DJ From Another Planet
Imagine if Puff Daddy were banned from plundering the back catalogues
of every major artist for inspiration. And what if MCs from Compton
to Queens could no longer waste valuable CD space with shout-outs
to their lawyers and odes to their glocks? Hip-hop would be reduced
to its essence--two turntables and maybe, just maybe, a microphone.
That is, if somebody actually had something to say. The focus
would be back on the DJ, especially, if there's any justice in
the world, scratch maven Mix Master Mike.
"The DJ has been neglected," says the member of the Invisibl
Skratch Piklz and the Beastie Boys. "Scratch art is my way of
bringing something new to the table."
Sure, scratching has been an integral part of hip-hop since
back in the day of Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash, but what Mix
Master Mike does with two turntables on his own Anti-Theft
Device album is out of this world. Literally.
"It's deep-space music from Zectar," he says, channeling George
Clinton circa 1978. "I used to watch a lot of sci-fi flicks. The
alien thing reminds me of scratching, like I'm communicating with
aliens from outer space."
Despite stemming from sources as disparate as old arcade games,
Invasion of the Body Snatchers and Jimi Hendrix, Anti-Theft
Device is a seamless hour of seriously freaky funk, punctuated
with Zectarian blips and bleeps. It's the antidote to what Mix
Master Mike calls the "stagnant" hip-hop mainstream.
The hip-hop mainstream is, of course, where the Beastie Boys reside,
but Ad-Rock, MCA and Mike D have been ill communicating with aliens
for years, so Mix Master Mike couldn't pass up the chance to DJ
for the Intergalactic Beasties.
"I met MCA in 1995, and we exchanged numbers," he says, explaining
how he hooked up with the Beasties. "When he wasn't home, I'd
leave scratch messages for him. After awhile it drove him nuts."
One of those messages can be heard on the Beasties' Hello Nasty
album. Hooking his turntable up to a wah-wah pedal, Mix Master
Mike proceeds to turn MCA on to the "tweak scratch," which segues
right into "Three MCs and One DJ." Over boomin' bass that would
make the entire city of Miami jealous, the Beasties give the DJ
props: "Cause nobody can do it like Mix Master Mike can/He'll
tweak your ass across the cross fade, so watch your back when
he takes the stage." All the while, Mike scratches at breakneck
speed, frantically trying to bring the lost art to the masses.
It's his mission.
©1998 Link, The College Magazine