Rise at Night
Armed & Dangerous feat. MC Zulu (Datsik Remix)
Last weekend, Datsik came tearing into Colorado putting on two incredible laser crazy shows reminding every person in the audience what grime dub can sound like. I was able to sit down with him Saturday before his show to get some insight on his past, his love of hip-hop and even a little on Mark Ruffalo.
TMN: I have the pleasure today of sitting down with the crazy producer of dubstep, Mr Datsik, thank you taking the time to talk to us tonight before you show the Mile High City what is up.
D: Of course.
TMN: Let’s start from the beginning when you were young. Was there any music in your household or did you take any musical lessons when you were a kid? You’ve told the great story of your dad giving you a surround sound system and saying, you make it, you can keep it. Were there other musical stories like this?
D: I’ve actually never really had a musical background I’ve always kind of been into the more technical side of it I guess. So that’s why making dubstep and cool noises appeals to me and I’ve always kind of been into making the darker stuff ya know? When I was younger, a teenager, I was into dark hip-hop stuff which translated into what I am making now.
TMN: What was your first tape and/or CD that you owned?
D: Shit. Um, it must have been, I think it was an old Beastie Boys tape or something like that. I’m trying to remember I got it from my brother and that is the first one I can remember. I had one of those big yellow walkmans too (laughs) you know those?
TMN: Oh yes, I had one of those too.
TMN: And what was the first concert you ever went to?
D: I went to a Snoop Dog concert when I was fifteen and I remember we rolled up like twenty joints.
TMN: (Laughs) You kind of have to, it was Snoop Dog.
D: (Laughs) Exactly! So we filled this little container and we snuck it in and we didn’t have floor seats but we rolled up there was five of us and we sparked them and smoked them all at once. I was definitely in a haze when I left.
TMN: On numerous occasions it has been written that you were and still are a giant rap and hip-hop fan, Wu-Tang Clan was your favorite. What was it about this type of music that you loved and still love so much?
D: I guess again, the dark shit. That has always been my niche, the darker side of hip-hop and I liked how it didn’t feel overproduced so everything felt grudgy and edgy. I think the imperfections is what made it perfect for me?
TMN: That being said, what do you think about the rap scene today? For example, Kanye West pretty much just declared himself a “God” in that department, how has the rap scene changed and what are your thoughts on that?
D: Well I think before I answer this we should distinguish that rap and hip-hop are two different things. Rap is the rap game you know about money, cash, hoes whatever. Hip-hop is more about an intellectual approach and getting a message across. I’m not that into rap but I am into hip-hop because it is telling a story. Kanye West, I don’t know it is kind of Hip-Hop because he is telling a story but he is bragging about how cool he is. I mean whatever you know, it’s cool, it will get on the radio.
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