I generally dont do this tagging thing. but some folks get an exception. heres the five or so djs whove most influenced me. and then ill tag a few people wholl do the same and...you know the drill. 1. Electrifying Mojo. There isnt a dj in detroit born between 1960 and 1980 that wasnt influenced by him. One of the most important old school disc jockeys in north america. Singlehandedly responsible for blowing up the B-52s, one of the first DJs to give Prince airplay. And one of the implicit godfathers of Detroit techno. 2. The Wizard. After Mojo its Jeff Mills aka The Wizard. The Wizard was the first DJ to teach most of us what dress to sweat meant--and was so good most of us didnt leave the house until his radio sets were over. pretty sure most of the old school techno and house cuts I grew up with I heard through him. Seeing him live was an experience--he had some of the quickest hands Id ever seen, and would easily move between musical genres (house, techno, electro, hip-hop). In Detroit at least, he was the one that made most of us want to do this. 3. Derrick May, Juan Atkins, and Kevin Saunderson. Ive only heard them spin a few times so this isnt really about their DJing but about the sound the three of them (and countless others) created, the sound we now call Techno. I named my dissertation after Derrick Mays classic Strings of Life. 4. Rick Wilhite. Most folks get their music through MP3 or if they buy in the Detroit area a lot of them go to the spot out in the suburbs (i forget the name of it). But in the mid to late eighties Buy-Rite was where youd go. And sometimes one of the workers there would be on the tables, playing. Usually whatever he played would be hot. And then youd buy it. That kid was Rick Wilhite. He influenced my music selection as much as the DJs Id hear on the radio. And dont get it twisted, he still bangs. 5. DJ Chuck. This is one of the two people not from Detroit on the list (hes here in Baltimore where Ive lived since 2004), and Im pretty sure hes a few years younger than I am. Chuck is responsible for Handzonradio and the sets (including ones from Minx, Jeff Arthur AKA Taz, and about a dozen or so other DJs from Baltimore and other parts of the country) he had on his website over the last ten year period helped me write two completed books, portions of four others, about a few dozen academic articles, and well over one hundred blog posts. 6. Keith Dorsey. Of the people DJ Chuck exposed me to, the one I learned the most from was Dorsey. Another Baltimore kid, what Dorsey did more than anything else was expose me to house from Africa. I had no idea they were banging as hard as they do there, and a lot of the house I buy now comes from being exposed to that sound through Dorsey. 7. Kenny B. I add Kenny B here because he was the one who got me back on the tables. Was in Chicago collecting an award for my book, stopped by Kenny Bs house, and heard him banging in his man cave. Looked at the set-up, and was reminded of a promise Id made to myself. When you get tenure, youre going to DJ again. James Muhammad there you have it. And Ill tag a couple of people on this list Keith Dorsey Kenyatta Kenny B Marshall one of my oldest friends (and one of the best DJs in Detroit) Jeff Arthur and one of Baltimores finest, Neal Originalbasementboysmusic Conway.
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 17:48:54 +0000
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