DJ CHUCK T: The Spokesperson Of Hip-Hop

By Bear Frazer

While most deejays have a team behind them to push on a project, DJ Chuck T prefers to be a one man gang. Though the 26-year-old is widely considered one of the top mixtape deejays in hip-hop, thanks in part to his highly successful series Down South Slangin', he possesses a "do-it-yourself" mentality that has earned him more success than most in the business.

"I'm not a man. I'm a machine," he says with a laugh. "I personally mix, burn, assemble, box, and ship over 5,000 CDs a week all by myself. I have some help here and there from family and close friends, but that's only when I drop big CDs and I know I can't do all of that alone."

Originally, the machine, more commonly known by his tag "The Carolina King," didn't start out as a mixtape deejay. Chuck T started as a rapper who went on to release an album in 2001 and was a heartbeat away from signing with Sony before the situation turned sour. Soon thereafter, the Charleston, South Carolina native decided to try his hand at deejaying.

So far, the results have been staggering. Although the Carolinas have been an untapped market for talent, Chuck T developed a reputation for upping the careers of local artists with his mixtapes and even went outside his region to recruit some rap heavyweights for his Down South Slangin' series.

"Just 4 years ago, I was burning CDs on my mom's computer and cutting out paper CD covers with scissors," he says. "Now, I'm one of the top DJs in the world! Just thinking about it gives me chills!"

With a solid reputation and mixtape brand in his back pocket, Chuck T will not attempt to put the Carolinas on top. In this 101D.com exclusive, the 26-year-old talks about the future and the chilling career he built from the ground up.

101D.com: Mr. Chuck T ... when did you initially get involved in Hip-Hop?

Chuck T: It's hard to pinpoint exactly when I became involved in Hip-Hop because it's been apart of my life since birth. I remember my older brothers and I would pretend we were a rap group and my oldest brother would be the rapper, my middle brother would be the DJ, and they'd make me play with the Equalizer because there wasn't any other job for me (laughs).

101D.com: But didn't you start out rapping before becoming a DJ?

Chuck T: Mane, of course I started out rapping. I think pretty much everyone involved in Hip-Hop has at least experimented with rapping at one point in time. I was actually pretty successful too. I had an album come out in 2001 and was in the process of signing to Sony when things fell apart with the label I was signed to. That pretty much ended my thoughts of being a rapper. The grind is long, hard, and you have to invest a ton of money before you see a return. Then even after you drop an album, you may not see a return on your investment because the industry is so fickle. I decided to become a DJ after I saw that there was a need for people in that profession who actually gave a damn about the music they played and the people they supported. DJs are the gatekeepers of the music industry. Whoever we let into that gate automatically becomes the spokesperson for the Hip-Hop culture as a whole. If we let in wack artists, then people are going to run around and say Hip-Hop is dead. But if we let good quality artists in, then we'll continue to be the #1 selling genre of music. The fate of the Hip-Hop industry lies in us. I had to step in and protect that.

101D.com: So what was it like developing your name within the southeast region?

Chuck T: It was very hard. Being here in the Carolinas is like a gift and a curse. I didn't really have any real competition when I started out, but I'm also in a market that the music industry isn't really concerned about. It was hard to get music from labels and artists. It was even harder to get my CDs in stores because the storeowner and the public in general didn't understand the concept of the mixtape. I had to educate people in order to sell CDs. Once I got my area on lock it was still kind of hard to convince people from bigger cities that a mixtape DJ from South Carolina could compete. It's been a long, hard road, but I'm definitely living off the fruits of my labor now. I'm doing very well for myself.

101D.com: How were you able to get artists to jump on your mixtapes?

Chuck T: Publicity - that's the most important thing! I took advantage of every opportunity to get an interview and get in front of a camera that came my way. Nobody will ever buy your stuff if they don't know you exist. I had to make sure people knew who I was, what I looked like and what my product sounded like.

101D.com: Obviously, your most successful series is Down South Slangin'. We distribute the one you did with Jeezy. Anyways, when did you conceive the idea for this series and what was the mindset behind it?

Chuck T: When I first started doing CDs, the name of my series was "Ghetto Gangstas." From there, I changed it to "Shut the Club Down." Once I really started learning how to DJ, I wanted something to signify the fact that I was no longer a kid who just slapped some songs together on a CD and I decided I'd change the name. My favorite song is an old Fiend (from No Limit Records) track featuring Master P and UGK entitled "Hustlin'." There's a part in the chorus where Fiend says, "We're Down South Slangin'/Rollin' With These Hustlers/Trying Ta Get Rid Of All You Haters And You Bustas." I basically took my title from that and the rest is history!

101D.com: Back a couple of years ago, it seemed like a mixtape was truly something special as DJs used it not only to develop their name, but to break new artists. Nowadays, that doesn't happen as much. I'm sure you've been asked this quite a lot, but what's your take on the whole mixtape game right now?

Chuck T: I feel like the real DJs still make mixtapes that live up to the original purpose of what a mixtape is. It's the new and uneducated DJs that have pretty much messed things up. But the older DJs are to blame for that because they'd rather bash the younger generation than teach them. These younger DJs have no idea how to break records or set trends. They only know how to play what hot. That's why if you go to a mixtape website or store, you'll see 90% of the CDs have the same songs or concept. We – the DJs – are the reason why the hip-hop industry is in a slump right now. We've let people in suits and ties who know nothing about our culture come in an take over and dictate what's hot and what's not. If we don't do something quick then the outlook for hip-hop isn't that bright.

101D.com: So do these newer DJs bother you?

Chuck T: It used to, but as of right now I don't let it bother me. I'm so focused right now on doing me that I really don't pay too much attention anymore. One thing I'm definitely doing is trying to take some of these new DJs and teach them the game. That was something I never had. Too many older and established DJs would rather hate on the younger generation then pull them to the side and teach them the art form. I don't want to be in that category. I just joined a local DJ academy here in Charlotte called "With These Hands Mix." I'm coming on board to teaching the mixtape class. The website is www.wthands.com.

101D.com: Nice. You know, the Carolinas are often overlooked. With the exception of a few, namely Little Brother and Petey “Death Row” Pablo, there haven't been many cats who have signed to a major or received much coverage in the mainstream media. What will it take the Carolinas to change that?

Chuck T: I think we need to support ourselves and build up our own movement here. We need to travel to other parts of the Carolinas and really focus on building up our names in the places around us. Everyone here pretty much keeps to themselves and never leaves outside of their city to promote their product. And some of the ones who eventually get a name for themselves run to Atlanta, Miami, Houston, or New York rather than focusing on establishing a buzz in the next town over from them. The music industry follows movements. If you look at the artists that are hot right now and the artists that are getting major record deals, you see they're all from the same cities and they all came out as a movement. In order for the Carolinas to get our just due in the music world we have to support each other and start a movement right here in the Carolinas.

101D.com: Since you're the "Carolina King," what are your plans to put Carolina on top?

Chuck T: Right now, I'm forming the United Carolina Record Pool. That's going to be our outlet to get our music out to the masses and show the world that we can make music that's just as hot as any other place. I want make our music as accessible as possible! From there, I have my company Publicity Stunt, LLC. It's a marketing, management, and consulting company I've put together to help artists network with people in the music industry and make sure they're getting the proper advice about what route they should take with their music. And last but not least, I'm making myself more accessible to just about anybody making a move here. I understand that I have a name that's holds weight in the music industry and my co-sign means a lot. I want to make sure that I'm using that for the good of my states.

SAMANTHA MACHADO: How Shyness Launched a Pop Singer's Career

By Adam Bernard

Although it may sound a bit odd, pop singer Samantha Machado owes her career to her extreme shyness. Well, her extreme shyness and the one big fan who really wanted to hear her sing. That fan was her father. "He loves it when I sing and I would never sing in front of him," Machado explains. "He wanted me to record a couple songs for fun for him, just for the experience."

This led them to Wade Martin's studio. A fortuitous choice as Martin happens to be the president of WM Studios, which is a subsidiary of JWM Records. "I went to Wade's studio randomly," she remembers. "My dad just found him. I had a blast. I had so much fun and Wade was really interested in working with me." For Machado it wasn't exactly a hard sell.

According to Martin, Machado quickly became a "studio rat," spending almost all of her time there over the course of the next six months. The 18-year-old Sacramento, California transplant who had spent most of her childhood signing in choirs and taking private lessons was eager to prove she was more interested in demo tapes than the desert air of her home in Arizona.

Machado was finally seeing the culmination of a goal she'd had since she first saw The Sound of Music as a child: she was becoming a recording artist.

The Sound of Music may not sound like your normal starting point of inspiration for an 18-year-old, but for Machado it marked her entry into the world of singing. She readily admits, "That (movie) is probably why I started singing. It was the first musical I ever saw. I know every song. I still love it." Machado's own work, however, is of a decidedly different fare.

Colbie Caillat, Sheryl Crow and Mandy Moore are the type of artists Machado counts as her contemporaries, although she notes she might lean a little more toward a "poppy" feel. Her album, titled Myself, is autobiographical in a lot of ways. Machado says "it explains everything I go through and how I feel." What she has found is that she is not alone in her feelings. "A lot of my friends will listen to it and say 'I didn't know you felt that way, I feel the same way'," she continues. "So I feel like I relate a lot to girls my age."

The first single off of the album is the title track, "Myself," which Machado says is about "finding yourself and believing in yourself even though something bad might have happened. You owe it to yourself to be the person you are." She adds, "it's also about letting go and to accept you're letting go of things and just be happy, and if you are happy let people know."

One thing Machado has no plans of accepting is the cliché of the pop singer needing to also be a dancer with seemingly every movement she makes being tightly choreographed and backed by a professional dance team. "I don't really dance and I don't want to do that kind of thing," she explains. "With my music, I don't know if it would even look right."

Forget dancing. For Machado, her music has a much more important power - the ability to bring her out of her shell. "On stage I'm not very shy," she states with a newfound confidence. Ironically, had that been true earlier in her life, she may have never needed to find a studio to record that CD for her father and none of this may have ever happened.

Lollapalooza 2009

Rumors continue to fly as some rumored artists have already been leaked for the Lollapalooza 2009 lineup. Jane’s Addiction, Beastie Boys, Depeche Mode and Kings Of Leon have made headlines as potential performers for the three-day festival this August. Fans and critics have immediately labeled the 2009 festival as disappointing, claiming the lineup is a “bunch of over the hill acts” and “boring and unimaginative.”
The full Lollapalooza lineup is expected to be announced this April. Perry Farrell, lead singer of Jane’s Addiction, has been organizing the event on and off since 1991, where the original lineup of the band kicked off the festival. A couple months later, the band broke up. They haven’t played since, making this appearance especially newsworthy. However, some have critiqued this decision stating that Farrell purposely chose bands less than him to push himself as the headliner. Others say that this choice is dull because Jane’s Addiction has already played the festival, and it won’t be interesting to constant attendees.
A band that hasn’t appeared on the program before, Depeche Mode, has been further analyzed as a “washed up” and “reunited” band that won’t appeal to the typically young adult audience. The 80s band seems a bit mismatched among the more recent chart toppers in attendance who target the college crowd. I personally wouldn’t underestimate their fan base, even if they have been around 30+ years. They still play sold out areas worldwide, what’s to say they can’t fill up an outdoor park? In their defense, co-headliners The Beastie Boys gained momentum in the 80’s and still go strong today.
The Beastie Boys played Lollapalooza in 1994, failing to excite long-time festivalgoers with their return. Because they are also playing Bonnaroo in June, I personally wonder if the reason Lollapalooza seems so weak this year is correlated to the fact that they get the leftovers of all the other festivals. Lollapalooza has the disadvantage of being the last festival of the season in August. Most of the other venues have already shocked audiences and announced reunions. Is it is possible for Lollapalooza to regain their title due to the competition?
Lollapalooza’s worst competition is its lineup of last year. Resurrecting Rage Against the Machine and Nine Inch Nails is no easy task, but they also created diversity with their lineup, adding prime time hip-hop players such as Kanye West and Lupe Fiasco. After this brilliant and fortunate pairing, can it be topped? Stay tuned…

The Greatest Album Of All Time

Musical taste remains purely subjective, allowing nearly everyone to claim an album or song "life-changing." Rolling Stone Magazine has compiled a list citing the "500 Greatest Albums Of All Time" placing The Bealtes' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band" in the top slot, to which many respond positively. If musical taste is in fact based on personal preference, wouldn't everyone have a different number one?
To those of you who are familiar with my iTunes library, or have even seen the walls of my bedroom, you may view my choice as predictable, bias, or both-but bear with me, I can back it up.
Reviewing my album purchases throughout the past decade, one succeeds in standing out amongst the crowd.
Weezer's "The Blue Album" will forever remain my favorite album. The Blue Album is perfection,everyone of the ten tracks could have easily topped the charts as a single-and three of them successfully did. Each song pairs diverse melodies and various genres with the spitting lyrical genius, frontman Rivers Cuomo.
Nothing sounds quite like the rhyming habits of Cuomo's lyrics, the groove between Matt Sharp's bass paired with Patrick Wilson's hard-hitting drums and guitar whining of Brian Bell.
Throughout the ten tracks, Cuomo remains consistent in delivering diverse and melodic songs, ranging from topics of family values, romantic jealousy, a sibling's car accident and River's personal dreams.
Weezer introduces "The Blue Album" with acoustic picking that evolves into an explosion of personal frustration through the use of heavy guitar. Rivers spits, "guess what I received in the mail today? words of deep concern for my little brother" expressing aggravation over his brother's issues with insurance. He evokes doubt with phrases "the dozer will not clear his path" and "driver swears he learned his math."
"No One Else" is told from a fictional character whose traits are spawned from what the exact opposite of Rivers Cuomo would be like. In this track he spills unfiltered jealousy toward his girlfriend who "laughs about everything, whether it's funny or not." The album then progresses into "The World Has Turned and Left Me Here" where the same inventive character now contradicts his earlier complaints when she is away and he misses her. Cuomo explained "No One Else" as being about "the jealous-obsessive asshole in me freaking out on my girlfriend," he said that "'The World Has Turned and Left Me Here' is the same asshole wondering why she’s gone."
"Buddy Holly" is a quirky tune that wholeheartedly defends himself and his friends against trash-talkers, who I later found out were members of the band. In the album booklet for Rivers' solo album, he states that the lyrical inspiration derived from an incident in which the other members of Weezer were making fun of Cuomo's friend, Kyung He. Cuomo talks about how he originally didn't want to include the song on the album but was convinced otherwise by producer Ric Ocasek. Cuomo also talks about the writing process of the song, stating that originally the chorus lyrics were "You look just like Ginger Rogers/Oh-oh/I move just like Fred Astaire."

"Undone-The Sweater Song" serves as perhaps the greatest metaphor of all time, originally a sad song that many have deemed humorous. This was the first single off the band's debut album, which resulted in a great success. Said Rivers of the song, "'Undone' is the feeling you get when the train stops and the little guy comes knockin' on your door. It was supposed to be a sad song, but everyone thinks it’s hilarious." He went on to explain,"I took typing, Psych 101, and English 101 that semester. It was in my English class that I heard the analogy of the unraveling sweater. Dr. Eisenstein used the image to demonstrate the effectiveness of focused thesis statement in an essay. “All I have to do is hold a single thread in your sweater and it will unravel as you walk away.”
The California-originated band chimes in with techniques of a barbershop quartet similar to the likes of the Beach Boys in the next track, "Surf Wax America." Cuomo called "Surf Wax" "a total sarcastic call to hedonism, to sing along, drink and be merry. I hate drinking and only do so when I absolutely have to." Prior to the breakdown of doo-wop, the antsy chorus taunts, "You take your car to work, I'll take my board, and when you're out of fuel, I'm still afloat."
Upon first listen to The Blue Album, the track that immediately stood out to me the most was "Say It Ain't So." What makes this song fantastic isn't so much the lyrical content, but the simple yet effective guitar progression through the chorus. In 2008, the song was ranked #72 on Rolling Stone's "The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time." Rivers made the connection between the line and an experience he had in high school where he came home to find a bottle of alcohol (belonging to his stepfather) in the refrigerator. Rivers recalled that around the time his biological father left, he started drinking. He began to fear that Stephen, his step father, would soon leave his mother much the way his father did. During an interview for a radio station in support of the band's 5th album, "Make Believe," Rivers stated that the entire song was a misconception as he found out later that the bottle of beer didn't in fact belong to his stepfather. Good thing he wrote the song for our enjoyment before he fact-checked.
In the first verse of "In The Garage" Rivers reflects his childhood interest in comics, RPGs, and super heroes. In each chorus, Rivers expresses his comfort with these genuinely nerdy things. Rivers mentions Kiss, a rock group that influenced him in his youth. He also discusses himself for the first time in the song. He refers to his songs as "stupid songs" made up of "stupid words" which hints at a bit of insecurity revolving the music he is about to release to the world.
"Holiday" belies strong influences from the things Rivers was interested in at the time of 1993. In the Rivers Cuomo fan interview, Rivers expressed that famed beat poet Jack Kerouac was one of his favorite philosophers at the time. In the song, Rivers drops the line, "On the road with Kerouac", a reference to Kerouac's, "On The Road."
"Only in Dreams" is one of the most universally liked Weezer songs amongst the die hard fans. Its solo and build-up are regarded as some of Cuomo's best work, and the bassline is arguably the most famous bassline in the entire Weezer discography. It is also the longest track in the band's catalog, clocking in at nearly eight minutes.

Overall this diverse album has yet to compared to anything else in my collection, much less anything I've heard on the radio. If you have a love for music, give it a listen. Just once. Blame me if you don't like it =)

My Desired Music Festival Marathon.

Once the weather heats up around March, the multi-day music festivals begin jam-packing their lineups with bands that even your grandmother has heard of. My goal is to one year witness every popular outdoor music festival the US has to offer, starting with South by Southwest in March and ending with Lollapalooza in August. It's a difficult task to claim one festival is better than the other. Not only do they represent various regions in the US, they offer a fresh culture and experience unlike any other.
Some say it began with Woodstock, one of the most memorable cultures in rock music. Following it's decease in 1999, many began replicating the idea across the nation. I did some research on the most successful recent festivals that are occurring within the next few months.
Usually, festivals pair up and coming artists with legends of the past. I've broken it down for ya. Go ahead and take a look, map out the ones worth going to.

SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST (SXSW)-Austin, TX
This fills the title of the largest festival, with 1,400 performers in multiple venues. SXSW is also unique because it includes film screenings, earning a valid reputation for many reputatable directors, such as Spike Lee. The festival brings in a huge profit since it began in 1987, originally a battle of the bands type show. In 2008, it made $110 million, making it the highest revenue producing event in Austin's economy.

WHEN? Usually 4 days in March.

LEGENDARY ACTS: 2007-The Stooges, Pete Townshend(The Who, spoke), David Bryne(Talking Heads, spoke)
2008-Van Morrison, Stu Cook Spike

BONNNAROO-Manchester, TN
The word Bonnaroo definedas slang is: a really good time. This term originated from a New Orleans R&B artist, Dr. John, with his 1974 album Desitively Bonnaroo. Created more recently in 2002, every sponsor with a booth is required to have free activities for attendees. Rolling Stone Magazine named it “Best Festival” last year, calling it "the ultimate over-the-top summer festival."

WHEN? Four days in June

LEGENDARY ACTS: 2003-Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith (2004), The Alman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes(2005), Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello(2006), The Police(2007), Robert Plant, Willie Nelson, Metallica(2008), Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, Phish, The Beastie Boys, Elvis Costello(2009)

LOLLAPALOOZA-Chicago, IL
Organized by Perry Farrell (Singer of Jane's Addiction), this festival has run from 1991-1997, touring different cities in the U.S., and was placed on hiatus until 2003. Once the festival gained more distinguished acts and stayed in one place, fans were turned off by high ticket prices. In 2004, the festival was even canceled because of weak ticket sales across the nation. They had better luck in 2005 using an independent promotor, where ticket sales exceeded 65,000. It remains successful today.

WHEN? 3 days in August

LEGENDARY ACTS: The Smashing Pumpkins(1994), Metallica, The Ramones, (1996), Rage Against The Machine(1996, 2008) Billy Idol, The Pixies(2005)

COACHELLA-Indio, CA
Furthest west of the festivals, Coachella has nearly become a household name as it continues to gain popularity throughout the past decade. It began in 1999 and started to pick up attendees in 2001 to the present. Starting in October as a fall festival, it is now held in April or early May. Previously a two-day festival, more acts were announced two years ago and it expanded to three full days.

WHEN? Late April-Early May,

LEGENDARY ACTS: Morrissey(1999,2009), Iggy Pop(2001), The Pixies, The Cure(2004,2009), Nine Inch Nails(2005), Depeche Mode(2006), Willie Nelson(2007), Prince, Rodger Waters(2008), Paul McCartney(2009)

Many other festivals have began to pop up around the U.S. as well as these. Even outside the U.S. many attend the Glastonbury Festival in England which has attracted over 150,000 people. Festival-goers all over have described the experience unlike any other. Not only do attendees purchase tickets for the artists, they want to be around the atmosphere, camp on-site, and take part in knowing what it means to be part of the music.

Before I die, I am attended as many as I can-starting with Coachella this April.