Jayceeoh drops by Rebel Radio World Headquarters to play us tracks from his new collab with the funk Dr. Spock (aka Redman). Sorry, no snippets (yet), but we can tell you the energy is electric, and the duo is fittingly called 1,000 Volts.
He also gives us some insights into his creative journey. Jayceeoh is a very competitive dude, as you might imagine. He’s a two-time DMC finalist and winner of VH1’s Master of the Mix as well as McDonald’s Flavor Battle. Even his mixtape series, Super 7, is somewhat of a competition. He lines up contributions from other top DJs in various genres (past contributors have included DJ Jazzy Jeff, Z-Trip, Revolution, Thee Mike B, Gaslamp Killer, TJR, NGHTMRE, to name a few) try to outdo each other with their 10-minute mixes.
These days, though, production is the main focus. In addition to the Redman project, Jayceeoh brings his aggressive trap style to remixes and original productions for folks like Bassnectar, Bloody Beetroots, and Morgan Page. That is, when he’s not playing house parties for the Kardashians.
He says the competition has moved away from the decks and into the business. “The battle now is who’s got the better PR. Who’s got the better clique, what other artists are re-sharing their shit on SoundCloud. It’s a different kind of competition then. It’s cutthroat but it’s not as cutthroat like the old days."
He also talks about some of the artists who have helped along the way — either through feedback, opportunities, and even the coveted re-share. And about some of the haters who try to stand in the way, although he doesn’t name names.
This is a must-listen for fans of turntablism and trap music. The rest of you might learn something about the delicate balance between collaboration and competition from someone doing it very very well.
Mix Engineer: James Soriano