Skip to main content
Years DJing: I made little mixtapes for myself in high school and had a radio show for a sec early on in college, but I really started DJing in Chicago about eight years ago when a friend asked me to play a house party.
Genre: Lots of regional genres like Chicago footwork, Bay Area rap and South African house of all kinds. I love dropping things like field recordings, ambient music, gospel acapellas etc. along the way, too.
Where you can catch me regularly: I've been running the Cave, my hip-hop and R&B residency, for four years now. It just moved to NYX on West Burnside and is every second and fourth Friday.
Craziest gig: In 2014 I was fortunate to get invited to N.A.A.F.I.'s New Year's party in a small oceanside town in Oaxaca, Mexico. It was three days' long, right on the beach with a bunch of friends. On the last night, shit got so crazy that the CDJs got completely covered from people kicking up sand from the dance floor. Haven't topped that one since.
My go-to records: "Anti," SOB & RBE; "Bladadah," Mozzy; "First Day Out," Tee Grizzley; "Caribbean Drums," DJ Chuckie; "Hole-Hole," DJ Milton; "Underground Ghetto," Waxmaster; "X-Ta-C," DJ Deeon; many versions of Cajmere's "The Percolator," which is the best song of all-time. I have over 100 edits, remixes, and revisions of it, and it's pretty likely I'll play at least one of them in my set.
Don't ever ask me to play…: I hate being talked to while I'm DJing. But if someone requests something that makes sense with what I'm doing and is really quick with it, I might be OK. I was once told I had to play a J Cole song because "I'm a customer." Go buy a drink then, and get the fuck out of my face. As a DJ, it is your job to make people like that feel unwelcome in the club, so they stop showing up.
NEXT GIG: Massacooramaan spins at Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd., with Teklife DJs, Suzi Analogue and Reverend Dollars on Friday, Nov. 3. 7 pm. All ages. Free.