DJ Skitz
Encyclopedia
DJ Skitz or Skitz is a British
DJ
and music producer. He was born in 1970 in Cambridgeshire
and started DJing in 1991. He has compiled a number of British Hip Hop
compilations and other Hip Hop
compilations. Along with Rodney P
he produced the first track to ever be played on BBC Radio 1Xtra
in 2002, when the station launched, the BBC called Skitz a "hip-hop star". They also presented a weekly show on the station called "Original Fever", which formed the backbone of the radio station, until 2007. The Independent considered it the "show of the week" on the radio station. In 2008 he competed in the DMC UK DJ Championship. He has also created his own record label
, Titan Sounds.
and Patrick Forge
. The track was sampled by Dallas Austin
on Monica's track "Gone be Fine" on her 1998 album, The Boy Is Mine. In 1998, he released a second single, "Fingerprints Of The Gods", which was the only British track to feature in the Hip Hop Connection
s top ten tracks of the year and which The Independent called "impressive". Speaking to The Independent at the time, he remarked how the genre was entering a new era and how the quality of British Hip Hop in general was improving. In 2000 he released "Dedication" featuring Rodney P rapping and the DJ, Deckwrecka; the single went on to win the best single at the UK Hip Hop awards in 2000.
genre. Skitz told Billboard
magazine that the album reflected his rural upbringing and that it "helps define the simplistic life most of us strive for". Estelle
, who was then unknown, featured in the album on the track "Domestic Science" along with two other female MCs, Wildflower and Tempa. Estelle approached Skitz to create the tune, thinking it would be successful due to the 1990 single, "Ladies First
" by Queen Latifah
and Monie Love
and because nothing similar had been made in the UK since the Cookie Crew
in the 1980s. Other artists on the album included Roots Manuva, Rodney P, Skinnyman
, Phi-Life Cypher, Taskforce
and MC Dynamite and the DJs Tony Vegas and Primecuts from the Scratch Perverts
. The Independent said the album provided "evidence of the rude health of the UK's hip-hop scene". A BBC review said that Skitz "delivered a consolidation of talent and attitudes of a musical movement that has been both struggling and hugely underrated for too long" and that it was "perhaps the best illustration of the state of home grown hip-hop today. The beats on the album were described as "a distinctive blend of breakbeat funk, jungle and reggae". Dotmusic.com
said that Taskforce's track "The Junkyard" did for Highbury
Estate, what Mobb Deep
and Nas
did for Queensbridge. Roots Manuva's "Inner City Folk" was based around a chorus sang by Valerie Ettiene from the acid jazz
group Galliano
.
In June 2001, The Face
ran a feature, including Skitz, which stated that there was a renaissance in British Hip Hop. In July 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on how after 15 years of British rappers mimicking their American counterparts, they had recently created their own style. Skitz was introduced in the article as a "prominent British hip-hop DJ" and in it he discussed why British Hip Hop had not been successful before and how it was different to American Hip Hop. Later that year, Countryman was named the best UK Hip Hop album at the UK Hip Hop awards and Estelle was awarded best female Hip Hop artist for her performance on the album. This was at a time that there was an "astonishing increase in the numbers of great UK rap records being released". Interviewed by The Guardian, Rodney Smith, also known as Roots Manuva, said he considers Countryman to be "one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time".
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
and music producer. He was born in 1970 in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
and started DJing in 1991. He has compiled a number of British Hip Hop
British hip hop
British hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music...
compilations and other Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
compilations. Along with Rodney P
Rodney P
Rodney P is an English MC who entered the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. He started out as a member of the London Posse, one of the UK's first home grown hip hop acts who were highly influential in the development of the genre. Rodney P has had one of the longest and most respected careers in UK...
he produced the first track to ever be played on BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra
BBC Radio 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Launched at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been codenamed Network X during the consulation period and is the sister station to BBC Radio 1...
in 2002, when the station launched, the BBC called Skitz a "hip-hop star". They also presented a weekly show on the station called "Original Fever", which formed the backbone of the radio station, until 2007. The Independent considered it the "show of the week" on the radio station. In 2008 he competed in the DMC UK DJ Championship. He has also created his own record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
, Titan Sounds.
Discography
In 1996, Skitz released a single "Where My Mind Is At" with Roots Manuva, which launched both of their careers, being noticed in both the hip hop and jazz scenes, as well as by Gilles PetersonGilles Peterson
Gilles Peterson , is a DJ, record collector and record label owner from London, UK. Through his labels Acid Jazz, Talkin' Loud, and latterly Brownswood Recordings, he has been associated with the careers of well-known artists of the 1990s such as Erykah Badu, Roni Size and Jamiroquai...
and Patrick Forge
Patrick Forge
Patrick Forge is a British jazz, jazz-dance and soul music DJ who spent much of the late 1980s and early 1990s DJing alongside Gilles Peterson at the famous Dingwalls club in Camden, North London....
. The track was sampled by Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin
Dallas Austin is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician, based in Atlanta, Georgia. Some of his most notable clients include Michael Jackson, TLC, Boyz II Men, Pink, Monica, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, Stacie Orrico, Another Bad Creation, Fishbone, Sugababes, Anastacia, Namie Amuro, Kim...
on Monica's track "Gone be Fine" on her 1998 album, The Boy Is Mine. In 1998, he released a second single, "Fingerprints Of The Gods", which was the only British track to feature in the Hip Hop Connection
Hip Hop Connection
Hip Hop Connection is the longest running monthly periodical devoted entirely to hip hop culture. HHC has earned international recognition and was described by Chuck D as "the best magazine in the world".-History:...
s top ten tracks of the year and which The Independent called "impressive". Speaking to The Independent at the time, he remarked how the genre was entering a new era and how the quality of British Hip Hop in general was improving. In 2000 he released "Dedication" featuring Rodney P rapping and the DJ, Deckwrecka; the single went on to win the best single at the UK Hip Hop awards in 2000.
Countryman
Skitz's debum album Countryman, released in 2001 on Ronin Records, is considered "ground breaking" in the British Hip HopBritish hip hop
British hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of urban music...
genre. Skitz told Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine that the album reflected his rural upbringing and that it "helps define the simplistic life most of us strive for". Estelle
Estelle (musician)
Estelle Fanta Swaray commonly known as Estelle, and formerly as Est'elle, is an English R&B singer-songwriter, rapper and record producer.-Early Life:Estelle was born 18 January 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England...
, who was then unknown, featured in the album on the track "Domestic Science" along with two other female MCs, Wildflower and Tempa. Estelle approached Skitz to create the tune, thinking it would be successful due to the 1990 single, "Ladies First
All Hail the Queen
All Hail the Queen is the debut album by hip hop artist Queen Latifah, released on November 7, 1989 on Tommy Boy Records. The album was unusually successful for a hip hop record at the time, buoyed by the single "Wrath of My Madness"...
" by Queen Latifah
Queen Latifah
Dana Elaine Owens , better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American singer, rapper, and actress. Her work in music, film and television has earned her a Golden Globe award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Image Awards, a Grammy Award, six additional Grammy nominations, an Emmy...
and Monie Love
Monie Love
Simone Riscoe , better known by her stage name Monie Love, is an English emcee and former radio personality in the United States...
and because nothing similar had been made in the UK since the Cookie Crew
Cookie Crew
Cookie Crew were a rap music duo formed in Clapham, South London in 1983.-Career:Their career took off after winning a national rap championship and recording two sessions for the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show...
in the 1980s. Other artists on the album included Roots Manuva, Rodney P, Skinnyman
Skinnyman
Skinnyman is an English rapper who was born in Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate...
, Phi-Life Cypher, Taskforce
Task Force (band)
Task Force are a British hip hop group from Highbury in London, England. The group is led primarily by two brothers Chester P and Farma G...
and MC Dynamite and the DJs Tony Vegas and Primecuts from the Scratch Perverts
Scratch Perverts
The Scratch Perverts are a collective of turntablist DJs from London, formed in 1996 by Tony Vegas, Prime Cuts and DJ Renegade.-Biography:The Scratch Perverts originally consisted of 4 members; Tony Vegas, Renegade, First Rate and Mr Thing. The Scratch Perverts later expanded to an 8-member...
. The Independent said the album provided "evidence of the rude health of the UK's hip-hop scene". A BBC review said that Skitz "delivered a consolidation of talent and attitudes of a musical movement that has been both struggling and hugely underrated for too long" and that it was "perhaps the best illustration of the state of home grown hip-hop today. The beats on the album were described as "a distinctive blend of breakbeat funk, jungle and reggae". Dotmusic.com
Dotmusic
Dotmusic was a music website that existed as a standalone website from June 1995 to December 2003. Initially intended as the web complement to the UK music industry trade magazine Music Week, the site was relaunched in December 1998 as a website for music fans.In addition to music news, reviews,...
said that Taskforce's track "The Junkyard" did for Highbury
Highbury
- Early Highbury :The area now known as Islington was part of the larger manor of Tolentone, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Tolentone was owned by Ranulf brother of Ilger and included all the areas north and east of Canonbury and Holloway Road. The manor house was situated by what is now...
Estate, what Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep
Mobb Deep is an American hip hop duo from Queensbridge, Queens, New York, U.S., that consists of Havoc and Prodigy. The duo is "one of the most critically acclaimed hardcore East Coast hip-hop groups." The group is best known for its dark, hardcore delivery, as exemplified by the single "Shook Ones...
and Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
did for Queensbridge. Roots Manuva's "Inner City Folk" was based around a chorus sang by Valerie Ettiene from the acid jazz
Acid jazz
Acid jazz is a musical genre that combines elements of jazz, funk and hip-hop, particularly looped beats. It developed in the UK over the 1980s and 1990s and could be seen as tacking the sound of jazz-funk onto electronic dance: jazz-funk musicians such as Roy Ayers, Donald Byrd and Grant Green are...
group Galliano
Galliano (band)
Galliano were a London-based acid jazz group, which started in 1988. The group was the first signing to Eddie Piller and Gilles Peterson's Talkin' Loud label. The original members were Rob Gallagher , Constantine Weir , Michael Snaith , and Crispin Robinson...
.
In June 2001, The Face
The Face (magazine)
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.-1980s:Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.The magazine was influential in...
ran a feature, including Skitz, which stated that there was a renaissance in British Hip Hop. In July 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported on how after 15 years of British rappers mimicking their American counterparts, they had recently created their own style. Skitz was introduced in the article as a "prominent British hip-hop DJ" and in it he discussed why British Hip Hop had not been successful before and how it was different to American Hip Hop. Later that year, Countryman was named the best UK Hip Hop album at the UK Hip Hop awards and Estelle was awarded best female Hip Hop artist for her performance on the album. This was at a time that there was an "astonishing increase in the numbers of great UK rap records being released". Interviewed by The Guardian, Rodney Smith, also known as Roots Manuva, said he considers Countryman to be "one of the greatest hip-hop records of all time".
Later albums
- BadMeaningGood (DJ Skitz)
- Homegrown Volume 1
- Homegrown Volume 2
- Sticksman (2010)
External links
- Interview with DJ Skitz thesituation.co.uk
- Skitz interview ukhh.com
- The Big Chill biography
- Interview at Knowledge