot and Twinky Blu of the ManCan family, Big Deal, Malone and Lewis cooper who plays the sax on 2 tracks. Tell us about the Mancan label. Well that’s my shit right there, a label that I’ve set up that’s still in it’s early stages. BrainFood is being released on ManCan and in conjunction with Boombox Distribution. It’s basically an umbrella to house the talent we have combined. That’s myself, Kaspa, Twink & Bill Zoot. This being the main foundation to it all. We got artists like Big Deal and Pride; people who are down and that we’re building with. All These names will probably be unfamiliar to most who read this but hopefully people will get to know when the material gets out there. It’s refreshing new talent, some real shit. real lyricists and beat makers doing’ it. What are you going to do after the release of Brainfood? Will you be touring with any of the artists involved? Yeh for real, stay tuned for the tour later this year most definitely! If all goes to plan there should be a nation wide tour plus a launch party in London that’s currently in the works. So stay tuned for all of that. Should all be happening September October kinda time. Where can we catch a DJ IQ set in the coming months? Well currently I’m doing a lot of gigs with Jehst promoting his most recent offering ‘Nuke Proof Suit’. Together with Asaviour as well who’s on board promoting his debut LP on lowlife ‘The Borrowed Ladder’. We’ve been doing a load of dates up and down the country and in different parts of Europe for the past year. The next few shows we have in the UK are in n Banbury, Cardiff, Brighton and The Jazz Café in London. I’m also DJing at Breakin Bread in April and at Ministry of Sound in May. “...I produced a banger for Keith Chegwin the other day. You should hear the strings on it trust me, I’m on some next shit!...” Where are you happiest - is it in studio or the club or just at home practicing?  At
the moment I’m happiest at home, in my little studio being creative…
(pauses) ..Yeh, that’s definitely where I’m happiest (smiles). I still
enjoy gigging tho, and I can’t wait to start promoting my album and
taking it on the road. It makes it a whole different thing being that’s
it my music, and my art. It means a lot to me, I feel blessed even to be
able to do it in the first place but it’s like I’m just running with it
you know, and trying to stay focussed.Who are the biggest celebs you have worked with and what were they like - drop some names, boy. Oh boy well let’s see… I produced a banger for Keith Chegwin the other day. You should hear the strings on it trust me, I’m on some next shit! He’s a really nice guy too contrary to popular belief. Also, Thandie Newton just emailed me over some harmonies she’s done for this album I’m doing for a Brazilian label, and didn’t you know she sings as well as acts? Well she does… serious… erm .. Hahahaha… oookk but nah you know what, on the real, I don’t feel like I’ve worked with any ‘celebs’. That’s a real hard question to answer, and the idea behind the ‘celebrity’, it’s a funny thing ain’t it. The people I’ve worked with have just been real. What advice would you give to the thousands of young bedroom DJs in the UK who dream of blowing up? I think if you really want it certain things are gonna fall in to place naturally, such as having a drive to do it, a dedication. If your doing it just cos you wanna do it naturally you’re gonna learn and get better. I’ve been lucky as well in terms of my location, being born in London, where things are happening and people are making moves. But I’d say nowadays, for people out there that have real talent and are far out or in a place where it might not be ‘happening’ try use technology to your advantage. Get at the people you want to get at. Pretty much everyone is still just an email address away, no one’s really that hard to track down. So if you’re a DJ who wants to get on get the best mix CD together you can and get it heard and distributed. Make your presence felt, represent yourself the best way you can. I don’t know, that’s all I can really say. Who has inspired you? My mum inspires me. And I still see her most days so she’s like a constant source of inspiration. Errrm, to be honest, most of the people around me inspire me. And in different ways as well, It’s deep. My friends inspire me, Artists that inspire me, producers like Madlib, J Dilla (R.I.P), Hi-Tek, Lewis Parker, Premier, Showbiz, Harry Love, OH NO, Ghost, Pete Rock, LG, Apollo. Rappers like Elzhi, Dubbledge, Willow the Wisp, Jehst, Kashmere, Roc Marciano, MF Doom, and Cappo. I’m sure there are more inspirations than that… “...I wake up - I’m a DJ. I eat - I’m a DJ. I go to sleep - I’m a DJ...” Is Grime the creative 'kick up the arse' UK Hip Hop needed or just another off-shoot which will wither and die? Well I don’t know man, this is like the big debate at the moment isn’t it? It comes up in almost every interview I read nowadays.  For
me, Grime is like a mad fusion of garage and hip hop. When I was in
school everyone was into garage, but that was like the 2 step happy in
the club ‘artful dodger’ type stuff, you know? Then the music started
getting a little more instrumental based, less happy go lucky female
vocals and choruses and stuff. So generally, what I reckon happened as
these kids grew older and lets say, more angry? Just cos the world is
the way it is, the ‘happy go lucky’ 2 step garage anthems wasn’t really
alleviating much you know? I don’t reckon it really represented anything
to the youth, so the sound in time just got grimier. The music got much
darker, they started messing with some new sounds but the tempo stayed
the same.Then the emceeing, this is what I mean by like a fusion of garage and hip hop. Mans like Kano, Durrty Doogz, to me, they spit you know? They rap, I wouldn’t call it anything else. So it has kind of merged together. Where as I also feel my stuff is on some hip hop shit too. After this, you end up thinking what is the difference? Can you restrict a genre of music down to a bpm? Not really. It’s just the media trying to infiltrate our shit, keep tabs on it, divide and conquer. They want to be able to label stuff cos it makes it easier to sell. What do you do when you're not being a DJ? Ha… I wake up, I’m a DJ. I eat, I’m a DJ. I go to sleep, I’m a DJ. Erm, No. When I’m trying to relax and not work I do what I need to do to switch off. Watch films, get out to somewhere, smoke trees, conversate with bretherins, you know how it goes… Do you actually know what your IQ score is? Nope… Tell us something you will regret when you see it up on UKHH.com for all the world to see... errrr… The Official Vol.3 Mix CD and DJ IQ ‘Not Easy’ 7” featuring Verb.T is out in April on ManCan Music. I think the 7 will now probably drop a little after the mixtape but check ya stores! Watch out for my debut production album ‘Brain Food’ dropping summer 2006. Look out for the singles, video, tour etc Keep an eye out for the Kaspa ‘High Spirits’ 7” produced by myself as well as IQ beats on the Asaviour album, fourth coming Kashmere album and Verb T album. Stay tuned for future projects in the works with Jehst, Skrein, The Colony and a special Asaviour album featuring myself on the production. And lastly thanks to UKHH for holdin their corner for quite some time now! Props due… - Straika
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