Hip - Hop & Fashion Magazine Exclusive ( Cut Master, DJ Joey Dee )

"Well, I hail From New York and lived in Brooklyn & The Bronx, then New Haven Ct., ( the home of Yale University ). Raised by a single parent with three brothers, and me being the third born. My mother used to have a, “Lazy Suzy”, party every weekend with her friends and use to tell me to play music while they get their drink on!!! (lol). I would play James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Moms Mabley, Pigmeat Markham, Ronnie Dyson, Sam Cooke, etc. I would watch the response from her friends when the record came on.

Now mind you, I was 7-8 yrs. old, then I would put on a show for them imitating James Brown using a towel as a cape, and broom as the mic, but my passion was music. I would sneak in my oldest brother’s room and listen to his albums that you didn’t hear on the radio, but funkier sounds, beats, brakes that I’d play over and over again. Just that certain part of the song and it would drive my mother crazy!!! Like Funkadelic, The Soul Searchers, Lydia Coldblooded, Donald Byrd And The Blackbyrds, The Headhunters, Black Heat, Black Smoke, Ripple, The Meters, ( so on and so on ), but in my mind, I just wanted to listen to a certain part of the record and that was it. Then one day 75’/76’, I saw DJs playing one song, but had two copies of it playing. That's what is called: “The Get Down”, part or the Break of the song, So I started DJing on one belt driven turntable, amp, 8 track player with a turntable and tuner, with one microphone between two speakers using the knobs as a crossfader, ( left & right ), to make a cassette. Cutting out an album the size of a record to make a, “Wafer or Slip Mat”, to bring the record back on beat, then I was introduced to the, “ CROSSFADER”!!! I stayed in my room practicing religiously with the windows up. Kids use to come and listen until my boy, (Jizz), who hooked me up at a club called: Lajoint, ( New Haven, Ct. ),... after that, it’s History!!! Battles were often with other crews, but a lot of them heard about me and watched my creative skills on the set and knew I wasn’t No Joke!!!... As far as who influenced me was DJs: Grandmaster Flash, Jazzy Jay, Red Alert, Kool Herc, Bambaataa, Tone Crush, Charlie Chase, Grand wizard Theodore, JC, DJ Mario, Disco King Mario, Grandmaster Flowers, Plummer, finity Machine, Disco Twins, Dr. Rock, Master Don, etc.,.( I can keep going ). One of my biggest regrets was back in 1983 when I did a show with Run-DMC, Sweet G, The Disco 4, and Kurtis Blow, at Warsaw Park In Ansonia, Ct. When Joe & Darrell didn’t have a DJ , the “late” Larry Smith, ( Rush Production ), offered me to DJ for them because they had Davey D, ( Kurtis Blow’s turntablist ). So he told me that they were going across seas, ( London), to perform, call the office to confirm, but at that time we didn’t have cell phones only landline and telephone booths. I finally got through and talk to this guy name Sunshine that heard about me and said Larry would be back next week, but unfortunately I couldn’t reach him. Not long after that, I ran into him at a show and he told me that they’ve found a DJ name Jason Mizzell ( Jam Master Jay ). Besides that , I was the DJ for The Dynamic Three, ( " the roof is on fire " ), The Dynamite 2 ( from Bedstuy, Brooklyn ), just to name a few. I was the first in Hip Hop History to sync two drum machines, ( tr 606 drum & tb 303 bassline together ), that’s never been done and that was over years ago!!! I consider myself the, “Paul Revere”, of bringing never heard brake beats from New York to New Haven, Connecticut. And highly respected by many, loved by all, hated by some. As far as who I’ve done shows with just to name a few: LL COOL J, Run - Dmc, Funky 4 + One More, The Force Md’s, Super Nature, ( Salt -n- Pepa), Carl Thomas, Ohh! Just Too Many!!! These days I'm not as active in the clubs or radio, but teach the youth about the culture of Real Hip Hop and not this Trap Music that has no subject, context, or makes sense".

DJ Joey Dee

Publicist Dianna Prince

Hip - Hop & Fashion Magazine