SKEME RICHARDS INTERVIEW
Q: Where you from? How did you get your name?
Im from Philly, live in the 215, the second city of Hip Hop, birth place of writing on walls. My crew is Sesion31, I’m the official DJ for Kings Destroy.
I’ve always been known to have some sort of master plan or a better way of doing something so people would always says he scheming. But it just so happens that one of my favorite graff writers because of his diehard attitude about things is Skeme from the Bronx. The second part of my name Richards comes from my favorite comic book character Reed Richards from the Fantastic 4. So there you have it, The Incredible Mr. Fantastic Skeme Richards
Q: What got you started in Dj’n? How long have you been a DJ and who are your mentors and inspirations?
I started DJ’ing in 1981 and it was just something that called my name. Hip Hop DJ’s were all around me as a kid, my neighborhood had some of the best DJ’s in the city like DJ Groove from Ultra Force of Funk, he’s the Bambaata of Philly who knew all the breaks before everyone else down here. Philly is known for taking the DJ game another level but I’ve always been inspired by Grand Master Flash, Bambaata, Red Alert, Jazzy Jeff, Kid Capri.
Q: How do you feel about the evolution of Hip Hop music (70′s til 2010)? In the future, Which direction would you like to see it go and why?
The music started out pure just as anything else that is done for the love, in some ways it went astray but in others it helped to expose people to all these different sounds that we hear in the music today, especially production. We went from spinning and sampling James Brown breaks to playing all these obscure beats, and sampling records from all over the world. Hip Hop music will never be what it was like in the 70′s, 80′s, or 90′s but we still have those DJ’s, MC’s Producers that still keep that sense of traditionalism alive so we’ll be ok. There’s only one kind of Hip Hop music, and thats Hip Hop music, this other rap, pop, top 40 stuff is not Hip Hop and I hate when people put everything under the same title as “Hip Hop”. I just want Hip Hop to remain Hip Hop, no gimmicks just beats, rhymes and skills. Look at the great Hip Hop artists that still can entertain crowds today, they give a better show than all these fly by night new jacks. Rock a show, get the dough and be out the door!
Q: What was the importance of “digging in the crates” vs the digital age (of using a Serato)? Has the Serato affected DJ’s in a positive or Negative way and why?
I still go shop for records on a regular basis because I love to have that physical product, but I love serato too because its makes my job that much easier with carrying records or even playing bullshit that isn’t worth buying. I do a party called Hot Peas and Butta where we play all 45′s and people love the fact that we pull out something that not everyone is gonna have or play. The downside of the digital DJ or human ipods as I like to call them is they have no connection to the music, they download bad quality mp3s and play them. They don’t have any skills and usually they play the guaranteed hits and don’t understand the importance of rocking a crowd. The DJ’s #1 job is to educate the listener and thats a skill that digital DJ’s don’t posses. So at the end of the day its an appreciation factor, DJ’s that have carried records for years are gonna love using digital means, it lets them go where they’ve never gone before. For the new DJ its just a novelty, ask how many of those people would be DJ’s if they had to spend thousands of dollars on Vinyl!
Q: When DJ’n a Bboy event, What are the do’s and dont’s when spinning breaks?
To me there’s no difference between spinning a bboy event and rocking a club, your job is to keep the party moving. You play the music that fits the occasion and for me it can be breaks or it can be more raw funk and soul type joints. Do be original, Don’t play for yourself! A lot of bboys are trying to be DJ’s these days and they play music that they like to dance to instead of knowing what works. They are so used to being on the opposite side of the fence and not seeing the audience from the DJ’s perspective because they’ve never rocked a club or a party. Most of those guys aren’t unique because they play what they’ve heard at jams or mixtapes and not from the gut. Do be original, Don’t bite my shit or I’ll have to call you out!
Q: Has Turntablism reached a peek in terms of techniques & popularity?
Turntablism has definitely reached its peek, the DJ is more popular now than ever but the actual art of cutting and scratching and doing routines has definitely reached its level. No one cares about the whole battle circuit except for those that battle, it’s not interesting anymore because people have seen it all and it hasn’t gone beyond that. There’s still cats that I enjoy seeing rocking routines and getting busy because they’re entertaining but a lot of these guys just sound like noise. Sad but once a zillion people start doing something it becomes cliche’ and over saturated then falls off the radar. I still enjoy seeing certain cats do their thing because they’ve mastered it to where what they do sounds timeless and is so visually smooth and flawless.
Q: Do you practice and/or learn about another element of Hip Hop and how important is it to look at this culture as a whole vs. individual parts?
Your always a student to the game. I’ve done every element at one time or another, I stopped breakin’ in 85, Im still nice with a can in my hand and have an ill tag, I’ve been making beats since the 80′s and have mad mic control. You can’t shout Hip Hop if you don’t do other elements or at least understand those others. I look at Hip Hop as a whole because thats the era I come from, but if you ask really old writers they’ll tell you that graff isn’t Hip Hop because they’ve been doing it before the term Hip Hop was even thought of. So it’s different for different generations I guess. But I come from an era where you did everything, you didn’t have to be the king on all angles but you touched every corner of it.
Q: List your top 10 songs/artist of all time (Breaks-Hip Hop-Jazz-Rock…any genre)
Thats always a tough question because there’s so many great talents in music be I’ll try my best on this one. Without James Brown Hip Hop as we know it would’t exist so he’s first on my list. Lalo Schifrin, Quincy Jones, Gamble & Huff (includes tons of artists that they produced), Donald Byrd Pete Rock, DJ Premier, just way too many talented people to break down such a short list!
Q: What seperates you from other Break DJ’s?
Well first I’m not a Break DJ, I’m a DJ! I play all genres of music. Most “Break” DJ’s can’t rock parties and thats what Hip Hop is supposed to be, a party. They play for a certain crowd, but when you alienate others then your not doing your job as a DJ. You put me in any situation and I’ll rock it, House, Classics, Hip Hop, R&B or whatever, plus I’ll do it with vinyl. Most of these “break dj’s” play genres just because they have the mp3, but ask them to play it on vinyl and they’ll be clueless.
Q: I’ve been hearing about Hot Peas and Butta, whats up with that?
Thats a party that I do which we spin all 45′s, Funk, Soul, Latin, Disco, Rare Grooves etc. and people come out to dance and get sweaty. It’s funky enough for a bboy to come out to but it’s not designed for that. It’s designed to bring the social aspect back into the party and to have man and woman dancing together, like on Soul Train or like when moms and pops used to throw house parties and people would dance all night. Whenever I DJ a party no matter what genre bboys think their supposed to break or toprock, no! If the music does not dictate it then don’t do it! Ask most of these cats to dance with a girl and they look so out of place, thats because they can’t dance, all they can do is break because thats all they know and don’t have any other social skills. So this party is to bring both worlds together to create one great experience. In addition to that we show all this crazy rare footage on the projectors, everything from kung fu & blaxploitation trailers to footage of James Brown and other performers to commercials and everything in between.
Q: I understand you have a Hot Peas and Butta 45 coming out.
Yeah, I’ve got a 45 coming out in July on Record Breakin Music that I did with the Hot Peas and Butta Band aka Big Pimp Jones. Its called The Smokeout and its basically a funky soundtrack that could’ve been placed in an old 70′s cop or blaxploitation flick. Over here at Hot Peas and Butta we’re deep into 70′s cinema, Kung Fu flix, Blax, Sci Fi, Porn, you name it we’re on it. The whole 70′s era was a great time because everything was so care free, the music, film, the birthing of this culture and more.
Q:I heard your really heavy into collecting not only records but other stuff.
The 70′s is my era, I got an insane collection of toys from the 70′s (still boxed), Kung Fu & Blaxploitation movie posters, arcade and pinball machines, metal lunch boxes, race tracks, rare footage on VHS, sneakers, 80′s BMX bikes and more. I try to keep those things around me not only as art but also to keep me young, those were great times with no stress of going to work and you could play and use your imagination and just be a kid. I’m about to do a Hot Peas and Butta toy show at a gallery and have stuff on display plus show visuals of old toy commercials.
Web site www.hotpeasandbutta.com
blog www.anything-goes31.blogspot.com
