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Rhymes and reason >>
MTL hip hop DJ Kwite Sane works the decks like crazy
Mirror:
When was the first time that you felt that you had developed your own
style of DJing? Kwite Sane:
You mean date-wise or in general? M: In general.
I mean, did you always play the way you do now? KS: Nah,
I had to redevelop it. I didn’t really start DJing like that until
I felt like I was playing like everybody else and I had to change. It
came with time and different influences, like watching Kid Capri play,
Funkmaster Flex and his powerful ways on the radio, introducing new
songs all the time. I figured, maybe I should go that route. M: So there
wasn’t a lot of variety in terms of the way people were playing
hip hop as far as you were concerned? KS: No.
Not a lot of variety, not a lot of creativity. You’ve got to do
something that let’s you stand out from all the other DJs. What’s
so good about you? What’s different about what you bring to the
turntables, y’know? M: Was there
anybody else using the mic during their DJ set when you started doing
it? KS: Probably. I can’t remember. I can’t even remember the first time I actually picked up the mic!
The right profile M: What’s
the difference between playing in black clubs and in clubs attended
by the general public—besides the obvious difference? KS: (laughs)
I think the difference between the two is this: in clubs attended by
the general public people really come out to party. Their whole main
purpose of going to the club is to get in, get a few drinks, loosen
up and start dancing. In certain black clubs, it takes forever to get
them on the floor! M: Everybody’s
profiling! KS: (laughs)
Too much profiling! Y’know, get dressed up and everything, come
to the dance and stand around! Could have got the whole party on tape
and stayed at home! You’ve got five hours to party, but some people
always show up at 1:30, are ready to dance at 2:30, and by 3, they’re
complaining that it’s over. It’s funny sometimes. M: You think
there’s a gap between what local hip hop DJs and house DJs get
paid when you get into afterhours and big club residencies? KS: Yeah.
A lot of hip hop DJs don’t get the respect they deserve. In a lot
of situations the club is doing great, the DJ is bringing people back
week after week, but he’s making chump change. Then you get the
guys who hurt it even more because they’re hungry to play, for
$50 or whatever, less than what the DJ would usually get paid. Then
the promoters start hiring that guy, not because he’s dope, but
because he’s cheap, and he won’t feel it until he has to buy
records. M: Have
you ever seen any drama go down in the DJ booth? KS: I’ve
seen it all (laughs)! Fighting amongst DJs, who’s playing at what
time, this guy went two minutes over his time slot, who’s playing
next. That one usually happens when you have 20 DJs on the flyer, which
I hate! That don’t develop anybody’s skills at all. M: Have
you enjoyed the time you’ve had to build at Sona? KS: Oh yeah, I love Sona. I get to play for three hours straight, playing for the people. That crowd is totally different from other crowds. They feel the music a lot more. They appreciate different types of hip hop. Not only Jay-Z, Nas and DMX, but also Dilated Peoples and the B-sides. It’s a place where you can take risks, and I love it. : In Sona’s
hip hop room every Friday, $20
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I
remember walking along Ste-Catherine years ago on a Saturday and getting
bombarded with flyers outside the Eaton Centre. I hadn’t been in
town long enough to throw them on the ground like everybody else did,
so I had this massive pile of postcards and passes stuffed in my backpack.
Kwite Sane, who I was convinced was some flamboyant Haitian compa DJ
with a weird name, was billed on at least half the flyers back then.
This means he’s been holding it down and working like a dog for
years to be known today as one of Montreal’s best hip hop DJs.