As many of you may know, part of my grind in this music/entertainment biz is working with Michael Mauldin and the team at Mauldin Brand Agency (Scream Tour, Welcome To Atlanta Weekend, Fast Life, etc). Recently, we had an event at Atlanta Motor Speedway called Fastlife Friday in which we created another outstanding event merging the cultures of Drag racing, music,fashion,celebrities and more. To learn more check out http://fastlife360.fuzeboxdev.com/
As part of that movement, I was inspired to create this mixtape called Fastlife Smashups Vol 1. In my travels around the world spinning music, I realized that you have to have a broad knowledge of music in order to satisfy people of different backgrounds and musical taste. This CD features some great mashups (or smashups) by some great DJs and mixed and scratched live by yours truly. I was even told that it was great for working out too. Enjoy!!
Nabs
Click on the link below to download
http://www.sendspace.com/file/f8na8w
One memorable night in Paris filming for my documentary on DJ culture and spinning at one of the hottest clubs in Paris.
DJ Nabs-One Night In Paris- (ADJ Prelude) from DJ NABS on Vimeo.
DA BRAT & DJ NABS – PRODUCT & THE POWER from DJ NABS on Vimeo.
Unfortunately, this is not what I had planned for my latest blog this week but when I heard about the passing of the incredible DJ Roc Raida on Sept 19, 2009, I automatically knew I had to honor him.
For those that don’t know, DJ Roc Raida is mostly known for being a killer competition style DJ….yes, I’m talking about my favorite thing to hear a DJ do well…..scratching & beat juggling. He was one of the best, he had style, originality and was even awarded the coveted title of “Grandmaster” Roc Raida. Most recently, he had been traveling with the hip hop show stoppa Busta Rhymes on the road as his tour DJ.
I met Roc Raida and the other members of his DJ crew, The X-Ecutioners, thru a friend of mine named Wayne Briggs some years ago. I was promoting and spinning a hip hop night here in Atlanta GA called Old School Sundays at a club called Kaya. Wayne knew that I was looking for true hip hop talent, old school and new. “Yo, these cats would be perfect for the vibe you’ve created with this sunday night” he said. Needless to say, I booked them and the rest is history. Now believe me, some didn’t understand at first exactly what these DJs were going to do with 6 turntables on stage. My crowd was used to seeing myself, DJ Doc, Jaycee & Mars take turns rocking on 1 set of turntables. Why were 4 DJs on stage?? Well….I’ve been a fan of competition style DJing for years and have been in a few battles myself.. I knew exactly what they were going to do…tear the roof off the place!! Please believe…Roc Raida, Total Eclipse, Mr. Sinister & Rob Swift did not disappoint!
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For those that follow me, you know that I archive everything so in honor of the great Grandmaster Roc Raida, here is a short video excerpt from my personal vault of that great night!
Roc Raida was 37 years young and will be missed by family, friends and fans all over the world!
Peace
DJ Nabs
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ROC RAIDA AT DJ NABS OLD SCHOOL SUNDAYS-ATL-1998 from DJ NABS on Vimeo.
IN THE LAB WITH DJ NABS- AN AMERICAN DJ STORY (the documentary) -COMING SOON!
I really appreciate my readers comments and I respect everyone’s opinion. I also appreciate a good debate. This is the latest comment and my response in regards to an earlier blog that i posted about real DJs versus fake DJs. Enjoy!
# eleanor on April 17th, 2009 7:34 am
DJs who consider themselves as “REAL” DJs are the biggest amateurs and are bedroom wankers with no social skills. if you can’t sell yourself you can only bitch about how ppl who can sell themselves can get ahead in the game.
fake DJs are young inexperienced DJs that get the chance to play b/c they are connected and can get a draw. for many years the house scene battered godfather djs like Paul oakenfold, franky knuckles and junior Vasquez for not being able to preform a decent mix on stage but all there studio DJ mixes were flawless and probably produced by computer or a more skilled DJ. house DJs are booked based on their music production and in many times the great DJ talents are shadowed by mediocre DJs that are great studio producers. this is how the DJ world is run, some get ahead b/c they have a gimick/story and some make excuses why they are not going anywhere.
# djnabs on May 9th, 2009 7:27 pm
Eleanor, I feel where you’re coming from but a lot of what you say makes no sense. Let’s start here:
DJs who consider themselves as “REAL” DJs are the biggest amateurs and are bedroom wankers with no social skills.
The Real DJs i speak of are skilled DJs in the areas I mentioned before such as mixing, scratching, programming, crowd control etc. By default, that makes them “non amateurs”.
In regards to being bedroom wankers with no social skills, i wouldn’t know about all that. I’m sure “wankers” come in all sort of occupations, even yours.
if you can’t sell yourself you can only bitch about how ppl who can sell themselves can get ahead in the game.
Here’s a short list of DJs off the top of the dome that not only sell themselves but have long careers, skills and more importantly respect for the art of DJing (which is the actual point of this blog)
Myself, Jazzy Jeff, JMJ, Mars, Trauma, Green Lantern,Jazzy Joyce, Envy, Qbert, Jaycee,Kid Capri…….ahhhhhh..forget it…… this could take me all day. Moving on……
The answer is probably YES!
Now, before you read any further, I’d like to offer a disclaimer to all my friends in the business. This is not personal to anyone in particular. I apologize in advance if what I describe henceforth, sounds like you. I spent my entire career dedicated to the art of DJing and Hip Hop. I didn’t hustle drugs to make it and didn’t kiss ass either. I just learned how to spin to the best of my ability. I’m writing this because these days all I see around me is blatant disrespect for the DJ culture and I’m compelled everyday to expose this fallacy.
This is for me and every DJ who appreciates the craft and feels what I feel. I do this for Hip Hop!
I just landed in Dubai and I am very excited to be here. I’ve heard so much about how beautiful this place is so i had to check it out for myself. I will be spinning an event here in Dubai on Tuesday the 9th (see info below) and on Friday the 12th in Abu Dhabi, about 45 minutes away. Big shout out to DJ T-Luv, my NC buddy for connecting me with the gigs. T-Luv will also be rocking a few clubs here along with Bubba Sparks this same week so we will get to hang out. He is truly the biggest jet setting DJ i know…for real!
Check T-Luv on his site www.dj-tluv.com
Anyway, after more than 16 hours of flying, i was picked up by the promoters Shero and Aaron who have taken great care of me thus far ( I know the photo is dark but hey..i was sleepy and ready to check into my bed). Before i start working on Tuesday (12/9), they plan on taking me to see the sites including the DESERT…..lol. I will have video footage…I promise. (JD is not the only one who gets to see the great sites in Dubai..lol) . Check back here within the next few days for more photos and blogs so that you may experience it with me.
Man…this was a cool dude. Breed recently passed away from kidney failure. His funeral is planned for Tuesday, December 2nd 2008 at House of Prayer Missionary Baptist Church in his hometown of Flint Michigan from noon until 2pm. I rocked all of MC breed’s records back in the early 90′s. “Ain’t no future in yo frontin” & “I gotta get mine” feat. Tupac were my favorites. Not to mention that when i got my record deal with Columbia Records back in ’98, Breed lent his support by appearing on “Party” with my man Chris Kelly (Kris Kross). I was very appreciative of that and never forgot it. You can download the song below. I recently told Bad Boy South recording artist, Gorilla Zoe that his voice was as distinctive as MC Breed’s was and that’s a good thing.
RIGHT CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD NOW
