While saddling up for another Monday morning grind, I ran across footage of Whoo Kid’s guest appearance on The Round Table. Not surprising he begins by taking a couple of shots at Ja Rule, Murder Inc, and Kanye West, but he then goes on to state that he’s "not really a DJ."
This statement could be interpreted a number of different ways… an attempt at humbleness, admission of guilt, sarcasm, boasting, or some combination of each. In the end, it’s all irrelevant since at this point I’m sure Whoo Kid could care less what anyone, especially those with lesser bankrolls, think of him. Still one question remains… what do you call Whoo Kid and people like him?
Has hip-hop come to expect too much from someone wishing to use the two initials? Is DJ’ing a role, level of influence, type of equipment used, skill set, state of mind, or outdated tradition soon to be lost to technology?
It’s very rare (almost impossible) for one individual to truly embody all of the traits of the ideal DJ. Throw various digital technologies into the mix and things get even more confusing. DJ’ing has now come to mean so many things to different people, that it’s almost silly to think of one act being authentic than another. All of these various factors and changing definitions beg the question: what is a DJ?
Crazy!!!!
“Still one question remains… what do you call Whoo Kid and people like him?”
Lame.
eVen most so called DJ’S today are not disc jockeys they don’t miX or scratch like kid capri,Revelution and the others to long to mention.Hell a dj doesn’t just play music……go figure
Let’s take it back to the Old-school…
What is a DJ if he can’t scratch? … Nothing… Nothing wicki wicki wicki nothing, nothing…
I’ll put it this way, if you aren’t mixing, if you aren’t scratching, if you aren’t using some sort of tool of the trade in a matter that requires real skill, then you just aren’t a “Real DJ” The name of the art is control, without real control over the music you might as well give it up. If you are just in it to make money and not actually offer something back to the game, then you are less than nothing.
If you are simply compiling a ton of music together and calling it a “mixtape” without adding a real piece of yourself into the “Mix” using skills, programing and creativity then you are just plain garbage and should never use the title of “DJ” Deejaying is one of the original arts of Hip Hop just throwing the title before your name and not embodying the spirit of the DJ is ludicrous. All I can say is money is not the end all be all and “Real DJs Do Real Things” (tr)
– DJ Emir
The Internet Mixtape King
Creator of DJ Emir’s Transformers Mixtape
VIP Nightclub magazine 2008 Mixtape of The Year
And the subsequent hot mixtape hit
Ironman Mixtape