In hip-hop, performing as a DJ is more complex than setting up a couple turntables and letting the records spin. There are numerous facets to this art form, including scratching, a technique of moving a record back and forth to produce sounds that either create rhythms or are similar to percussion.
One of the most important and influential figures of this technique is DJ QBert, who has won numerous awards for his talents and acclaim from his peers.
DJ QBert will perform at a show beginning at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 at Electric Haze in Worcester as part of a show presented by Shepheard Productions and the mobile art gallery, PNLZ. Visual artist Yedi Fresh will showcase his work, local artist Ryan Gardell from Artifakt Studios will create a live mural painting, and there’s going to be an array of supporting acts, including Ferris Electrik, Michael Murphy III and Vincent Tesoro & B.Snair, among others.
‘Where were they getting all this music from?’
While growing up in San Francisco during the mid 1980s, QBert was immersed in an underground culture formative to him becoming a DJ. Street dancers, graffiti artists and other creative folks were doing things that had yet to reach the mainstream.
“All the street dancers and what they were doing was kind of crazy, and all the music they were dancing to was a big mystery,” he said. “Where were they getting all this music from? It was just awesome because everyone was so amazing and talented. It was futuristically amazing, if you looked on TV, none of it was there, and if you listened to the radio, none of the music was there, so you really had to hear all of that stuff in the streets.”
Along with music, QBert also runs a diversified media management company called Thud Rumble, which is involved in many areas of musical production, event architecture and artist management. This endeavor originally came about through teaming up with a friend to create a foundation to grow their creative projects.
“We just had to get a company going to have distribution and just to have a business,” he said. “Big props go out to Yogafrog, who was my partner at the time and he had the idea to make this a legit thing through selling records and all that stuff.”
‘I’m really just gonna do my thing’
QBert is always working on new material, so there’s a good chance that he’ll unveil a new jam or two when he takes the stage.
“I’m really just gonna do my thing like I always do,” he said about the upcoming show. “I try to elevate my style every time, so the more you see me it’s always something new. With the show that’s coming up, people are definitely going to see the latest in my evolution in the world of scratching. I’m always trying to get better than what I was yesterday, it’s that type of continuous evolving or whatever you call it.”
For the near future, QBert is embarking on a tour that includes the show at Electric Haze, and he’s going to continue teaching classes online. He also has a big set of records due to be released soon along with a ton of other projects.
“Right now, just for this one month I have a bunch of shows and in between that I continue to give classes on how to scratch on Thud Rumble’s YouTube channel,” he said.
“I have my Twitch channel where I just freestyle on when I’m at home while doing all kinds of experimental things. I have a new record that’s about to come out in a month,” he added. “It’s called the ‘Dirtstyle 30th Anniversary’ and it’s a four-record set of all our greatest sound effects, things to scratch and beats from the label and people can get it on my website at DJQbert.com.”
He said, “I just did a YouTube video that shows the unboxing of the test pressings and my website also has a free beats section, which is up to 67 albums worth of material that’s available for download, and that’s been amazing. My group and myself are really into karma, the more we put out there and the more it helps people makes us happy, which is a beautiful feeling.”
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‘The future is more spiritual than that’
It’s not always financially rewarding. QBert said, “Everyone is like, ‘How do we get money? How come we’re not making money off of this? We need to make money!’ But I think the future is more spiritual than that.”
He explained, “God provides for you when you help others and it’s a really fun thing to be in your element while doing what you love and doing it for everyone. I think it’s the highest vibration that you can achieve, doing exactly what you love and helping the world at the same time. All things just frickin’ work out, I love it.”
The spiritual aspect is also about uplifting those in need. “Another thing I’d like to mention is that my friend DJ Shortkut recently suffered a stroke, so if anyone can go on his Instagram page to give him some love, it’ll be greatly appreciated.
“He’s healing up real fast and especially with all the love from everyone it’s getting quicker. I just posted on my own Instagram page a GoFundMe benefit for Shortkut and I think it has already reached its goal in one day, but if folks want to help out a bit more they can go right ahead.”
DJ QBert with art showcase featuring Yeti Fresh
When: 7 p.m. Aug. 18
Where: Electric Haze, 26 Millbury St., Worcester
How much: $15 and $20, plus processing fees. 21 and older. the haze.com.
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