Yeah, me and DJ Ran were 50/50. Tech.Nitions were founded about two and a half years ago. Basically I was the CFO/brainchild, and Ran, he works 365 days of the year. Like my man in Houston, they say 25/8 not 24/7, that was me. I was in a lil’ town in Mississippi sittin’ back thinking of things to do, and Ran was the implementer. He made it happen. Before that, I was a DJ and Kurupt’s road manager. I met Ran through a mutual friend. At the time, Kurupt was signed to a label in the same building where Ran had an office, and we happened to be bumping heads.
How did you and Ran come up with the idea to bring DJs together?
Basically, the idea came about when I got let go from the radio station here in Jackson. I felt like the industry was turning they back on me because I didn’t have a gig to get spins no more. So I said, okay, I’m gonna create something that’s gonna make them respect me and respect other DJs. Even though you not on the radio, you can have another outlet besides radio. So if you do lose your job, you can still be able to have something else to fall back on.
Like mixtapes and spinning at clubs?
Not even just clubs and mixtapes, it’s more like making yourself into a namebrand. That’s the only thing you have in this business, your name. Names like Busta Rhymes and David Banner, those are brands that other companies feel like they can make money from. Especially with the urban lifestyle marketing that’s been big lately – you’ve got Remy, Seagram’s Gin, Mountain Dew putting money into the urban community.
So if there’s no beef between you and Ran, why did you decide to break off and start another DJ organization?
I’ve got a question for you. Why did Lyor leave Def Jam?
For a better opportunity?
Well, then. I’ll put it like this. I’m 31 years old. When you 31 years old, you have to grow in this business. You can’t grow being stuck to one thing. The industry changes every 24 hours. Just like your magazine, OZONE, are you gonna keep writing your own stories or have someone else come in with new ideas and bring it to another level? That’s what it’s there for.
So what’s the name of the new organization?
It’s the New Violator All-Star DJs. There’s no beef with none of the other DJs. We tryin’ to bring every DJ into the pot: Tech.Nitions, Heavy Hitters, [Big Dawg] Pitbulls, Assassins, everybody. We’re just showing them another way to make some money and not be out here struggling. I can sum it up in one word: coalition.
Are you going to have a lot of DJs, like Tech.Nitions, or be more selective like Heavy Hitters, for example?
It’s going to be an elite group. Everybody can’t be a part of it, we choose the ones we want. You can’t just come off the street and be a part of it, but at the same time we have open arms to everybody. If you’re the man in your market, even if you in Little Rock, Arkansas, we comin’ to get you. Some DJs send me resumes, but what I do is get off my ass and do road trips. That’s what I’ve been doing lately. I look at their whole set of knowledge, what can they bring to the table? What’s the sense in having being a DJ if you don’t utilize the power you’ve got? A lot of DJs do that. They get comfortable with their situation. They end up being older, 34-35, with no health insurance. They still DJing in clubs, no 401k, so that’s where we come in at. Right now we have a committee. It’s what me and Chris [Lighty] and my other partners call the nucleus. We have different people who handle different things. Like my man, Kwasi Kwa, he’s part of the nucleus. He makes decisions. It’s like having a board member. I can’t just bring DJs in, they have to go through the board of directors. The committee consists of a couple Cali cats, a couple NY cats, a couple Chicago cats, and this is my first time bringing Mississippi guys into what I’m doing. The nucleus makes the decisions.
How can someone contact you to get involved?
Visit www.violator.com or call 646-486-8932. If I don’t answer the phone just keep calling. The email address is thedj@aol.com.
So now that you’ve teamed up with Chris Lighty, should we expect to see DJ endorsements and things like that?
Of course! We gonna use every marketing tool that we can. I been knowing Chris Lighty since ‘95, I been seeing him do his thing and he been seeing me do my thing. we used to always bump heads and have these whole conversations. I was like, man, this dude is an executive but he still has relationships. He used to carry crates for Red Alert, so he comes from the DJ side. His name used to be Baby Chris. He’s been in this game a long time. I like to brand myself with people who gonna take it to the next level. My mom didn’t raise no fool. It’s a business first. I think people think it’s DJing first and then business. Nah, it’s business first and then DJing for me. When I was 18 or 19, I’d DJ a party for free. I’m trying to change that – right now the industry is in shambles. Look at all the mergers. I’mma tell you this too, and I want you to print this: A&Rs, you need to start signing some better shit. Then the promoters can promote better shit, the DJs can play better shit, guess what? The game won’t be in shambles no more. That’s the key to this game – sign better shit. Do your research. Don’t just look at BDS and see how many times a record got spun, nah, get your ass out your seat. You making 90k a year, so get off your ass and go find out who’s the hot artist in those markets. It start with the A&Rs first. Not that dude sitting in an office rubbing his chest hairs talking about going golfing. Feel me? I just had to get that off my chest.
Do you feel like there’s too much conflict within the DJ community? Like a Ran vs. Rene type thing?
I don’t get into their business, I stay to myself. I change my numbers, email, 2way every few months because I hate negative energy. If you look at Isaiah 53:7 in the Bible, he talking about the Israelites trying to take a journey. It took them 40 years to make an 11 month trip because they had so much negative energy they couldn’t focus on the trip. Feel what I’m sayin’? I’d rather not have negativity and keep the positive energy around me. I check my voicemail at Violator, it’s people calling from all over the country ‘cause they love what I’m doing. But then you have the ones that don’t know anything about this game that have this negative energy, complaining, “Ran don’t do this,” or “Rene did that.” I ain’t got nothing against Rene or Ran, I love everybody if they love me. If they don’t love me, that’s their problem, ‘cause I’m a likeable guy. But don’t get it twisted, I do have that other side of me. I’m an ex-gang member. I came from gangbangin’. I was an unknown vicelord ‘til my mom put me in Catholic school. Now I just chill, you know?
- Julia Beverly, jb@ozonemag.com
(Photo: Jaro Vacek)
