Subculturez is the latest album from DJ, turntablist, producer and graff writer, DJ JS-1. This ambitious offering boasts 32 tracks representing an ode to his hometown of New York City. It features scratch tracks, various beats and breaks that he's produced, and the album's artwork is also drawn by DJ JS-1 aka JERMS. DJ JS-1 is a stand-up guy (one of my favorite in this industry), who loves the music and the culture, even when he feels it doesn't love him back. He's definitely one of the best DJs I've ever seen and someone who truly knows the music and the business. Take a trip through the 5 boroughs of New York City with his ode to a place I'll for-ever-ever call home...
Happy Holidays! A message from DJ JS-1 about the mixes included in today's post: "It's that time of year again. I just uploaded the 2 best Christmas mixtapes you will ever hear on my Bandcamp page. There is several genres of Christmas music cut up and mixed along with movie samples and phrases. We did these mixes a while back and they have been downloaded a lot already over the years. I am taking down my blog with all my mixes and they will only be available here from now on. Please support if you can with a share or repost. That helps. Thank You, Happy Holidaze!" Listen up below...
DJ JS-1 shared his Brainwash mix tape with DJ Ody-Roc to his personal blog in 2010 with the following message, "This mix was done circa 1999/2000... It contains tons of hiphop songs, remixes, blends, scratches, originals, rock breaks and more.... It is 80 minutes of pure insanity!" I agree! Aside from original tracks and interludes from JS-1, there are cuts from Natural Elements, GZA, Jeru The Damaja, Pharoahe Monch, Canibus, Nas, Big L, Black Moon, Prodigy, Common, Rakim, Dr. Dre, N.W.A., The Notorious B.I.G., Rahzel, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, Mos Def, and more! Listen to JS-1's mix below...
This is the original classic mixtape DJ JS-1 did with DJ Spinbad in 1996. According to DJ JS-1, they sold thousands on cassette and it set the bar very high for any concept mix that came after it. It was done on a broken tascam 4trk, and all of the acapella remixes were done using only turntables, re-scratched hooks, movie samples, and lots of dope cuts. One of his personal favorites, enjoy it below featuring tracks with KRS-One, Redman, Common, Alkaholiks, T La Rock, The Pharcyde, Gang Starr, Mad Skillz, Kool G Rap, Jeru The Damaja, Casual, Nas, Organized Konfusion, Busta Rhymes, Nice & Smooth, GZA, 3rd Bass, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, Eric B. & Rakim, Mobb Deep and more. Dig into it...
J.PERIOD teams up with turntablist and Rock Steady Crew representer DJ JS-1 to create a block-rocking mixtape guaranteed to break every speaker in its path. Featured in The Source “Hottest Mixtapes,” Scratch Magazine, and MTV “Mixtape Mondays,” "In the Trunk" boasts over 40 tracks of classic jeep-beats from all eras of hip hop – the perfect mixtape to bump in whips worldwide. The mix features tracks from LL Cool J, Masta Ace, Dr. Dre, OutKast, Lost Boyz, Das EFX, D-Nice, EPMD, Notorious B.I.G., MC Breed, Ice Cube, KRS-One, Dead Prez, Channel Live, Heavy D, Nas, Tribe, Kool G Rap, O.C., Artifacts, Mobb Deep, Wu-Tang Clan, Eazy-E, Too $hort, and more. Listen below...
DJ JS-1 did this mixtape with Spinbad in 1997; it's called All About The Hamiltons. It's nothing like their collaborative Cold Cut Remixes mix tape, but we'll all agree it's a really solid mix of cuts from '97, featuring artists like LL Cool J, D.I.T.C., Diamond D, Busta Rhymes, Gang Starr, Big L, Organized Konfusion, Hieroglyphics, Keith Murray, Big Daddy Kane, Lord Tariq & Peter Gunz, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Common, Wu-Tang Clan, Soul Kid Klik, Rakim, Chubb Rock, Fat Joe, EPMD, Tha Alkaholiks, The Firm and more. This particular mix tape was only sold on cassette, never on CD or released digitally. Much love and respect to DJ JS-1, one of the most blunt and sincere DJs and producers in this whole industry. If you let him tell it though, he'll say, "No one cares." Listen to the mix tape below...
From DJ JS-1, "This is a new mix I did in July of 2016. It is mainly popular 90's Hip Hop tracks and some blends. It's a nice, feel-good mix that should put a smile on your face. I have been focusing on doing tons of graffiti pieces and murals all over, but I have several new mixes in the works for you. I am about to head out on tour, but as soon as I return, I will be finishing up and posting new mixes. I hope you enjoy it, peace... JS1." The mix features tracks from A Tribe Called Quest, Poor Righteous Teachers, N.W.A., Nine, DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, Eric B. & Rakim, PM Dawn, Ice Cube, Lords of the Underground, Brooklyn Slumlordz, De La Soul, Nice & Smooth, Grand Puba, Big Daddy Kane, Run DMC, Masta Ace, MC Lyte, Queen Latifah, Special Ed, and lots more! I respect JS-1 more than most for always being willing to speak his peace, say what's on his mind, and offering valuable perspective on what's real and what's fake. It helps that he's a better DJ than 99.9% of the world.
"In the mid 90's myself and DJ Spinbad did the "Cold Cutz Remixes" mixtape. We made that mixtape on broken 4-track-cassette recorders. We remixed tons of acapellas, and every song on the mixtape was an exclusive blend we did using turntables only. We re-scratched the song hooks, added sound fx, did some scratch interludes and really set the bar high for mixtape production. To date, that mixtape has reached tens of thousands of people and is considered one of the best mixtapes of all-time. This new mix was not supposed to be the specific part 2 to that mix, but it's done in a similar way and it is the unofficial part 2. There are ONLY acapella remixes on this new mix as well. A mix like this is completely opposite of many lazy DJs' mixes that let songs play all the way and talk or play effects in between every track. This involves so much more, and is so much more fun to make. I used hundreds of different beats and acapellas. Let's keep the pressure on all these horrible DJs out there and try to keep some respect, honor, dignity and skills to the mixtape legacy." Listen...
"Here it is Folks! This one pretty much started it all for me. This has been called the most bootlegged mixtape of all time. Not sure if it's true, but it sounds impressive. I actually did this mix on a broken analog 4-track cassette recorder, but 1 track was broken so everything was recorded on 3," says DJ Spinbad. He's right - this was the one! Much respect to DJ JS-1 and DJ A.Vee, too. Dig into this flawless mix that helped change the game and put a lot of people on to DJ Spinbad.
Originally released in 2001, ''Disposable Arts'' is a thematic/concept album by Brooklyn eMCee Masta Ace. The concept follows that Masta Ace is being released from prison, his return to home and joining ''The Institute of Disposable Arts.'' The album contain many guest artists like Masta Ace's group eMC (Stricklin & Wordsworth), Apocalypse, Greg Nice of Nice & Smooth, Rah Digga, J-Ro of Tha Alkaholiks, King Tee, Jean Grae, Punchline, Young Zee and more. Also a bunch of different producers (Paul Nice, Domingo, Deacon The Villain of CunninLynguists, Xplicit, Ayatollah, Sabor and more), this album is seen as a timeless classic album and one of the most flawlessly crafter conceptual projects. In the documentary, you will see most of the contributors to the ''Disposable Arts'' album, with interviews, stories behind the tracks, and more content about the making of “Disposable Arts.” A great documentary, about a flawlessly crafted conceptual album! Dig in below.
"...It's been five years at least, waiting for a peace
Bouncing off of these walls awaiting my release
Pacing like a caged lion with rage crying
All them days trying to engage with the iron
Stuck in between a rock and a hard place
I got down on my knees, looked into God's face
It's really not the same, is it? With low digits
And y'all ain't hold me down, ain't paid me no visits..."
From the man himself, DJ JS-1: "The "WikiBreaks" mix is a lil' over an hour of breaks from funk, disco, re-edits, and some hiphop tracks that are not the most popular. I made most of the mix using two turntables, and then added some scratches and phrases from movies, pop-culture, commercials, etc... I hope you realize and appreciate the value of a good mix. There is an over-abundance of wanna-be DJs: posers, strippers, clowns, reality tv losers, athletes, d-list celebs, promoters, anyone with a laptop, and even the coat-check chick spins... It takes more than just playing what people know and like, or playing some exclusive detox tracks that are HORRIBLE and no one gives a shit about anyway, or just scratching really fast, or just "mashing up" any two different songs, or having "catchy" artwork, or playing an electro song that sounds like its 98 minutes long, etc... It takes a whole lot, that apparently most DJs lack, or are simply lazy and ONLY do DJ for $, not for the love of what it means to be a DJ. So whenever any DJ puts together something that obviously took time and dedication, we should appreciate their effort to keep the true mixtape essence alive... "Tradition means that we need to end what began well and continue what is worth continuing..." Well, I'll continue to keep making really dope mixes with good music, over here... " Dig into the mix below...
A 91-track, 3 hour long mix of DEMOs from DJ JS-1! I know JS personally, so I know that I'm not gonna be able to explain this any better than he would (nor more entertainingly), so I'll let him tell it .... "For the past year or two I've collected a bunch of demos from many of our favorite hip hop artists. I have a collection of approximately 350 to 400 demos and rare tracks. I narrowed that down to my favorite 100 and made this mix. There are a few things to keep in mind about this new mix: first, these are all demos, many of them from cassette tapes, poorly recorded, duplicated & copied over the years; played on radio shows, etc, so the sound quality is not top notch. The sound is the best it could be considering what this is. Second, when I say demo, I mean that literally ... many of these are actual "demos" in the traditional sense of the first recordings they made to shop for record deals. Others are unreleased songs; some that are not completed, some are songs that have been released but this is the original version or unreleased remix. Some are just very rare unreleased songs that I wouldn't necessarily classify as a "demo." And finally, these are my favorites. This whole mix is worth it just for the unreleased KRS-ONE and DJ PREMIER track that didn't make the Return of the Boom Bap album... I hope you enjoy this and appreciate the history and super-special rare treats hidden in this mix. No matter how "hip hop" you think you are and how cool and knowledgeable you perceive yourself to be, there is ALWAYS more to learn and more treats to find. There are thousands of songs, so dig, dig, dig, and dig some more..." Listen below & props to JS-1.
