Published: Sunday - June 5, 2005
Words by Bill "Low-Key" Heinzelman
DJ Babu (Photo: Robz)
DJ Babu is a man who rarely speaks, but when he does, he always has something important to say. As one third of Dilated Peoples, Babu is respected as one of the best turntabalists in the game. His skills behind the tables are second to none, as the Beat Junkies member has always represented the true essence of DJing.
With the release of his Likwit Junkies LP. You may not hear from him often, but rest assured, DJ Babu is a man with a lot to say.
BallerStatus.com: How did this Likwit Junkies album with Defari come about?
DJ Babu: Obviously, I met Defari through my affiliation with Dilated Peoples, so we have done a lot of shows and been in the studio together a bunch of times. But during those studio sessions, I just started throwing beats his way, and that's how it started. Actually, the first time I think we hooked up was something I co-produced with Evidence for Defari called "Joy Ride." Later, we did the "Behold My Life" song and the remix for that, which is when we really started to find our chemistry together. From there, we did a song for my Duck Season compilation called "I Got This," which is the actual debut of the Likwit Junkies, but it has really been something that has snowballed. He started coming to my crib and we were just banging tracks out. He would come with no rhymes written, and I would have no beats done, but at the end of a day we would have three songs done. Before you knew it, after a few weeks work, we were sitting on 10 or 11 rough songs. We then hit up Benny B at ABB Records, and now the album is here. We put 10 or 11 months of work into this album, on and off, since my schedule is hectic with Dilated and the Beat Junkies. This album is a really natural project, as we have great chemistry in the studio together, so it's a great release for the both of us.
BallerStatus.com: Is there a difference between making an album with Defari, than with Evidence and Rakaa?
DJ Babu: Not really, the only difference is in regards to my responsibility level. With Dilated, I obviously have another audio partner with Evidence, as far as how things are supposed to sound and the technical aspects of mixing the tracks. Me and Evidence do a lot of that together. Plus, we are with Capital Records, so we have a budget, and can afford to get in a top notch studio and have an engineer. With Dilated, we can outsource some of the work, but with Likwit Junkies, it's a lot looser. We recorded the entire album in my home studio. We recorded the lyrics in my downstairs bathroom/vocal booth. With Dilated, there is a lot more thought put into everything; we have to deal with sample clearances, and fighting with the label for creative control. The expectations are a lot higher with Dilated and a lot more intense, but with the LJ's, it's just us pulling up our sleeves and doing the work ourselves. Everything from the music, to the photos and the artwork. ABB [Records] definitely helped us with a lot; I don't want to forget them, as they helped us connect to the people. But we did have the majority of the album done before we even talked to ABB about a deal, so I guess that is the biggest difference, as this album was just a throw back to being in your bedroom making music. This album was refreshing for the both of us, to get back to a grass roots project and capturing real moments in time.
BallerStatus.com: Have you been pleased with how the album has been received and the responses you have gotten so far?
DJ Babu: The responses have been great so far; I feel blessed. Personally, I really try to not sweat anything I read on the internet or in magazine publications, as far as reviews of my music go. So I was expecting the worse, but on the whole, it has been great. Everyone has been coming back with good feedback and the buzz is good. A lot of people know who Defari is, and know who Babu is, but the Likwit Junkies is something brand new. People in the streets are still figuring out that it's Babu and Defari, but another beautiful thing about this project is, we don't have to play that major label game. We don't have to get bent out of shape about first week sales, and having those types of expectations on your project. We were really just making music for ourselves and people likeminded. The sky is the limit for this project, but we really were just trying to keep it as natural as possible.
BallerStatus.com: Listening to your production work on this album, you really have a lot of diversity. Can you just talk about your progression over the years with your beat making?
DJ Babu: I'm initially known as a DJ to most people, especially as a battle DJ. But over the years, I have been a fan of the whole spectrum of DJing -- from collecting records, to starching, to beat making, to going out and doing clubs. Production is something that I caught the bug of, especially being in Dilated. Doing beats gives me another incentive for me to find my niche in the group and become more involved. It started out on the first Dilated album with me just getting one track, then the next two I got three each. Hopefully, with this new album I get four or five, but being around all my partners in Dilated helped me gravitate towards beat making. Once you find out what an original break is, the obsession doesn't stop, that's just the beginning. I'm a real big fan of DJs in rap groups who evolved to doing production. I love Primo, Marley Marl, everybody in D.I.T.C., and the list goes on.
BallerStatus.com: Is there a specific thing you think you have gotten better at with your beat making over the years?
DJ Babu: I think I have gotten a little bit better at everything. I think my fidelity has gotten better, and there are certain techniques you just build up over the years, as is the case with anything. I just think my sound all over has grown. My beats now, verses five years ago are a lot more sonic, and the sequence is a lot more involved. I don't know, that's a real tough question to be honest with you. I think my record collection has grown and gotten strong, so in turn my beats have gotten better. I'm a producer who makes records out of records. Over the years, I have continued to dig and my knowledge of digging has grown, and you can see that in my beats. More than anything, over the years I have been trying to find my sound, and have my beats stand out, so they don't sound like whoever else is out there.
BallerStatus.com: Exactly, I feel you on that because you really don't have one distinct production sound. Which is good since nowadays you can tell which producer did what track because they have no variety.
DJ Babu: When I say I'm trying to find my sound, what I sound elaborate on is, I think my sound is like water. I really feel as if -- depending on what day it is or what mood I'm in -- that's how my beats come out. I might make something really filthy one day, and the next I completely switch it up. That is a reflection of the fan I am of music, because I like everything. The parallel is, everything I do still has a little bit of a rough edge. It's all about big sample drums being chopped up, and a sample being chopped and manipulated so it becomes the spine of the track. Half of the time, if I do an electronic sounding beat; it mostly likely started out with a sample. I was leaning against a sample, and I then took it there and maybe took the sample away afterwards.
I appreciate you noticing that. It's something that I learned being around people like Evidence or Alchemist. Plus, I'm very aware of not falling into one patent sound because you get a patent sound that everybody knows you for and when you're hot, people are going to go to you for that sound, that's what they expect. As to where, when you keep your style broad and you are always showing that you can swing in different ways, you can always stay agile, current, and fluent in this game. I also like the new sounds; I think there is a lot of great stuff going on in the production side of the commercial world. A lot of my aesthetics still come from an older day and an older standard about finding an obscure record, or using original drums off a record. At this point, I think all the rules have gone out the door, and nobody really gives a f--- anymore. For me, when I go to make a beat, I look for a sample and I always try and make a new drum kit. I'm always searching for new drums, and trying to find new ones off of some break I just dug up from a record fair I just got back from. I really don't want to get pigeonholed, and I want to stay versatile at all times. I want to make records on all levels, no matter who it is. As much as I want to do a record for someone like Atmosphere, I would love to do one for Fat Joe or somebody like that.
BallerStatus.com: Lets talk about Dilated Peoples. Were you happy on how Neighborhood Watch came out and how it was received?
DJ Babu: I'm happy with our music, but I'm really not happy on how it was promoted, to be honest with you. I'm not gonna sit here and point fingers and blame, but the label just relaxed once they found out we made a song with Kanye. They basically forgot about the rest of the album. We had a game plan where we wanted to hit the streets hard with the song "Marathon," and have that as our lead single and have a video for it. We wanted to let that marinate, then hit the fans with "This Way," and follow it up with something else. As usual, the label gave us one phase and just bounced on us, but the album was beautiful, and we touched a lot of people that we probably couldn't have a few years ago. The album opened up a lot of avenues for us to go in the future, but it's a little frustrating dealing with the label and the mentality they have about us. We have been there at Capital longer than most people who have worked there, and that goes for the President, down to the people in the mail room. For us, it's like we have to make new relationships every time we release a new album. We have had to go through all the merges, and switching of presidents, all of that. It's almost like starting from scratch because there are only about five or six people in that building who have been there since we first signed. When we signed to them, there was no urban department. Years later, after two Presidents, we have Priority Records in the building, which is a great thing, but I can say the same thing for every one of our albums. There has been mistakes made on the campaign, or the strategies that were made, but we learn, and we have this new record and one more, then we are off of Capital. It's not the end of the world. We are six songs into our next record; we are shooting for a September or October drop, and we are all super excited about it. For the most part, it could have been better.
BallerStatus.com: Do you think the reason you guys aren't getting that push is because your are labeled as "underground"? It seems as if a lot of groups like Dilated are only getting one single and that's it. For example, look at The Roots or Slum Village.
DJ Babu: For us, it's a lot of different factors, not just one. I think that definitely has something to do with it. They think they can just throw us in a box, either that or they don't understand us at all. For us, it's a great thing that we have Priority in our building, but at the same time, it took us a good three months to build a relationship with the key people there so they could get behind our project because no one over there really feels responsible for it. Not only did they merge with our label, but so did their artists. They brought their own artists that they are responsible for, such as I-20 and Chingy. Our A&R who signed us, is Ron Lafeet. Before us, he signed Jane's Addiction, and before that, he was the manager for Mega Death. He signed us on the strength of our buzz when we were putting out 12 inches on ABB and selling out The Whiskey without management or a label. Times have changed, but we have remained a hands on group. Sometimes I seriously feel like we get treated like step children on our own label. It's just really tough because of the politics of the game, but we did make a really good connection with the people at Priority, and they gave us a good push. When the label shuts everything down and says that's it, then there is nothing more Priority can do. They have another project they have to work on, so that's it. But I'm used to it by now; I'm really over the whole major label thing. Like I said, two more albums and that's it. We are trying to use Capitol as much as they are using us from here on out.
BallerStatus.com: So the new Dilated Peoples album should definitely be out by the end of this year?
DJ Babu: Definitely, no later than October. It's untitled yet, and we are six cuts deep right now. Me and Evidence will handle the bulk of the production, with of course appearances by Alchemist and Joey Chavez. We always go outside our camp with every album, to help give it some extra flavor. At this point, it's really me and Evidence behind the boards. All three of us are locked in the studio, working hard in each session to make a great album.
BallerStatus.com: What's the vibe coming out of these sessions?
DJ Babu: To be honest, the sh-- is really rough and rugged. On another level, I don't think we have ever been this sonic. Me and Ev, we go through mad work just to get our sonic fidelity right. At the same time, the mentality is pretty rough. We are chopping and flipping sh--, and we got the big bangin' drums, but all three of us are really trying to correct our legacy with this album. I'm very proud of Neighborhood Watch and the work that was on there, but to be honest with you, the way it was promoted and image you have at a first glance of our record is, one song and one video. That garnered a lot of new fans for us, but I think our old fans, some of them might have not listened to the whole record because they got a bad impression; "This Way" wasn't what they envisioned Dilated People's sounding like. In the end it's all good, because there was some stupid fire on Neighborhood Watch. We got some filthy sh-- on that record that people really didn't get a chance to peep because of the perception that the label put out on what our album was about. On this new album, we really want to correct our legacy and come out really raw! We want to bring it back to the mentality we had between The Platform and Expansion Team. You can expect raw beats and raw rhymes on this new one, but as always, you will see our growth and constant improvement. Our chemistry is at an all time high right now; we are really at that point!
BallerStatus.com: Being a real DJ, what do you think about the saturation of this mixtape game? Because a lot of cats call themselves DJ, but they are just putting songs on a CD, there is no skill involved?
DJ Babu: One part of me definitely loves it, because I love the pure mentality that just f---s up the industry like that. I love that guys are realizing that you can spend a few thousand dollars and have technology at your crib that allows you to make tapes, demos, or record whatever. So people are getting their entrepreneur hustle on, and it forces labels to seek what's hot on the streets, and that's always good. There is a whole part of it that does bug me, when people call everything a mixtape; that term is thrown around very loosely these days! For me, I grew up on tapes like Kid Capri's 52 Beats, and Tony Touch and The Gang on 5 Deadly Venoms, or any Tony Touch mixtape at that. On the West Coast, the Beat Junkies were always about blends, and getting busy on the turntables. You had to have hand skills, on top of having taste, and exclusive material, so it does bug part of me because anyone with sound effects and some kind of recording program can call themselves a DJ now. I never want to hate on anybody, because I don't know the path they walked down and how hard they worked to get where they are at. I respect everyone getting their grind on and doing their thing, but it is a bit of an insult to people, who spend their lives collecting records and working on their hand skills and really earning the title of DJ, then someone comes along dropping sound effects and has a good connection in the game, and he's a DJ. I do understand that is also part of the hustle.
I'm not ignorant to the whole style, but it is a different style and it should be noted as such because it's not easy to get a bunch of exclusives, and it's not easy to network and be cool with the hottest rapper, so he can host your mixtape. I'm sure there is mad skill, time and dues paid to be able to entrepreneur your way to that level, so you can hustle that kind of sh--. But to me, a DJ is still a person that works with his hands, more than anything. I would just like to see more of a balance, because we need both sides. More power to anyone doing music with their own hands and not having to rely on a major label to get things done. I'm all about that, but I'm also about real DJing as well.
BallerStatus.com: I was watching the movie "Scratch," and I believe you said that you feel DJ Q-Bert is a role model for those of Philippine descent. Do you also feel you are a role model then?
DJ Babu: I think to a certain extent because growing up, it wasn't like I could turn on the TV or open up a magazine and see a Filipino at the top of something -- whether it be sports or music. It really blew me back to get a DMC tape and see Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike, and Apollo going to New York, repping Rock Steady Crew, and f---ing up all kinds of fools that were supposedly the best in the world. Even today, I think it's mind blowing as a Filipino raised in the states to see someone like Chad Hugo from the Neptunes, being a Grammy level producer. I have to be realistic with myself, because I have achieved certain things, and when I go out and reach fans through performing, or at in stores, I get a lot of Flip kids giving me a lot of respect -- just for the fact that I am Filipino and I'm doing my thing. I'm not a super perfect role model or anything like that, but when you get a certain amount of media light, you have to take on a certain amount of responsibility and accept that you are a role model. Plus, I can't help it, because I'm a father as well. I got two boys, and I have to make a good example everyday just for them.
BallerStatus.com: What else do you have going on in the future?
DJ Babu: Me and Rakaa have a little sound system, and we go out and rock some clubs. We go by the name of the Expansion Team Sound System. We also have a new mixtape out called The World On Wheels. Also, look out for more LJ's material; we have another 12 inch coming out, which is "Ghetto/Brother." Of course, look out for the Beat Junkies; we have a new DVD coming out. We should also have a full length Beat Junkies album soon. Especially look out for the new dilated album and for me behind the beats in general.
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