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introduce yourself
hi…hiiii….hiiiiiiii
Where are you?
I am in London, England.
How have the British people been treating you?
ahhh…
No joke, those dudes are not happy with England in general.
A slight edge of bitterness..
You gotta understand we see it on TV and shit but we have never been up close, I was very surprised. Wanna know what else I realised over here?
Go on…
The French, are the American’s of Europe.
Controversial.
No the French don’t care about anything other than French shit. My fiancés French so I know French shit.
You're getting married?
Yes. She’s called Randa, She lives in Montreal…She’s French Canadian. We were in France and couldn’t get into a hotel one day…I call her up, a second on the phone with her and we’re in. The French are the American’s of Europe man.
It’s a long time you’ve been playing with Atmosphere now…
About 5 years
How do you feel about people recognising you more as Atmosphere’s deejay, rather than an artist in your own right?
I’ve put out about 22 records by myself. So there is enough people that know that I do my own shit. On a US tour, I’ll sell like 5 or 6 thousand CD’s of my own. It doesn’t hurt, doesn’t help… It brings more people to the show. More of my fans will buy his shit, more of his fans will buy my shit. So he’s the big shark and I’m the little dick-suck fish that rides on the bottom.
Is there any group in the world right now that could poach you away?
Would I leave Atmosphere? Never.
That’s a dirty question Jaimie…That’s a dirty, dirty question
It’s Ok he’s in the other room he can’t hear!
Actually, no I couldn’t leave him man, he put me where I am now. Like If Sean was done, or I got fired, or he just like didn’t wanna do it anymore or whatever – the only other group I would go out with is Living Legends. But I wouldn’t do it forever. Sean was the only person I ever entertained the idea of Deejaying with, and it just happened to work out this way. So I owe him a lot, he kind of saved my life. If he’s still into it when he’s 60, I’ll be doing when I’m 60, for him. It’s called blind loyalty.
Roughly how much time do you spend on tour?
In 2003 about 8 months. This year, so far about 4 months on the road. Leaving this I have about a month off, then we do the Warped tour – so essentially about 7 months this year. We have about 5 months off to work on records, then we’re back out on tour. So over half the year I’m on tour with Sean.
When you're are at home how do occupy yourself?
I work on music pretty much everyday. There is not time to do anything else.
What do you love and hate about Cincinatti?
There is nothing I hate about Cincinatti… But I’m slowly starting to feel it might be time to move on. You haven’t seen me in a year, a lot has changed.
Okay then, fill me in…
No fighting. Unless absolutely necessary. No acting like a dick. This entire tour was good. No fights, no beating people up, no yelling at soundmen. Just a good tour.
nahhhh… you know what’s orange and looks good on a hippy?……..Fire! You know how to get a hippy to stop screaming?………Shoot him again! I’m not a hippy, you just reach a certain stage when you think, do I wanna keep fighting? You know if someone's fucking with you I’ll back you up but I’m not out trying to pick a fight. There was these 3 dudes tonight constantly trying to start something, pushing and choking each other for the whole show. Usually I would just run up and smack ‘em. But now I’m like whatever. But if I have to fight you… I’ll fuck you in the ass afterwards.
I won’t look forward to that then. I have lost count of the amount of names that have been affiliated with 1200 hobos. Can you set the record straight, who does it consist of?
Here is how to set the record straight. There will be a 1200 hobos record coming out on Rhymesayers either right before the New Year or right after. And if you are not on the record, you are not a hobo. I have talked to everyone I want to still be a part of it. If they have a song in there, an interlude or even a picture you're in. At one stage it got up to about 60 people, about 40 I had no idea who they were. On the record there is about 15 people, not all deejays either, about half emcees.
Does it bear any resemblance to the original line-up?
Actually it pretty much is the original line-up! The first year or 2, those kinda people.
What was the idea behind it at first?
It was just me and Skip. He lived with me for a while and we used to practice and make up these big routines, and there would be local battles and we needed a name instead of just Skip and Mr Dibbs. He just said 1200 hobos…that’s all there was to it.
So from that, how did people like Buck 65 and DJ Signify get involved?
Well, at that point there was like a big network of deejays, shit man that was like 95-96 - deejaying was the shit! So we would like network back and forth and then inevitably Signify, Buck, Sixtoo, all that lot, came to Cincinatti. I remember picking Signify up at the airport. They would just come and we’d practice together, I asked them if they wanted to be a part of it, and they were like – yeah! So like the first 10 people were all deejays, then like 5 emcees and from there it just got carried away. But all the dumb shit is going, its out the window.
Talking of Signify, he was recently quoted as saying you were the greatest deejay around, how do you feel about that?
(long pause)… I don’t know what to say about that!
Who would you say is the greatest?
Qbert
Hands down?
Well there’s like a group of deejays, like Qbert, Craze, D-Styles, Mix Master Mike, that I would lump those all together – Cut Chemist! (thinking) Shadow… Those are the guys that I still listen to their shit and think – that is really progressive and dope.
Who is the most overated?
Most overrated?? Shit I’m not saying that! I’ll tell you off the record…But you seriously can’t print that shit…
----DICTAPHONE IS TAKEN AWAY----
ooooooh…a bombshell has just been dropped.
You can say that I said someone controversial, but no fucking names!
Ok, moving on… do you prefer deejaying or producing?
I actually prefer deejaying. I like to produce…but (sighs) the new album that’s coming out actually has a load of crap on it, some of its like 6 years old. So its got like Ali and Sage, Slug, Eyedea, Aesop, Lucky, Murs, E40…I shit you not!
Do you get much of a chance to drop your production live, except the odd interlude?
I could, but I don’t. Like, me and Sean have shit that like no one has ever heard, just cos we choose not to fit it into atmosphere sets. Y’know, if it aint broke don’t fix it.
At what stage was it that you thought, this scratching shit is going to be my life?
I guess about 94-95… there was like a few groups and the movement started to pick up momentum, Picklz, Beat Junkies, Hobos and that was like it. It started to pick up steam and there was like a 5 year period when everyone was really into that shit.
And was that the stage you realised that you were really tight?
No I always knew I was tight. Nah, at that point scratching in its own right was really big, but its not like that anymore. That’s why the new hobo record has so many emcees on it, cos you can’t just shit out a deejay record anymore…it just doesn’t happen like that. Unless, like Shadow probably could…but even Shadow has like singing or something…
Yeah I know almost exactly. 60,000. I have a basement full of about 30,000 and I have 3 storage facilities with about 10,000 in each…
Would you ever think about using one of these new-fangled digital scratch stations?
Sure, if I had the money. I actually have something new, you’ll see it on the next tour.
What is the most treasured record in your collection?
This has nothing to do with like digging or whatever, but Dusty Springfield “Son Of A Preacher Man” is my favourite record of all time. Nothing to do with drums or sampling or anything, it just my favourite. I listen to it all the time.
What kind of music do you most like sampling from?
Hardcore.
What about it do you like?
I think its easy to sample. Hardcore, Metal its just 4 times faster than Hip Hop. You just match it up at the half-point, its easy. You know why no one else wants to fuck with it?
Why is that?
Cos no one else has any nuts! No one has any balls! No one these days is in touch with the history of Hip Hop and its relationship with rock. Run DMC, Public Enemy, Beastie Boys, Fab 5 Freddy, Futura 2000, fuckin Diamond D! They all used rock shit, but now Hip Hop kids have this tunnel vision. They think if it doesn’t sound a certain way, its not good.
Ok, give 3 recommendations for those heads that tunnel vision…
Suffocate Faster, Blood For Blood and…Norah Jones.
Any advice for any budding young turntablists out there?
Quit now, before you ruin your life!
Ok lastly, what was the greatest live show you have ever attended?
Future Primitive, me and DJ Quest, Cut Chemist and Shortcutt, Shadow and Z Trip…Actually can I change that? I changed my mind…Ultimate Beats and Breaks 2 – Me, Egon, Bernard Purdie, Clyde Baskell, Peanut Butter Wolf and DJ Signify
Where was that?
Nashville
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ElPlate1 © ukhh.com - 2004
interview 0217 added
12.07.04 words: Elplate1 technical:
Spoon
There
are few more prolifically respected Deejays in Hip Hop than the man mountain known as Mr Dibbs. His dazzling skill and uncompromisingly individual take on the genre, have earned him special place within the heart of any turntablist. Now nestling among the likes of Slug ‘n’ Co. as Atmosphere’s deejay, Elplate1 jumps out of the pit and into his loving arms…
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you know what’s orange and looks good on a hippy?....Fire!
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The French are the American’s of Europe
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