I am going to start calling Eleven, the Silent killer. I mean my man kills it every time I see him play. Going by his website a few days ago gave me a whole new perspective on the word "hustle". I met dude a while back when the Rub (proper) came through Austin and made capacity at the Beauty Bar seem like a a thought from the past. It only makes sense that these guys have been voted New Yorks best party for five years now and are only getting bigger and better. Make sure that you check out dj Eleven taking over the reigns at the Whisky Bar this saturday in Austin.WHO ARE YOU, WHO DO YOU ROLL WITH, WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND WHAT IS YOUR BASIC BACKGROUND?My mom named me and I introduce myself as Joe, but I go by DJ Eleven. I'm from Oakland, CA originally and live in Brooklyn, NY now. I roll withLocal 1200 (Sake One, Namane, Tim Diesel, Willie Maze, and Due Daddy) from the Bay and The
Rub (DJ Ayres & Cosmo Baker) in Brooklyn.
SO MOST PEOPLE KNOW YOU FROM THE RUB. HOW DID ALL OF THAT GET STARTED?Ayres and I met very shortly after I moved to NYC. The first party I did in the rotten apple was with him. Cosmo and I met by ending up on each other's email list. All three of us did parties together before starting the Rub 5 years ago. Once The Rub got into full swing, it was all over.
I SAW THAT THE FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY FOR THE RUB IS COMING. HOW HAS THAT PROGRESSED AND WHERE DO YOU SEE IT GOING?When we started the party 5 years ago, we were only trying to create a good party in Brooklyn that would appeal to our friends and be a change of pace from the bougie spots in Manhattan. The party progressed slowly at first but within a year of starting it, we would be named best party in NYC by the two weekly papers. After we released the first "It's the Motherf*cking Remix" CD, it reached a whole 'nother level that we weren't expecting. Now, it's without a doubt the best party I do each month and the best party I've been involved with since I starting DJing.
I WENT TO YOUR SITE AND WAS GAWKING AT ALL THE MIXTAPES YOU HAVE ON THERE. WHERE DO YOU FIND THE TIME AND WHAT IS THE GENERAL PROCESS BEHIND CREATING SPECIFIC GENRES OR THEMES?I don't sleep very much...haha. I've been lucky enough to have DJing be my full-time job for the last 6 years. So all I do is think about mixtapes, new party ideas, and other ways to keep myself, tape buyers, and party-goers interested and excited. Most of the specific ideas have come from that motivation. If I'm doing a lot of straight-club gigs, I'll start working on a project like the "Summer Madness" and "Winter Sadness" CDs. Basically something which goes against what I'm doing a lot of at the time. The "Best of The Bay" tape came when the Bay Area was getting a lot of attention. I knew that there were a lot of Bay classics which weren't getting the attention they deserved. I helped put the newer hyphy joints in their proper context. It's impossible to look at any style of music which is greatly informed by where it came from without understanding the music which influenced it. In general, most of the themes come from what I'm listening to or playing a lot of but with a twist. That makes them more interesting and gives the theme a little more depth.
DO YOU FIND IT HARD TO BE CREATIVE WHEN MAKING THOSE MIXES OR DO YOU JUST HEAR FOR EXAMPLE, A TOO SHORT SONG AND THINK I AM GOING TO MAKE THE BEST OF TOO SHORT?Sometimes it's definitely a struggle to find ideas which are motivating but there's soooooo much great music floating around in the world. Whether it be new or old, there's always another idea which is worth exploring further, both for my own education and because it's something which I think/hope/know that other people will find interesting. Also, I do a fair amount of freelance-writing and continue to do consulting for record labels and specific groups. So there's always inspiration for a new way to look at any artist, any style of music, and any theme from those directions as well. Sometimes the inspiration comes from becoming obsessed with something like the "Houston Rocks It" or "Gangsta Shit" tapes. I just had to get those done so I could quit obsessing over the music.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MIXTAPE THAT YOU HAVE DONE SO FAR?I don't really have a favorite. To be honest, I don't go back and listen to my mixtapes once I'm finished with them. By the time I'm done, I've spent so much time on them that: 1) I can't listen to them again without being wrapped up in the process again; and, 2) I can only hear the things I wish I'd done differently but there are ones which I like for specific reasons. I'm very proud of "Fight Music: Best of M.O.P ." because I think I hit the themes that were important to me just right, like how Fame & Danze balanced the energy of M.O.P. with complex rhyme patterns to make some truly classic hip hop records. The "Best of Too $hort" I'm really proud of because that's music which everyone in the Bay Area grew up on and the feedback from cats who I have great respect for has been phenomenal!
I KNOW MOST OF US ARE ON SERATO NOW. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?I have mixed feelings. I love vinyl and miss the process of tracking down vinyl but the ease of Serato can't be argued against. It's a more realistic solution for how quickly music is coming out these days and the the need to be able to play a lot of styles of music in one gig.
I HAVE ONLY EXPERIENCED THE RUB ON YOUR HOME COURT AND LET ME JUST SAY, IT WAS AMAZING. HOW DOES PLAYING THERE DIFFER FROM TOURING CITY TO CITY?Usually at parties in other cities we're known for doing a specific thing, whether it be mash-ups, hip hop, new dance music, etc. On the home turf, we can do whatever we want as long as we keep the party moving. It's both very liberating because we have so much latitude and can also be restricting because the home crowd MUST HAVE A GOOD TIME or they're going to let us know. All in all, I wouldn't trade the Rub at Southpaw on the first Saturday of the month for any where else.
I KNOW ALL THE DUDES FROM THE RUB ARE CONSTANTLY BUSY. IS THERE GOING TO BE ANOTHER "IT'S THE MOTHERF*CKIN REMIX" VOLUME?Probably not. The idea of the mash-up/blend/remix CD has kind of run it's course. We're not going to stop doing remixes but are going to use them differently.
SPEAKING OF REMIXES, HOW DO YOU GENERALLY CREATE YOUR BLENDS? SUCH AS, ANTE UP ON TOP OF QUEEN. I WOULD HAVE NEVER THOUGHT OF MAKING THAT HAPPEN.Ha, Ha. Man, it depends. Sometimes I sit down with a specific idea and follow through until it's done. Sometimes I sit down with an acapella or a joint I want to use and try out ideas until i find one I feel fits right. The MOP/Queen joint was a product of the later method. I probably ran through 10 different rock songs before finding the one that I liked the best.
IS THERE ANYONE THAT YOU WANT TO WORK WITH AS FAR AS DJING OR PRODUCTION GOES?There's a lot of people who I want to sit back and just watch to generate ideas such as, DJ AM, DJ Rocktakon, DJ Day, Rick Rock, and Polow The Don to name a couple.
WHAT ARE YOUR TOP 5 TRACKS OF THE MOMENT?The Cataracs - "K.I.S.S." (these kids got heat! www.myspace.com/cataracs)
Turf Talk feat. E-40 - "Popo's"
The Dead Crew - "The Projects"
Federation - "College Girl"
Sean Kingston - "Beautiful Girl" (i haven't been able to get this out of
my head for weeks.)
LASTLY, FEEL FREE TO SAY ANYTHING THAT COMES TO MIND SUCH AS WORDS OF WISDOM FOR THE YOUNG BUCKS OR GENERAL SHOUT OUTS. IT'S ON YOU.I interviewed E-40 a year or so ago and asked him how he stayed relevant and stayed inspired to make music for so long. He said "H&H, I always stay humble & hungry." I took it to mean, always work hard and don't take shit for granted, including your own hype. Word!
FREE MIX ::
ELEVEN WYMS MIXSean Kingston - Beautiful Girl
Damian "Jr Gong" Marley - All Night
Eric Donaldson - Cherry Oh Baby
Scarface feat. 2Pac - Smile
Turf Talk feat. E-40 - Popo's
Sadat X - Million
J Dilla - NV
Phat Kat - Cold Steel
AG - Frozen
Black Milk - So Gone
Amerie - Hate2LoveU
-Prince Klassen
