by SCOTT C

Whether you like it or not, DJ Craze is in love with drum & bass. The world-champion turntablist and title holder of DMC, ITF, Zulu Nation and East Coast Rap Sheet scratch-battle accolades not only reps the music and the scene, but also produces the odd track along with his partner Juju. In short, Craze’s mix of hip hop, breaks, drum & bass and turntablism is unmatched. The Mirror spoke to him over the phone from his home in Miami.

Mirror: You mentioned that you had played a drum & bass gig at Fabric in London not too long ago. Now, are you playing D&B gigs in North America where you can still see a strong and healthy scene at work?

DJ Craze: In L.A.! L.A. has a crazy dope scene. It hasn’t always been like that, though. It’s happened mostly over the last three years, but it’s gotten really good. Every night, there’s something going on, and on Wednesday nights, they’re pulling in like 1,000 people. It’s crazy. I think Toronto still has a good, crackin’ scene. Toronto and L.A. are usually the best spots in North America. I was in Toronto a couple months ago for a big jam at Guvernment.

M: How far back does your relationship with D&B go?

DJC: I got into it late. I think it was around ’97. I didn’t really start spinning it until 1999. The shit that got me at first happened when I went to see Portishead one time, and Roni Size was on the same bill. So I stuck around for that shit and I thought that was dope as hell. Right around the “Brown Paper Bag” era was when I was first getting into D&B. It was a wrap. I wasn’t really there for the whole jungle scene, but I kinda like some of it.

M: Do you remember “Circles” by Adam F?

DJC: Yeah, man! That was around the same time.

M: When that song was out, there were a lot more D&B nights to choose from in Montreal, but I think things have dwindled down to the heads. They keep it moving.

DJC: In Miami, we only have a couple hundred heads that go out and check out D&B gigs. It’s not that big over here. It’s mostly underground, and mostly dudes and shit (laughs).

M: Really?

DJC: That’s the problem everywhere! There’s no girls. Well, there’s some, but guys always want to hear some tear-out shit. It’s all good, though.

M: But you’ve got the luxury of playing a few D&B gigs, and then playing a straight hip hop gig, no?

DJC: Yeah, but it got pretty bad in the last few years.

M: How do you mean?

DJC: Well, both crowds became particularly separate. At first, everybody was all diggin’ each other’s vibes and it was all good. I was like, “Fuck it, I’m-a play some drum & bass. No, I’m-a play some hip hop,” y’know? But now the kids are completely separated. Now the hip hop kids don’t want to hear that D&B shit, and the D&B kids don’t want to hear that hip hop shit. So I’ve been playing gigs where the right side of the room is wilin’ out, and then when I switch up the music, the left side of the room is wilin’ out. It’s crazy.

With MC Armanni, Corey K, DJ Bind, Evader MC and Hussler at Academy on Friday, Dec. 1, 10 p.m., $15

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