What exactly is The CORE DJs?
The CORE DJs is a big conglomerate of DJs in different groups and crews. But it’s not just regulated to DJs, there’s also promoters, movers and shakers that are a part of The CORE. In the middle of the industry, there’s a CORE of DJs. Without the DJs, you can’t be shit, we’re the muthafuckers that’s breaking music.
You can make music all day, but you need DJs to play it, right?
Yeah, and not just any DJ, you need a certain muthafucker. You need DJs that people listen to, you need street promoters that people listen to, you need radio and TV personalities that people listen to. If they tell their audience, “This shit is hot,” they’ll believe ‘em before they even hear the record. That’s what The CORE is all about. You need muthafuckers like that. It ain’t just about being a Tech.Nition or a Heavy Hitter or a Bum Squad DJ. It’s bigger than a DJ crew. We’re trying to make careers outta this shit for people. It’s a lot of cats thinking they’re gonna be mixing on the air until they’re sixty and shit. I think cats need to start broadening their horizons. Some of The CORE DJs are also Bum Squad DJs, Tech.Nitions, and Heavy Hitters. It’s a bunch of muthafuckers on some feel-good shit. It ain’t no one dictating, cause everybody that’s here was already doing their own shit anyway. I’m just a spokesperson. I founded The CORE DJs, that’s where it begins. I’ll get an idea from someone else and give it to the label. If someone isn’t getting their records serviced, I’ll call someone at the label and fix the problem.
You still own a club in Milwaukee, too, right?
Yeah, I own a nightclub called Tabu. It used to be called the City Club when it was downtown, but we moved to the South side of Milwaukee and reopened about six months ago.
So you’re a perfect example of what The CORE DJs is all about: you’re on the air at WKKV, you’ve got tight sponsorships, syndicated radio, and own a nightclub.
Yeah, I’m the mixshow director at WKKV, and I’ve been doing syndicated Super radio for about four years. I just started doing Sirius satellite radio last month. I’m working on getting a channel for The CORE DJs.
The first CORE DJs retreat in Chicago last year went well. What are you planning for the next retreat, in Miami?
It’s kinda like giving back. In the words of [Interscope’s] Kevin Black, “How can we help you help us?” We’re giving back, honoring certain cats. That’s what The CORE retreat is about. It’s not really a conference. I think that record reps could get more DJs to play their records if they had a relationship with them, instead of trying to throw money at them when they first meet. The retreat is all about getting away. You’re in a personal atmosphere, eating, kickin’ it, drinking, and chillin’. When you’re in that situation, everybody is equal. Nobody’s making more money, nobody’s better than nobody else, everybody’s chillin’, and you can talk to a person and build more of a personal relationship with them.
Yeah, there’s some people I’ll look out for even if they fall off the map.
Sometimes niggas just forget about niggas. If I wasn’t doing this CORE shit, niggas wouldn’t be calling me every five minutes like they do now. Just a year and a half ago, I mean, niggas was calling, but nowhere near how they calling now. When you have a personal relationship with cats you can call ‘em up. Like me and Benzino, I’ll call this nigga like, “Yo, Ray, you need to calm your ass down.” Those are the type of conversations I’ll have. Personal shit, you know. I tell him, “Man, you already got cake.” I think he wants to be the Malcolm X of the rap industry or some shit.
Is there a confirmed date for the retreat?
Yeah, it’s the 24th-27th of February. In the winter we take it South, and in the summer we take it back up North. We’re gonna try and move it to cities that deserve to have shit like this and don’t normally get it. Last year’s conference in Chicago was a first. Mary Datcher helped me with that one. Down here in Miami, I got a staff working on some love shit. That feels good, man, it lets me know it’s all worth it. You can’t do it all by yourself. My reputation is more important than the money. I don’t know if you’re trying to avoid asking me the question, but I’ll go ahead and put it out there. A lot of this shit stems from the time when we were both involved with the Tech.Nitions. I felt like we weren’t moving in the right directions. We weren’t built for war just yet, although it seemed as if we were constantly going into battle. I have never met a muthafucker that everybody didn’t like. The truth always comes out in the end.
People blindly standing up for a cause and not necessarily investigating the history.
This is my favorite quote from Reggie White: “If you keep on doing what you doing, you always gonna get what you got.” If you keep on fucking up, you gonna keep getting fucked-up shit back. If you keep on doing good shit, you’re always gonna get some good shit coming back to you. Me, I’m trying to look at everything. I’m trying to give niggas a reason to be involved. DJ Khaled (Big Dawg Pitbulls/Terror Squad) is involved with The CORE DJs now. We went to the radio station and he was like, “What the fuck is up with The Core?” I asked him what he’s gonna do after this, outside of Miami. I’m already straight at the crib in Milwaukee. Now it’s time to show muthafuckers what I did at home, and if they’re not doing it at home, let’s take this shit to another level outside of the home.
Anything else you wanna say?
Absolutely! To my muthafuckin’ nigga TJ Chapman: it was just ten years ago that they were looking at us crazy cause we were in secondary markets. Tallahassee, FL, and Milwaukee, WI. They were looking at us like we were stupid, like we didn’t know what the fuck we were talking about. Now, ten years later, shit ain’t moving in our markets if it don’t’ come through us. North, they’ve gotta come to me, and South, they’ve gotta come to you. That’s the shit we were both tryin’ to tell niggas ten years ago. And I ain’t gon’ front either, man, you keepin’ us on top of that new music. You shock me with some of that shit you send out.
Yeah, I try to do what I can. This new gig here at OZONE requires heavy new music intake. Any contact information you’d like to give out to the OZONE readers?
Hit me at tneal@tmail.com or visit our website, www.coredjs.com . I fuck with the real, and OZONE is definitely the real.
