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GRANDMIXER DXT Speaks On 50 Years of Hip-Hop, His Legacy and More | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
Aug 17, 2023
Hip-hop is one of the most significant music genres of the modern era. It has given birth to many legendary artists, producers, and DJs who have left an indelible mark on the music industry. One such pioneer who played a crucial role in shaping hip-hop music is GrandMixer DXT. Born in the Bronx, New York City, DXT (formerly known as GrandMixer D.ST) is a DJ, turntablist, and producer who has worked on various tracks, including the groundbreaking collaboration on the Herbie Hancock classic, "Rockit." Recently, DXT appeared on Sway In The Morning and shared his opinions on 50 years of hip-hop and his incredible legacy.
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GRANDMIXER DXT Speaks On 50 Years of Hip-Hop, His Legacy and More | SWAY’S UNIVERSE
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0:00
[Applause]
0:00
wow that was The Voice
0:02
of one of hip-hop's Pioneers one of
0:05
hip-hop's pillars if it wasn't for him
0:08
we wouldn't be this kind of the type of
0:10
hip-hop that we are today
0:13
first came on the scene as Graham mixer
0:16
DST
0:20
this man is credited with helping to
0:22
popularize DJing throughout his
0:24
scratching on Herbie Hancock single
0:26
rocking
0:30
that clip you heard was from the scratch
0:32
documentary back in 2001.
0:36
he's a musician he's the first DJ to use
0:39
the turntable as a musical instrument
0:41
he's been on a show this is my brother
0:43
this is his family I want to welcome him
0:46
back give it up for the one and only
0:47
Grand mixer dxt
0:50
[Music]
0:54
what's good what's good yes yes he
0:57
didn't come along
1:00
came with the first rapper ever signed a
1:02
Motown records
1:04
track master aficionado
1:09
beat boy and aerosol can artists give it
1:14
up for the one and only rich
1:18
nice great day to be alive absolutely if
1:21
you don't know what I'm talking about
1:23
when I speak on the Herbie Hancock
1:26
single rocking it which um uh came out
1:29
that was in the July 1983. July three
1:33
years ago last month rocket yeah it's
1:35
40th anniversary rocket
1:38
you was DST at that time right d-s-t DST
1:42
was the guy who did this
1:45
[Music]
1:57
oh
2:08
yeah yes
2:17
the beginning of turnstableism
2:20
this is where it all began
2:24
this is where it all began
2:27
play in the morning say four five we got
2:29
Grand maxer dxt is here with us
2:31
congratulations brother so let's go
2:34
through the history that came out when
2:37
July 1993 40 years ago last month did
2:41
that win a Grammy yes the very first
2:44
Grammy for the hip-hop culture
2:46
that's who we are talking to bran mixer
2:50
dxt the first ever in hip-hop to receive
2:55
a Grammy yes sir see how we did that
2:57
Tracy so okay now y'all waking up now
3:00
huh y'all paying attention
3:03
that's what we got up here
3:07
you accredited for being the first DJ to
3:10
use the turntable as a musical
3:12
instrument does anyone debate that
3:15
there seems to be some chatter okay and
3:18
you know um
3:22
you know I don't want to be combative
3:25
with any of my brothers and so I welcome
3:27
them to show me
3:30
okay you know in the tradition of real
3:32
musicianship like the Jazz cats you know
3:34
I play with Herbie so my training is
3:36
based on musicianship and when there's
3:38
ever a uh
3:41
you know an issue based on somebody
3:43
saying they came up with something first
3:45
or this or that show me
3:47
where's your receipts a rich nice who
3:50
are the other folks that claim to have
3:51
been used to turntable as a musical
3:54
instrument for who are people that are
3:55
deemed to have done that
3:57
um sometimes because I think people
3:58
don't know the full history and have it
4:01
taken the time to do the research
4:03
they'll say names like Grandmaster Flash
4:05
or they'll say names like Grand wizard
4:07
Theodore or other DJs that come from the
4:10
era
4:11
um because sometimes a narrative is
4:13
painted especially when the person who
4:15
did it is not in the Forefront saying
4:18
I'm the one who did it I'm the one who
4:20
did it yeah then sometimes what will
4:22
happen is in conversation someone will
4:24
say because you'd use it as a musical
4:26
instrument you're the first one and then
4:27
they grabbed that narrative and run not
4:30
realizing that crab mixer dxt is the one
4:32
that started with it as a as an actual
4:35
instrument okay and and let me add to
4:38
something
4:39
um those are about my brothers both of
4:40
them yeah you know and yeah they're both
4:44
my brothers and and you know we all
4:47
inspired each other in that that group
4:49
we're the second tier and Flash is the
4:52
at the top of that second tier he's
4:54
before us in that second tier the first
4:56
tier is the DJ's you know herc Smokey
5:00
Mario okay you know and we'll get into
5:02
that but I want to say something about
5:04
Theodore see what's happened is
5:08
um we're using ramble as a theater Grand
5:10
was a theater we're using the wrong
5:11
terminology to explain what we did we're
5:15
using created invented these are
5:18
Innovations okay we innovated these
5:20
things the turntable was already
5:22
invented and so we added on the the term
5:25
scratching is the new language full of
5:29
cueing when you queue a record you queue
5:31
up something queue up a tape and all the
5:34
DJs did that
5:36
so what happened was queuing
5:41
um out loud at a party was an accident
5:44
so if you accidentally hit your fake
5:46
fader while you're just making sure the
5:48
record's in the right place
5:51
so you did the joke oh man okay and
5:55
everybody like what did you you whack
5:57
you chewed out loud with your skills
5:59
right
6:00
Grant was a Theodore
6:03
cute out loud purposely
6:06
he gets the credit it's his credit okay
6:09
it's his Innovation okay even though
6:11
even though Grandmaster flowers did it
6:13
Frankie Crocker did it it's Grandmaster
6:16
flowers and I will get to that to the
6:18
the DJ era is misunderstood because it
6:22
overlaps into the b-boy era and only
6:25
certain DJ stayed with with us I'm a
6:27
first generation b-boy
6:29
and so the DJ culture was already
6:33
happening Pete DJ Jones was the biggest
6:35
DJ mobile DJ in New York City there was
6:39
Grandmaster flowers uh uh infinity
6:43
machine moboya uh um and so what happens
6:48
is the DJ culture uh that uh you know
6:52
there's Smokey there's Mario and so some
6:57
of the DJs when as people got older
7:00
started playing for that particular
7:01
crowd the older crowd right okay then
7:04
the the the b-boy culture had a certain
7:07
thing that they was doing that was
7:09
different from letting the whole record
7:10
play they zeroed in on the breaks in the
7:14
record the breaks right b-boy culture
7:16
you always kind of got to explain with
7:18
the audience today the b-boy culture is
7:21
the dance yes and and what what we have
7:25
well some of us have been studying
7:27
what's happening is
7:29
we realize now that what we're seeing is
7:31
is a reset it's actually a reset it
7:35
happened before it happened several
7:37
times and so the strength and strangest
7:40
thing about it is how were we able to
7:43
reconnect to that without seeing it now
7:45
we see the films of the break dancers in
7:48
the 1930s yeah now we see that but we
7:52
didn't see that before and we still did
7:54
it and so I started questioning like
7:56
what what is that what actually are we
7:59
doing
7:59
and I realized that it's it's written in
8:02
our genetic makeup epigenetics and so
8:05
with sundancing that's our relationship
8:09
with the the planet with you know what
8:11
I'm saying but the technology moves us
8:14
further or pushes us the threshold
8:17
because it's Technical and we all have
8:18
to learn these new gadgets and new
8:21
things and so we Implement other aspects
8:24
of it into the uh the technology into
8:27
what we do naturally
8:29
and so I say all that to say that this
8:33
is this is this is I wouldn't say it's
8:35
the birth of hip-hop it's the
8:37
reconnecting it is the consummation of
8:40
the reconnecting of us to these cultural
8:43
expressions that we were cut off from
8:46
and it's it's a spiritual thing it's
8:49
it's really something serious because no
8:53
one taught us that we just did it and so
8:56
something happens to us within that
8:58
struggle that something comes to us we
9:01
can call it the African Holy Ghost
9:03
whatever it is yeah but it comes in this
9:06
time in this frequency and the really
9:09
most interesting thing about it is
9:11
somebody already knew all of this yeah
9:13
someone had videotapes and films of all
9:15
of this and then go that ain't new we
9:17
did this so you have to ask yourself
9:20
what why don't you show it
9:22
and I I kind of think I got it now it's
9:25
it's to get you to reset mhm
9:28
to reset to reset what do you what do
9:31
you foresee
9:33
um in the future from the reset what is
9:37
it the the reset look exactly the same
9:39
or no no okay because this this
9:41
phenomena that comes from melanated
9:44
people in our in interaction with the
9:47
sun and we give it to the world yes as
9:50
you can see the world has it again and
9:53
in this reset there's an extraction of
9:55
cultural wealth from the from the
9:57
practitioners
10:00
and we are conditioned to Chase
10:06
you know the fruits and the the the
10:08
things dangling in front of us but not
10:10
recognizing that
10:12
this has happened before so we're
10:14
supposed to be better this time yeah but
10:16
if I can control
10:18
what you think you think you're supposed
10:20
to have you you won't reset you you'll
10:24
reset instead of saying now let's take
10:26
it to this level so this is how we're
10:28
able that's how we see what's happening
10:30
now that it's been weaponized yeah and
10:33
the weapon is pointed at the
10:34
practitioner
10:36
and so this is more of a time of
10:38
reflecting
10:40
and celebrating but reflecting on what
10:43
exactly is happening it's not a party
10:45
yeah
10:47
there's a social engineering aspect to
10:50
this
10:53
you know and we we need to take a closer
10:55
look at what this is because our babies
10:57
have been turned into serial killers
11:03
you know through through the music and
11:06
so we we you know and you and I we've
11:09
had these conversations and so it at
11:12
this point it's it's about reflecting on
11:14
what it is we're bragging that this is a
11:16
billion dollar business but
11:19
um where's the where's the hip-hop
11:21
Hospital
11:24
how about that it's about
11:26
750 million dollars to build the state
11:29
of the art hospital and
11:32
there's not one you know where's the
11:36
cultural center is where these things
11:38
from this billion dollar business it's
11:41
it's it's in the language of this the
11:44
the what I've I've studied something
11:46
called the sapphire wolf hypothesis and
11:51
the sapphire Sapphire wolf hypothesis
11:53
says
11:54
that if you change a person's language
11:57
you change how their brain processes
12:00
things
12:01
and so we're speaking a language that I
12:03
truly think that we don't totally
12:05
understand how it really works
12:07
and so we use it and it's we're able to
12:12
function based on a social structure
12:15
that allows us to function this way but
12:18
the but we're not printing the money
12:19
yeah
12:21
when I print the money right and so we
12:25
we we're we're
12:27
it's it's almost like
12:31
as as far as you go forward they'll put
12:34
those things there for you to get
12:36
because they're already somewhere else
12:38
yeah
12:39
and so all the stuff we see people all
12:42
these Trinkets and toys and watches 20
12:44
million dollar watches that's fine
12:46
because we're not there anymore
12:49
you see what I'm saying so I still
12:52
control the game I control the board
12:55
and this phenomena that we experience
12:58
that we don't even know how we are doing
13:00
it but we do it it becomes monetized
13:03
into this thing called the enter
13:06
entertainment business listen to that
13:09
word
13:10
enter
13:12
ment and once you start thinking about
13:15
the fact that we may not know how the
13:17
English language really works you start
13:19
to think about that word and you can
13:21
even feel something funny about that
13:23
word entertainment even when you say it
13:26
enter the answer you see what I'm saying
13:28
entertainment business and so again
13:33
uh this is a time to reflect yes yes 50
13:37
years
13:39
and where where are we yeah you know I
13:43
want to talk about some thank you Grand
13:45
mixer dxt that's giving you something to
13:47
think about what's that you were
13:48
studying what the thought Sapphire on
13:51
Sapphire wolf hypothesis look that up uh
13:55
I want to ask you a question Source
13:58
magazine in 1992 uh did an article about
14:01
what they called The Big Three the
14:03
King's Story and they deemed The Big
14:06
Three I believe Africa bam out of
14:09
hip-hop The Big Three
14:10
big names big figures big people out of
14:13
hip-hop was Africa Bambaataa
14:17
Grandmaster Flash
14:19
and cool herc
14:23
what did you think of that article were
14:25
you ready
14:27
well it's that's a big
14:30
hotel okay and so
14:33
um
14:35
the the let me let me let me just tell
14:38
the story so it was a photo shoot and
14:42
because let me let me I'll come back
14:44
around to it because I went along with
14:46
that at first like everybody else we all
14:49
just went along with it just following
14:50
the narrative because we we wasn't in
14:52
the know of understanding what these
14:55
things are like there's a photo that we
14:57
took for The Source magazine
14:59
and we rushed in to take this picture we
15:03
was doing these meetings and then we
15:05
rushed in to take the picture and we
15:07
just went in took the picture and then
15:08
when I got the print back I looked and
15:11
the backdrop was a jail cell
15:14
and
15:15
you know what I'm saying wow yeah the
15:17
backdrop is a is the premium wearing a
15:20
bullpen and it was like hurry up we need
15:22
to get this picture we need to take this
15:24
picture we're running out of time yeah
15:25
it's me baby Damon Dash Crazy Legs mob
15:31
deep
15:33
uh you know Chuck D and we're in this
15:36
picture and when you
15:38
look at the picture it's a bullpen
15:40
and you know it's magic yeah you know
15:44
what I'm saying and so like I said
15:46
something once you're in the know you
15:47
start to see these things but we did a
15:50
photo shoot and
15:53
it was all of us all the DJs in the
15:55
Bronx all the top DJs was at this photo
15:58
shoot we shot all day Ernie peppercelli
16:01
Ernie P yeah my brother yeah I just saw
16:04
him so we just did this full-blown photo
16:07
shoot right and then
16:09
we were done TC Islam bless his heart
16:12
he's no longer with us he comes in he
16:15
says hey man I got to get this one
16:17
picture let me get this one picture I'm
16:18
working on something for this guy and
16:20
I'm not saying his name
16:22
so y'all know what I'm talking about
16:24
we're going to do this picture and so
16:26
and I want him in the middle
16:27
this guy right I want him in the middle
16:30
and so they took this picture and
16:33
everybody was like okay cool a few
16:35
months later
16:36
Source magazine comes out with this
16:39
picture of that picture and it says the
16:41
founding fathers of hip-hop
16:44
and and we were all like huh
16:47
and then for some strange reason man
16:50
we all just said well man whatever yeah
16:52
not realizing what the intention was
16:56
with that article now
17:00
I'm not taking anything from any of
17:04
those two people that's on the cover of
17:07
that because they did do their thing
17:09
but the history
17:11
has to be corrected and they're not
17:14
first tier okay they're second tier
17:17
their second tier so herc I spoke to her
17:20
okay and I asked her
17:23
who
17:24
would be if it was if it was three
17:27
because there's more than that yeah you
17:29
know what I'm saying we we have to
17:31
acknowledge the DJ culture and we we try
17:35
to uh pull it into the whole hip-hop
17:38
story which causes you to sever your
17:41
umbilical to the origin of your own
17:43
cultural expressions and you you you you
17:46
dis connect from the process the stream
17:51
that's going down where these things are
17:53
growing there's a DJ John Brown who herc
17:56
and Smokey say inspired them no one
17:58
knows DJ John Brown from where he's in
18:01
the Bronx in the Bronx yeah he used to
18:03
do parties on 161st Street at the hotel
18:05
Concord Plaza I bought on the Plaza yeah
18:09
yeah and the tunnels in the Bronx and he
18:12
inspired cool her both of them say that
18:16
you know they was inspired by him too
18:18
like they got stuff from him and but his
18:20
name is gone Grand Master flowers in
18:23
1967 and opened for James Brown at
18:26
Yankee Stadium in
18:28
1967
18:30
1960s his Grandmaster flowers
18:34
um because of the nomenclature issue
18:38
okay he's he's hip he's disco they call
18:41
him disco right right okay so we're
18:43
going to deal with that let's deal with
18:45
it yeah so you know there's this whole
18:47
thing where you several the umbilical
18:49
over these term terminology that got
18:52
construed by people not doing their
18:54
homework disco Tech is a French word and
18:58
it means library of music it's where you
19:01
go to hear a library of music so you can
19:03
go to a disco in here salsa Merengue
19:07
Calypso hip hop Soca you know what I'm
19:10
saying you hear anything what happened
19:12
was they they brought that to America
19:15
and put it in these big clubs and people
19:17
not saying okay this is a disco take and
19:20
they playing this style of music they
19:22
automatically said that was disco music
19:24
in in the hood they play dance records
19:26
the hip-hop culture was playing their
19:29
parents record collection so who's hip
19:31
hop
19:32
the parents yeah you see what I'm saying
19:35
and so you know my whole collection was
19:38
my mother's collection and I would take
19:40
my mother's records and go do my parties
19:42
you know and she would be seriously
19:44
upset about me messing up her records
19:47
you know she was needle dropping you
19:49
know what I'm saying so and so
19:53
um to come back around we what happened
19:55
is through this terminology we sever
19:59
people out of the story
20:01
and then we come up with this you know
20:03
birth thing so now it's reset instead of
20:07
looking at wait a minute there's these
20:09
guys yeah these guys were here and these
20:13
are the DJs so the DJ culture uh people
20:16
started uh catching on and being
20:18
inspired by these other DJs the biggest
20:22
DJ Community was not the Bronx it was
20:24
Brooklyn
20:25
Brooklyn was the biggest DJ place you
20:28
can go Grand Master flowers was the was
20:31
the biggest DJ Street DJ Pete DJ Jones
20:34
was the biggest New York City DJ he was
20:36
from the Bronx but uh his name you would
20:38
hear is when I first heard Pete DJ Jones
20:40
I thought you know I thought DJ meant
20:42
you know uh uh uh Darren Justice or
20:46
Darren James I thought it was his middle
20:49
name I didn't know that meant to this
20:50
job right you know and that's how oh
20:52
that's how long ago that was you know
20:54
and then these other DJs
20:57
you hear their names maboya these These
21:01
are DJs but what happens is the youth
21:05
and the frequency we start connecting to
21:08
the rhythms so we're clearing out the
21:11
strings the violins the all that just
21:13
play that part for some strange reason
21:17
that's some that's deep we just want to
21:19
be we just want the drums because that's
21:22
written in our code and so that's what
21:25
happened so the older guys some started
21:28
going because now you're getting play
21:29
pay money to play in these clubs so you
21:31
you know and looking sharp and people
21:33
are growing up and getting older and
21:35
guys and the girls getting so they go
21:37
off and do that but we you know we out
21:40
in the streets yeah you know and we we
21:43
going we want to we want to dance and we
21:45
want to roll around on the ground and do
21:46
all of this stuff and so some of those
21:49
DJs
21:50
stayed with that group that Kurt Mario
21:54
and smoke are older than us yeah but
21:57
they stayed with us
22:00
and they played the records that we
22:03
wanted to hear so we can do our
22:06
spiritual thing our sun dancing so cool
22:09
Mario cool herc okay Mario let's go King
22:13
Mario and smoke who's Smokey DJ smoke DJ
22:18
smoke and he I mean we can get him on
22:22
the phone let's do that now all right
22:24
yeah yeah okay
22:26
um guys I don't have this let's call DJ
22:28
smoke okay
22:39
smokey caught up I'm gonna use the force
22:42
okay but but let me do this man so so
22:46
there's this whole thing okay about the
22:49
Disco thing where you seven DJs off the
22:52
list oh man there was there was this guy
22:54
on social media and he was cussing me
22:56
out like what you talking about man his
22:58
name is DJ Disco King what are you doing
23:00
it says it in his name he wasn't paying
23:02
hip-hop he was playing Disco
23:04
dude
23:07
99.9 of all hip-hop flies say disco on
23:11
them
23:12
and according to my brother Paradise
23:14
gray the first flyer with hip hop on it
23:16
was in Brooklyn
23:19
allegedly no the first one they found so
23:22
far the oldest flyer so far uh Paradise
23:26
has it it was a flyer Paradise from
23:30
x-clan yeah yeah
23:32
wow and so
23:35
to say that they don't count or this
23:38
don't count because it's disco let me
23:40
give y'all an example of why that's
23:42
wrong because we played the same records
23:45
so let's let's let's let's play uh uh I
23:48
can't stop and this was a hardcore kid
23:51
Creos this was kick Rio's record
23:53
[Music]
24:02
see see what that sounds like right
24:03
there that part so we sample this we
24:06
Loop it
24:07
oh
24:08
the right reverse sway writer verse I'll
24:12
write a verse Richard writer verse Tracy
24:14
has seen the hooks
24:15
okay dxt or producer
24:18
that's hip-hop right
24:21
okay
24:23
yeah see and
24:26
that was considered a disco record
24:28
okay and yet the B boys
24:31
it was played at hip hop jams yeah and
24:35
so that's the argument the people are
24:37
severing themselves from understanding
24:39
it's all the music was the music it was
24:41
all dance music disco was a term that
24:45
got connected to the dance music of that
24:47
time but there is no there is no real
24:51
genre called disco it's dance music okay
24:55
um
24:57
one of the favorite put on Frisco disco
24:59
and this this is the this is a classic
25:02
hip-hop joint it's a disco record
25:06
it's called Frisco this and it's called
25:08
Frisco Disco
25:09
[Music]
25:28
come on Wow hello
25:31
[Music]
25:39
[Music]
25:44
come on rich
25:48
you see what I'm saying yeah yeah
25:51
[Applause]
25:52
there's confusion because of not
25:55
understanding
25:57
do your research do your research do
25:59
your research before you and quit
26:01
talking [ __ ] right so to say oh he
26:05
ain't he ain't he ain't hip-hop yeah
26:09
that's the term that's terminology it's
26:12
music
26:13
it's Soul music most of it yeah you see
26:16
what I'm saying so you know one of the
26:18
things one of the things that we want to
26:21
do is bridge that Gap and seal that
26:24
right I think we got Smokey on the line
26:25
we got him on the line right now the
26:27
legendary one himself he's been we've
26:29
been talking about him
26:31
um I don't know if I may smoke yet man I
26:33
don't think so DJ smoke how you doing
26:35
man this is sway Calloway hello sir
26:40
[Applause]
26:42
let's clear that okay
26:48
there's four DJ savoki which uh nobody
26:51
never knows and every time you say DJ
26:54
smoking they make more and more money
26:58
off the name you know so we got to clear
27:01
this I am the original DJ Smokey Point
27:04
the original DJ Smokey from the Bronx is
27:08
on the line right now come on
27:16
Chasey said she had boss DJ Smokey he's
27:20
bringing the smoke
27:21
they're losing my fingers because I said
27:25
patterns and I set waves for hip-hop to
27:30
do what they do and um I don't
27:33
disrespect nobody I never did and um
27:37
I'm proud of what dxt has done
27:41
you know what I'm saying thank you
27:43
brother
27:45
like I said I don't disrespect people
27:48
people have tried to erase hip-hop
27:52
they have tried to
27:54
not be lies on hip-hop
27:57
they have tried to uh
28:01
stereotypes what's hip-hop
28:04
but they gotta remember what hip-hop is
28:07
hip-hop is a trillion dollar business
28:11
so this uh commercialize it once one
28:15
thing
28:17
they profit from it another thing
28:20
but this is uh
28:23
a lesson to be learned absolutely
28:29
and it's not a color thing because
28:31
really
28:32
there's only one race it's a human race
28:35
and Hip-Hop has to deal with the human
28:38
race
28:40
and I'ma let you guys ask me questions
28:42
from there so this one Hey DJ Smokey
28:45
okay I'll go first all right who who who
28:47
who taught you how to DJ
28:55
wow
28:56
okay
28:59
well who inspired you who who was the DJ
29:02
you looked at one time and said I gotta
29:05
do this
29:07
flowers plumbers
29:10
pdj Jones
29:12
Charlie he was a junkie in my Bronx with
29:16
um
29:17
um the puzzle and the tunnel he was a
29:20
what a jockey
29:23
a junkie
29:27
I'm sorry to say it that way yeah
29:31
um but I'm going to show you real
29:33
it was in the 70s he did heroin and I
29:38
have to say this
29:41
this you know in case somebody else the
29:44
old man that guy was a junkie no I'm
29:46
telling you the truth what is this a
29:48
function number one he died of a little
29:50
old overdose but I was proud of what he
29:55
did
29:56
in the tunnel in the seventh see
29:59
everybody's saying this is the 50th year
30:02
of hip-hop
30:04
no
30:05
been missing three years
30:07
I'm the first one to tell you this like
30:10
I said I'm not stepping on a bike tote
30:12
you asked me who taught me how to DJ
30:17
would you say would you say those same
30:20
DJs you name also influenced the other
30:23
DJs in the Bronx so
30:31
I'll come into the following my mom's
30:34
first of all from Washington DC because
30:36
they had just killed Katie in 78 78 68
30:41
and uh
30:43
I was very confused coming to the city
30:47
of New York New York New York they had
30:50
to name it twice
30:51
uh I went to Taft High School
30:55
and I I'm one I'm adventurous
30:59
you know I used to go to Empire
31:00
Boulevard skating rink
31:03
had some Douglas tinnitus
31:05
and uh
31:08
it was a DJ out there pgj Jones I think
31:12
it was
31:13
and I was fascinated my sister was a
31:18
um what medicine go in there is a
31:20
cheerleader also C
31:23
was a roller skater
31:26
that's how I went to Empire Boulevard
31:30
I was going to skate
31:32
and I was fascinated with this DJ out
31:35
there
31:36
um
31:37
yeah let me let me ask you a question
31:41
um because we we're talking about the uh
31:44
the forefathers and you and I had a
31:47
conversation a few weeks ago and as you
31:51
know as you know I'm I'm from the master
31:53
plan Bunch C which is your crew Rob the
31:56
goal was my OG and and he was your
31:58
brother and so if
32:02
looking at you as one of the forefathers
32:04
and obviously hurt who would be the
32:06
other forefather in in in this in this
32:10
season of this expression because now
32:13
that we know that it's it's over
32:15
alive or dead
32:18
uh Dead or Alive who who was there then
32:21
who was there Mario
32:25
uh DJ Mario
32:27
Disco King Mary Disco King Mario now I
32:30
spoke to herc and I asked him the same
32:32
question and he said you yeah right he
32:37
said you and and Mario
32:40
uh wow
32:43
oh wow what's his name uh
32:46
wow
32:49
that's all right but Disco King Mario
32:52
right
32:55
Smokey can I ask you a question yeah
33:01
class came in really like in the late
33:04
70s okay
33:09
so what's so it's flashed down with you
33:11
at some point
33:13
yeah I'm not gonna break that um
33:16
Monopoly because Flash is not here to
33:18
really
33:20
um you know most people talk about
33:21
people and uh they're not there to
33:24
defend me so so I'm not that type of
33:26
person that just talk about people about
33:28
them they're sending themselves so you
33:31
have
33:32
um Flash
33:33
was in the same neighborhood because I
33:36
really started in the west side but I
33:38
moved to the east side and um flash was
33:42
a break dancer him in Melbourne or
33:44
Melvin male or whatever
33:46
um that would break down slash and Melly
33:49
male used to break together
33:53
I challenge Mel all the time and he he
33:55
just he he don't want the smoke
34:00
The Flash
34:01
was so impressed weather
34:04
what was going on in the time I don't
34:07
know I was I let him tell that part of
34:10
the story and I would like to sit in the
34:12
round table that's that's what I would
34:14
like to do is do the round table to talk
34:16
about everybody I want to be there what
34:18
was bambaata at this time like I said
34:22
I'm not gonna put the pressure on nobody
34:24
okay but uh yeah okay DJ Smokey can can
34:27
I ask you a question this is sway you
34:29
you said that hip-hop they say hip-hop
34:31
is 50 years old is wrong you said they
34:34
missing three years Wendy can you
34:38
identify at what moment you thought hip
34:41
hop came
34:42
began and where was it and when
34:46
um
34:47
I'll say
34:51
the change was like um
34:55
1970 1970.
34:58
what was happening in 1970 it makes you
35:01
feel this way
35:03
our soldiers will come home from Vietnam
35:06
really tired of um and disco Disco Duck
35:11
it was tired of um
35:13
the disco ball
35:15
who was taught of um
35:17
will be heard on the radio and that's
35:19
when the smoker trons came about
35:22
no we were tired of not being able to go
35:25
through neighborhoods without getting
35:28
trash cans stolen off the rooftops
35:31
he was tired of the games
35:33
so uh
35:35
it was some kind of way that we had to
35:38
express officer
35:40
without fighting each other
35:43
so
35:44
all this and the stress and strength
35:48
so what could we do
35:51
calm that down was the villa
35:55
party environment
35:59
where we all could hang together
36:02
Puerto Rican blacks Jamaicans whatever
36:07
come together
36:09
so
36:10
basement parties night parties Club
36:14
parties whatever parties
36:16
so uh did you go to John Brown parties
36:20
yes
36:22
but I'm trying to let you know in That
36:24
70s
36:26
we had these parties where
36:29
if you were going with a certain girl
36:31
and a brother didn't like you
36:33
you express yourself in break dance and
36:36
all you didn't call it break dancing
36:37
back in them days we call them like
36:40
Stomps right they smoke some smoke I got
36:44
I got this question that uh and I want
36:46
you to we I always wondered about
36:50
um your incense and I went I wanted to
36:53
tell them this story about the night and
36:55
no disrespect to you that you got blown
36:57
out the building by cool hurt I was
36:59
there
37:16
yeah yeah but so so check this out
37:19
though check out what they did so Smokey
37:21
is playing and I'm gonna come back
37:24
around because he he was he for me
37:27
smokey was bugged out he had on hot
37:29
pants I couldn't figure that out he's
37:30
gonna explain
37:31
Smokey was wearing hot pants
37:38
and and check it out his and this is
37:40
what year is that smokey like 77 78
37:43
something like that no that was like 78.
37:47
74. 74. so he had I got robbed that's
37:51
all I had to wear he had he had open
37:54
check it out check it out he had incense
37:56
you know the cushion the yellow cushion
37:58
from the couch yeah he had his
38:01
turntables on that and he had incense
38:03
stuck in the cushion all the way around
38:05
so before I tell this story
38:09
why
38:11
what was the reason for the incense all
38:14
the way around your turntables because
38:16
now I'm not gonna be in room
38:19
cool work spies
38:23
um
38:24
Spies spies he looks at the record he's
38:27
putting the incense there so you created
38:29
a fence yeah so you can't look down over
38:31
there so you couldn't really you
38:33
couldn't see the label and see the song
38:35
or the artists
38:45
of the two turntable somebody's mixing
38:49
so the other time tables will be playing
38:51
Boeing or somebody tell me a story right
38:54
well you're playing Victor Pryor you're
38:57
playing Bill Cosby you're playing
38:58
Dolomite so while I'm a DJs of multiple
39:03
DJ
39:09
right right
39:11
there's a mode for DJs that you can hide
39:13
your your tracks when you're playing
39:15
like they made a mode of that yeah
39:23
on eight channels you can play two
39:25
things off each Channel wow you
39:27
understand yeah now while I'm doing this
39:30
it was so crazy people would never seen
39:34
this before on the street
39:36
so now they're leaning over the
39:38
turntables or leaning over the equipment
39:41
and the eyeballs is like recklessly
39:44
looking at what we're doing right so I
39:46
said stop all this [ __ ]
39:48
so he puts he put inside did it work
39:52
yeah because I I could I was like yo I
39:54
can't see what he's playing but so let
39:56
me tell this story well hold on we got
39:58
it we got because we're right at the end
40:00
so we gotta we gotta we gotta get
40:01
something that's another
40:04
um show DJ Smokey I apologize we got
40:06
another show that's about to come on the
40:07
air
40:12
God bless everybody God bless you and if
40:15
you ever want to come up here live and
40:16
tell some stories you're more than
40:18
welcome this is a personal invite
40:20
mad stuff
40:22
I can tell you keep it real and keep it
40:25
alive thank you we'll do that God bless
40:28
you and DJ Smokey thank you for your
40:30
contributions as a pioneer as a pillar
40:33
as a creative as a DJ as a man who once
40:37
wore hot pants
40:42
wait wait a really quick finishing the
40:45
story what did he say that night oh so
40:48
real quick I'm gonna tell a story so
40:50
Smokey's playing you know in the battle
40:52
when DJ plays for an hour the other one
40:54
DJ plays for an hour so when it was
40:56
Smokey's turn to play for his hour
40:59
as soon as he started playing his record
41:00
Clark Kent threw on Hustler's convention
41:03
hey take this lame challenge in my game
41:06
why you must be out of your head chump
41:08
well I beat you so fast you be peddling
41:10
your ass trying to make back your bread
41:12
cause you five yards a point to play in
41:14
this joint you can't come in on no
41:16
humble you got to show me your cash
41:18
before we clash and then me and you can
41:20
Rumble first count out 30 grand give it
41:23
to your man likewise I'll do the same
41:25
we'll use the extra five yards to tip
41:27
the guards and then we'll commence with
41:29
the game and then he threw on the Rock
41:34
and Smokey's still playing but you don't
41:37
hear him
41:38
dude
41:50
it's kind of like you're here in The
41:52
Wizard of Oz
41:55
[Music]
42:07
because he's blown out but and I told
42:11
this story before smoking lost he lost
42:14
the battle but he won the war because at
42:17
the end he said
42:19
when I get home I'm setting up on 179th
42:22
and Grand I'm gonna be there until the
42:23
break of dawn
42:25
that's the first time I heard that term
42:27
the breaker Dawn
42:37
I've rocked to the break of dawn right
42:39
you understand me because Cinderella had
42:42
to be at home by 12.
42:44
[Applause]
42:54
half of the block is abandoned but it's
42:58
abandoned cars his building he's he's
43:01
got his power plugged into the light
43:03
pole the power his whole apartment
43:06
he's on the first floor he's on the
43:09
first floor with the extension cord
43:10
going out he had no power in this house
43:13
and he's got his speakers outside and we
43:16
used to be sat on the abandoned cars
43:17
until the sun came up it was like yo see
43:19
this is this that was him that's hip-hop
43:21
I love that story man Hey listen man DJ
43:25
Smokey thank you this is an invite I'll
43:27
talk with dxt we got to have you come up
43:29
I'd love to meet you in person okay
43:31
[Applause]
43:35
thank you brother we appreciate you have
43:38
a beautiful day and happy birthday to
43:39
hip-hop and thank you for your
43:41
contributions
43:56
when we kept talking about you coming
43:59
back I wanted to be on a special time
44:00
special day a little more special than
44:02
this day oh no doubt no doubt in my
44:05
opinion so even with the information
44:07
that's being given right you know what I
44:10
mean it's this is a special time and we
44:12
got people's attention we got people's
44:14
attention more than ever at this moment
44:16
and so they get and they get to hear
44:18
these truths and and that's one of the
44:20
reasons why I I presented what I
44:21
presented as far as understanding what
44:23
this is more than what we think it is
44:26
yes and we need to sit back for a second
44:29
and look at these resets that we've
44:31
experienced through the history because
44:34
we're in one yes indeed and to recognize
44:37
it is divine right there's Clarity right
44:40
there right right oh my gosh dxt Grand
44:42
mixer dxt the legend the first ever in
44:45
hip-hop to win a Grammy okay first two
44:49
Grammys first PJ to use the turntable as
44:51
a musical instrument and much more he'll
44:54
be back thank you to everybody who tuned
44:56
in today people who called up and showed
44:58
your hip-hop experiences rich nice thank
45:00
you for coming through dxt if they want
45:01
to reach you how can they reach you
45:02
brother uh all social media platforms
45:05
Grand mixer dxt
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