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The DJ known as Craze combines a bit of the good old-fashioned spinning of yesteryear (think Public Enemy) and unabashed love of some of today’s newer acts, along with his own home-bred brand of turntablism and freestyling. Because it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of DJs sprouting up everywhere in today’s music scene, it’s likely that  Nicaraguan-born influence, along with a shameless devotion to the classic sounds of Miami Bass, that has him making headlines in the scene: Craze has already won the DMC World DJ Championships (3 times  to be exact, and the only DJ to ever to so), as well as the prestigious honor of being Kanye West’s tour DJ. Songs like “Crabhappy Crabaholics” and “Tekmaster Anthem” point to the DJ’s willingness to poke fun at himself (is it just me or is that a rare trait among DJs nowadays?); what you’ve got is a lot to listen to and even laugh along with. Here’s more of his work on Red Bull Music Academy Radio.

5.00 (1 votes)

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I had a chance to sit down with Asher Roth inside the Red Bull Studio, Los Angeles, where he was mixing up a new batch of something awesome. Maybe you only know Asher from the hit “I Love College” but I have to tell you this 24 year old is as humble as any artist I have ever seen. He approaches the hip hop industry from a completely fresh perspective, truly grateful for all he has and willing to embrace the creative process with integrity. He’s not trying to be anything he’s not, which is essentially a young man looking to have some fun. And while you are listening, he might just have something to say.

Asher says that when he got started there was always someone in his ear trying to tell him what’s good. That’s definitely a pit-fall of the music industrialists, trying to manipulate the young blood in order to fit them into a box. However, Asher was already onto the game. He’s into making music to make music. It comes from a place inside where true expression lies. And that’s right back to the beginning, the foundation of Hip Hop. The bones of rap start with the voice. You have to have something to say. The way you weave that something into a beat, into a rhythm, into a song, well that’s just style, be it white, black, Inuit, or Asian.

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3.00 (2 votes)

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Maybe you’ve heard of Patrick Douthit, also known in the Hip-Hop world as 9th Wonder. Maybe you’ve even met 9th Wonder, worked with 9th Wonder, or maybe you’re a long-time fan of 9th Wonder. If so, then you obviously know his catchphrase Oh the Pressure! whenever the heat is on again and it’s showtime.
Originally from North Carolina, 9th Wonder currently teaches a course called “Sampling Soul” at Duke University, which focuses specifically on music from the civil rights and black power movements. You might call him an enlightened social activist hip-hopper. He’s also one of those soulful cats who can come up with unique ways of intermingling his unique brand of music with a plethora of other genres. Also: He doesn’t consume beef or pork, but loves himself some turkey burgers.

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4.83 (12 votes)

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