Wisconsin is resting on the shoulders of DJ Pain 1. The Madison, WI native has been working hard to put his home town on the map for the past 10 years and is doing a mighty fine job. Not to mention, he's running the hip hop game in his home state. Working with home town talent such as Notably, Memory, J Stills, Lucha Libre, Starr, Bodaiga, Soldier Click, J Rock, Reigny Day and DJ Fusion he has really shown Wisconsin that you can rep for your city. On a national scale, he has worked with numerous big names and is continuing to work with other big names. He recently produced tracks for the Lesbian hip hop group Goddes and She, one of which was number 1 on MTV Logo for 14 consecutive weeks. He also worked with Nikko Smith, Stat Quo, Romey, Kev Brown, Chino XL, Bodaiga, Felicia Alima, Bun B and Bodaiga. He even received a Gold plaque for his song "Don't Do It" on the new Young Jeezy album. On top of all that, the man stays busy DJing a radio show on 93.1 JAMZ saturday nights from 10pm-2am (central). You can listen live on www.madtownjamz.com. If the year 2009 belongs to anyone, it is DJ Pain 1! Below is an exclusive interview I did with him on the day President Obama took office.
PHILTHY RICH- YOU ROSE OUT OF THE WHOLE MADISON HIP HOP SCENE RICH WITH GRAFFITI WRITERS, RAPPERS, DJS AND ARTISTS. YOU SEEM TO GIVE THE SCENE SOMETHING DIFFERENT THOUGH. KIND OF A ANTIMATERIALISTIC/POSITIVE STANCE ON HIP HOP. HOW DO DISTINGUISH YOURSELF FROM THE OTHER CREATIVE PEOPLE COMING FROM MADISON?
DJ PAIN 1- IF YOU THINK I'M ANTIMATERIALISTIC JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE SEEN ME IN INFORMAL GARB, THINK AGAIN
I GOT A COUPLE CHAINS AND SOME REALLY NICE HOODIES
SO ASIDE FROM THAT, I GUESS I'M UNIQUE BECAUSE I TRY TO BE EVERY WHERE... FROM 80'S NIGHT TO YOUTH SERVICE DAY TO NIGHT CLUBS WITH A DRESS CODE TO FM RADIO.
PR- TRUE. BUT WHAT I MEAN IS YOU SEEM TO HAVE A CERTAIN STANCE IN YOUR MUSIC THAT IS POSITIVE. NOT THE SAME SHIT YOU HEAR ON THE RADIO THAT IS "NIGGA I GOT THIS," AND "NIGGA I'M GONNA BUY THAT"
DJP- MAN I WAS THINKING ABOUT THAT TODAY... AND IT SUCKS BEING A PRODUCER WHO DOESN'T HAVE A TON OF STATUS... YOU KNOW, YET BECAUSE I REALLY LIKE THE MUSIC I MAKE TO REPRESENT ME AND MY IDEALS BUT TAKE TIMBALAND FOR EXAMPLE HE CAN PICK AND CHOOSE HIS PROJECTS. HE CAN, TO A HIGH DEGREE, DICTATE HOW PEOPLE USE HIS BEATS I'M TRYING TO PUT OUT AS MUCH WORK AS POSSIBLE AND SOMETIMES MY VOICE GETS LOST IN THE MIX I LIKE PARTY MUSIC AND I LIKE EMOTIONAL MUSIC. I LOVE WHAT JEEZY DID WITH THE TRACK AND HOW MY BEAT INTERACTED WITH HIS LYRICS. ON THE OTHER HAND, SOME RAPPERS I'VE WORKED WITH CAN'T NOT WRITE ABOUT GETTING HIGH, GETTING DRUNK, DEGRADATION, ETC AND THAT'S NOT EVEN WHAT I'M ABOUT.
PR- I THINK YOU HAVE A LOT OF STATUS. YOU HAVE WORKED WITH SOME OF HIP HIP HOPS BIGGEST PEOPLE. SOMEONE LIKE TIMBALAND HAS BEEN IN THE GAME A LOT LONGER THAN YOU. DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT FEEL LIKE YOU GET ENOUGH CREDIT FOR WHAT YOUVE DONE AND THAT DOESNT GIVE YOU ENOUGH ARTISTIC FREEDOM?
DJP- NAH I'M JUST PAYING DUES. IT'S A FRUSTRATING PROCESS, I REALIZE THAT. I'M JUST THINKING AHEAD... PROJECTING WHAT THE FUTURE'S GOING TO BE LIKE AND THINKING POSITIVELY
PR- DO YOU THINK EVERYTHING YOU DO MUSICALLY IS 'PAYING DUES' OR IS SOME OF IT JUST PAYING RENT? RIGHT NOW YOUVE GOT THE RADIO SHOW AND YOU ARE KNOWN TO DJ A LOT OF EVENTS AND SHOW. IS THAT PART OF THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS OR IS THAT JUST ABOUT MAKING MONEY?
DJP- IT'S BOTH. IF I'M LOSING MONEY ALONG THE WAY, THEN MY GRAND SCHEME GETS DISRUPTED TO A DEGREE. I'M COOL WITH LIVING OFF MY GIRL AND EVERYTHING, BUT I HAVE TO BUY DINNER ONCE IN A WHILE OTHERWISE SHE STARTS GETTING SUSPICIOUS.
PR- I HEAR THAT. AS FAR AS YOUR MUSIC CAREER IS CONCERNED, IT SEEMS LIKE THINGS HAVE HAPPENED SUPER FAST LATELY. I REMEMBER JUST A COUPLE YEARS AGO NOBODY KNEW WHO YOU WERE AND NOW YOURE GETTING CHECKS FROM DEF JAM AND GETTING CALLS ABOUT PLACEMENT ON EVERYONES ALBUM. YOU WENT FROM BEING THIS SORT OF UNDERGROUND THING TO A PHENOMENON. HOW HAVE YOU DEALT WITH THE SUCCESS AND SUDDEN CHANGE?
DJP- I'VE DEALT WITH THE SUDDEN SUCCESS BY PRAYING THAT MYSPACE REINVENT THEIR SPAM FILTRATION SYSTEM. I MARK A MILLION MESSAGES AS SPAM A DAY I SWEAR... AND THEY KEEP COMING. I LOVE THE "HEY CONGRATS ON THE SUCCESS... LET ME GET A FREE BEAT" TYPE OF MESSAGES. I'M READING THOSE LIKE, THE REASON I'M WORKING SO HARD TO BECOME SUCCESSFUL IS SO THAT YOU JERKS OUT THERE WILL STOP FEELING ENTITLED AND ACTUALLY THINK ABOUT APPROACHING ME WITH SOME DEGREE OF DECENCY. MAYBE THAT'S TOO MUCH TO ASK. BUT THAT'S SUCH A SMALL PART OF IT ALL. I JUST LOVE BEING ABLE TO FEEL AS THOUGH I'M MAKING PROGRESS. NOW I'M GETTING SOMEWHERE AND PEOPLE ARE LISTENING MORE... AND I WORK WITH KIDS, SO THE FACT THAT THEY LOOK UP TO WHAT I'M DOING MEANS I CAN HAVE AN EVEN MORE POSITIVE IMPACT ON THEM
PR- NOW THAT YOU HAVE EVERYONES EAR, WHAT IS IT YOU WANT TO SAY?
DJP- DEPENDS ON WHAT THEY'RE ASKING. I GET A LOT OF QUESTIONS, VIA E-MAIL, IN REAL LIFE, ON YOUTUBE, WHEREVER, JUST PEOPLE ASKING ME HOW EVERYTHING HAPPENED, IF I COULD GIVE THEM ADVICE, IF I COULD LISTEN TO THEIR MUSIC AND GIVE MY OPINION, STUFF LIKE THAT, AND IT'S GREAT TO BE ABLE TO BE A PART OF THE LIVES OF PERFECT STRANGERS... BUT AS FAR AS YOUNG PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED, SO MANY OF THEM WANT TO BE A PART OF THE MUSIC INDUSTRY AND THE FACT THAT I HAVE A FOOT IN THE DOOR NOW MAKES THEM ASK ME MORE QUESTIONS AND SEE ME AS SOMEBODY WHO CAN HELP THEM OUT. AND YOU KNOW, I'M AN ENGLISH TEACHER BY TRADE, BUT I TEACH MUSIC TECHNOLOGY TOO, AND I LOVE USING MY EXPERIENCES WITH MUSIC AS A SPRINGBOARD FOR APPROACHING ANYTHING I TEACH.
PR- I THINK BECAUSE YOURE A TEACHER THAT YOU COME FROM A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT PLACE THAN MOST OTHER PRODUCERS OUT THERE. COMING FROM AN INTELLECTUAL STANDPOINT AND SPENDING YOUR TIME TRYING TO TEACH AND LEARN FROM OTHERS, DO YOU THINK THAT HELPS YOU AS A PRODUCER OR WOULD YOU RATHER BE SOMEONE COMING FROM THE 'HOOD' OR THE 'CLUB'?
DJP- I CAN'T SAY THAT I'D RATHER BE ANYBODY OTHER THAN MYSELF AT THIS POINT. I WISH I COULD SING LIKE TREY SONGZ SOMETIMES... BUT I THINK MY TEACHING BACKGROUND INFLUENCES MY SENSE OF RESPONSIBILITY MORE THAN MY ACTUAL STYLE OF PRODUCTION. EXCEPT I GET TO HEAR FROM THE KIDS WHAT'S HOT. THAT ALWAYS HELPS. I THINK SOULJA BOY MIGHT HAVE A SECOND CHANCE WITH "KISS ME THROUGH THE PHONE" BECAUSE THE KIDS ARE SINGING IT.
PR- HAHAHA. I DONT THINK THERES ANYTHING THAT CAN STOP THE MAN THAT IS SOULJA BOY! WHO DO YOU THINK IS REALLY DOING IT RIGHT NOW? MUSICALLY BUT ALSO THE WAY THEY CARRY THEMSELVES.
DJP- PLIES.
PR- ONLY PLIES? WHY PLIES?
DJP- PUT HIM ANYWHERE. HE'S THE REALEST IN THE ROOM. I DON'T KNOW, I LIKE PLIES. BUT I'M NOT NECESSARILY IN LOVE WITH MUCH NEW MUSIC. KEYSHIA COLE'S NEW ALBUM WAS CRAZY... YOU KNOW, MUSICALLY. I THINK I'D HAVE TO MEET THESE ARTISTS IN PERSON TO REALLY JUDGE THE WAY THEY CARRY THEMSELVES. I'D LIKE TO INVITE PLIES AND KEYSHIA OVER FOR DINNER SOME TIME.
PR- DA GOON PRESIDENT MIXTAPE PLIES DID RECENTLY IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE MIXTAPES SO FAR THIS YEAR. WHATS YOUR TAKE ON THE WHOLE MIXTAPE GAME?
DJP-IT'S NOT SO RELEVENT TO ME FROM WHERE I STAND. IT HASN'T BENEFITTED MANY PEOPLE FROM THIS AREA SIMPLY BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A HUGE MARKET FOR IT. PEOPLE AROUND HERE WILL GRAB A LIL WAYNE MIXTAPE FROM THE CHICKEN SHACK, BUT I COULDN'T NECESSARILY BLOW UP BY PUTTING OUT 10 MIXTAPES A YEAR. I DO PLAN ON PUTTING ONE OUT AND I WILL BE ON THE NEW STAT QUO WHOO KID MIXTAPE AND ROMEY'S GANGSTA GRILLZ ALBUM, BUT THOSE TYPES OF MIXTAPES CARRY MORE WEIGHT. IF THIS WERE NY I'D FEEL DIFFERENTLY FOR SURE.
PR- NOT ONLY DO YOU PRODUCE MUSIC AND DJ BUT YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN WRITING GRAFFITI FOR YEARS AND HAVE PAINTED WITH SOME OF THE MOST PROLIFIC WRITERS IN THE MIDWEST. WHAT GOT YOU INTO GRAFFITI? WAS IT MUSIC OR DID GRAFFITI COME FIRST?
DJP- GRAFFITI. WELL, THEY BOTH CAME AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME. I GUESS IT WAS THE NEED TO START PRODUCING SOMETHING... VISUAL, AUDIBLE, WHATEVER. I HAD BEEN INTO HIP-HOP SINCE THE 80'S SO IT JUST MADE SENSE TO ME. I DON'T WANT TO FRONT LIKE I'M ACTIVELY WRITING OR ANYTHING. I'M DOING MURAL PROJECTS AT COMMUNITY CENTERS NOW AND THEN, BUT OTHERWISE I'M FOCUSING ON MUSIC. BUT FOR SOME PEOPLE, HIP-HOP MUSIC IS REALLY CONNECTED TO GRAFFITI AND TO SOME IT'S NOT. TO ME IT DEFINITELY IS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, ANY INTENSE EXPERIENCE INFLUENCES ONE'S MUSICAL OUTPUT. I THINK GRAFFITI DEFINITELY IS ONE SUCH EXPERIENCE.
PR- I DONT WANT TO GET SUPER POLITICAL BUT TODAY WAS THE INAUGURATION OF THE 44TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, BARACK OBAMA. HOW DO YOU THINK THE STATE OF THE UNION IS GOING TO CHANGE NOW THAT WE HAVE SOMEONE OTHER THAN BUSH RUNNING THINGS?
DJP-OH MAN. I THINK JUST BY VIRTUE OF HIM BEING DARKER THAN ANY OTHER PRESIDENT IS AUTOMATICALLY HELPING EVERYBODY DOMESTICALLY AND GLOBALLY SEE THAT EVEN WITHIN SUCH A MESS AS AMERICAN POLITICS THERE IS SOME ROOM FOR CHANGE. I THINK IT'S A SMALL STEP IN TERMS OF HAVING A PALPABLE IMPACT, BUT IT'S A HUGE STEP SYMBOLICALLY. I HOPE THAT FOREIGN POLICY CHANGES AND THAT DOMESTIC PRORITIES SHIFT TO EDUCATION AND CLEAN ENERGY. THAT'S MY HOPE. BUT I WOULDN'T ADVISE LEFTISTS TO TAKE A VACATION.
PR- YA. I HOPE SO TOO. ALREADY HES MADE HORRIBLE CABINET CHOICES WITH PEOPLE LIKE HILLARY, JIM JONES AND ROBERT GATES. HOPEFULLY HE MAKES SOME KIND OF CHANE, AT LEAST DOMESTICALLY. OK, SO ABOUT MUSIC AGAIN, WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF MUSICALLY IN 5 YEARS? WHAT DIRECTION ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE MUSICALLY?
DJP- IN FIVE YEARS I'D LIKE TO BE ESTABLISHED TO THE POINT WHERE I'M PRODUCING ENTIRE ALBUMS WITH MAJOR RECORDING ARTISTS. MOST OF THE GREATEST ALBUMS HAVE BEEN CREATED BY A RELATIVELY SMALL GROUP OF MUSICIANS... SOMETIMES JUST A RAPPER AND A PRODUCER. I WANT THAT CHEMISTRY AND THAT SYNERGY. IN THE MEANTIME, I'LL JUST BE WORKING TOWARDS THAT GOAL BY CONTINUING TO WORK EVERY ANGLE I CAN.
PR- AS OF NOW, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT YOUVE WORKED ON? AND WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE MOMENT/MEMORY AS FAR AS MUSIC GOES?
DJP- TOUGH ASS QUESTIONS... I HAD A TON OF FUN RECORDING THIS ALBUM WAY BACK WITH THIS GUY MC STARR... IT WAS THE FIRST FULL LENGTH ALBUM I EVER PRODUCED AND I RECORDED THE WHOLE THING, MINUS A TRACK FROM MEMORY. IT WAS JUST GREAT SEEING A PROJECT COME TOGETHER FROM SCRATCH. LOOKING BACK, I PROBABLY WENT ABOUT IT ALL WRONG, BUT THAT WAS THE FIRST STEP IN LEARNING THE PROCESS. I THINK ONE OF MY HAPPIEST MEMORIES WAS WHEN I HELD A PARTY TO CELEBRATE MY FIRST MAJOR PLACEMENT... IT FELT LIKE THE WHOLE CITY CAME OUT AND SHOWED LOVE. IT WAS GREAT. I WAS SO GLAD TO RECEIVE THAT MORAL SUPPORT FROM MY CITY. THAT TYPE OF THING IS FOUNDATIONAL. I CAN'T MOVE FORWARD IF MY OWN COMMUNITY DOESN'T SUPPORT ME.
PR- ITS REALLY NICE TO SEE A LOCAL ARTIST RECEIVING NATIONAL ACCOLADES. YOU INSPIRE PEOPLE EVERY DAY AND I AM SURE EVERYONE IN MADISON IS HAPPY FOR YOUR SUCCESS. WHAT DO YOU HAVE IN STORE FOR EVERYONE IN 2009? WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR UPCOMING PROJECTS WE CAN LOOK FORWARD TO?
DJP- BEYONCE, WILL SMITH, PUBLIC ENEMY...
TORI AMOS.
WISHFUL THINKING, SORRY.
PR- HAHA
DJP- WELL...
THERE ARE A LOT OF PROJECTS IN THE WORKS. THIS BODAIGA AND BUN B TRACK JUST GOT RELEASED, THERE ARE THE STAT QUO MIXTAPES, THE ROMEY MIXTAPE, THE FALL GUYS, THE NEW GODDES AND SHE ALBUM COMING OUT SOONER THAN LATER, STUFF WITH MY CREW "I NEED A RAISE," AND A LOT MORE HARD WORK WITH MY PRODUCTION TEAM LAVISH LIFE. CONGRATS TO T-MINUS-- HE JUST GOT ON THE PLIES ALBUM.
PR- AWESOME! WELL, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO ANSWER SOME QUESTIONS WITH ME. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE YOUD LIKE TO SAY? ANY SHOUT OUTS OR THANK YOUS?
DJP-I REALLY DISLIKE WHEN YOU SWALLOW A VITAMIN AND YOU CAN FEEL IT IN YOUR ESOPHAGUS... BUT YEAH SHOUT OUT TO LAVISH LIFE, TO DIRTY PHILTHY PHILLIP, TO INAR, TO 93.1 JAMZ, TO J STILLS, REMEDY BORN, BODAIGA, NU, FATBOY, ITA, GODDES AND SHE, CHRISTY, 2TYMEZ, FUSION, PARAMOUNT PRODUCTIONS, ERIKA MOZO, FIRST WAVE, MADISON, EVERWHERE ELSE, MY CAT, MY BIRDS, MY JOBS, MY COMPUTER.
Here is a Youtube video of him producing the track for Bun B. He tells all about how to produce a track and how he produced this track. To contact DJ Pain go to his myspace at: http://www.myspace.com/djpain1
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