I get passed a decent amount of music, not on the level of some of the big bloggers, but then again, I'm a different type of cat. When Mike over at Keepin' It Right shot me an e-mail with this My Mind's Playin' Tricks On Me mixtape by a dude named DJ Jus Ske, I wasn't ready. I knew, by the cover, that it'd have something to do with Pharrell's In My Mind, but the fact that this dude blended so many instrumentals, and really took his time to craft a solid mix, I was impressed. I was then given the URL to his website, and was cracking up at the design and the way he used familiar pages to introduce his stuff. I had to get some words from this guy, just to see where his head was at. He might be short and sweet with his answers, but really, DJs speak more with their hands. Use this as a tool to get familiar with one of the nicest DJs you've been sleepin' on.
khal: Alright, so as many now know, you've dropped a pretty tight mixtape full of blends with Pharrell's In My Mind acapellas, entitled My Mind's Playin' Tricks On Me. I know you've been on tour as P's DJ, but how did you come up with the idea of taking his rhymes and crafting these
intricately laced blends underneath them?
Jus Ske: Orignally we were doing a mixtape pre-album so I came up with a bunch of chops and loops and instrumentals for Pharrell to freestyle and sing over to promote the album. Through our busy schedules we never got to it and the album dropped. I later asked Pharrell for the acapellas so I could try to work them into the music from the mixtape. And then I added some more stuff and that's what it is.
khal: There's a load of beats rollin' in and out of each blend on the CD. How long did it take you to craft each track, and what made you choose the diverse selection of beats you used on the mix?
Jus Ske: Each track varied, the whole thing took me about two weeks worth of hours. And I just felt it out. For instance, the song "I Really Like You Girl" on Pharrell's album I felt was the 2006 version of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl" and I was just inspired to put the two together. The mash up didn't come out as I expected but I still felt that it was cool. And I LOVE both songs separately so I wanted to hear what they'd sounds like as one.
khal: From checking your track record, you're a seriously international DJ, having played from NY to Paris. Can you briefly take us on a tour of your DJing career: how long have you been rocking the 'tables, and how did it turn into you playing all of these major events and being so in
demand?
Jus Ske: I've been DJing for a little under ten years and I'm still really passionate about it. In the beginning, I started getting good at my craft and then through word of mouth people started hearing about Jus Ske and my song selection it started to take off. I don't really scratch much but I can rock a party. I'm also looking to take over the world (haha).
khal: What is it about DJing that keeps you coming back? I imagine you must be making a
decent living, judging from where you've spun and who've you spun for – do you look at your DJing as a career or your calling?
Jus Ske: I can't live without music, I love playing it for people and getting a reaction from them.
intricately laced blends underneath them?
Jus Ske: Orignally we were doing a mixtape pre-album so I came up with a bunch of chops and loops and instrumentals for Pharrell to freestyle and sing over to promote the album. Through our busy schedules we never got to it and the album dropped. I later asked Pharrell for the acapellas so I could try to work them into the music from the mixtape. And then I added some more stuff and that's what it is.
khal: There's a load of beats rollin' in and out of each blend on the CD. How long did it take you to craft each track, and what made you choose the diverse selection of beats you used on the mix?Jus Ske: Each track varied, the whole thing took me about two weeks worth of hours. And I just felt it out. For instance, the song "I Really Like You Girl" on Pharrell's album I felt was the 2006 version of Stevie Wonder's "That Girl" and I was just inspired to put the two together. The mash up didn't come out as I expected but I still felt that it was cool. And I LOVE both songs separately so I wanted to hear what they'd sounds like as one.
khal: From checking your track record, you're a seriously international DJ, having played from NY to Paris. Can you briefly take us on a tour of your DJing career: how long have you been rocking the 'tables, and how did it turn into you playing all of these major events and being so in
demand?
Jus Ske: I've been DJing for a little under ten years and I'm still really passionate about it. In the beginning, I started getting good at my craft and then through word of mouth people started hearing about Jus Ske and my song selection it started to take off. I don't really scratch much but I can rock a party. I'm also looking to take over the world (haha).
khal: What is it about DJing that keeps you coming back? I imagine you must be making a
decent living, judging from where you've spun and who've you spun for – do you look at your DJing as a career or your calling?Jus Ske: I can't live without music, I love playing it for people and getting a reaction from them.
khal: You've got a lot of events and nights all over NYC that you spin at, right? Do you go into each night with the same style or assortment of tracks? What's your favorite spot to spin at?
Jus Ske: I have certain sets I do but I like to try different things at night. And my favorite spots in NYC are Marquee, Butter and Stereo.
khal: I know you've probably run the gamut with great nights, wild nights, weird nights, and just downright awful nights. What was the WILDEST thing you've ever seen while spinning?
Jus Ske: People having sex in the club.
khal: I notice that you are affiliated with Mark Ronson's Allido Records. What exactly is your situation like with them? Are you going to be putting out your own projects or what?
Jus Ske: I am managed by them and I intend to put out my own projects very soon.
khal: What are 10 records that never leave your bin and why?
Jus Ske: 1. I Just Wanna Love U- Jay-Z Neptunes
2. Michael Jackson--"Dont Stop Til You Get Enough"/"Wanna Be Starting Something"/ Billly Jean"
3. Prince--"Kiss"/"1999"/"When Doves Cry"
4. Stevie Wonder--"Master Blaster"/"Do I Do"
5. "Sweet Home Alabama"
6. BonJovi--"Livin On A Prayer"
7. Marvin Gaye--"Got To Give It Up"
8. Guns 'N' Roses--"Sweet Child of Mine"
9. Nirvana--"Smells Like Teen Spirit"
10. ACDC--"Shook Me All Night Long"
11. Gary Glitter--"Rock & Roll Part II"
12. Madonna---"Holiday"
These songs are classics that work good in a club.
khal: Seeing as though you are one of the tastemakers in one of the biggest markets in the world, what do you think is going to be the next big thing in 2007, and why?
Jus Ske: Fusion of different genres of music. And more live music and more electro-ish. One extreme to the next, the real live acoustic stuff and on the other end of the spectrum the digital, electric sounding vibes.
khal: One thing I have to ask: how did you get the concept for your website? How long did it take to recreate all of those other, popular pages?
Jus Ske: I just wanted to be creative and I thought it was a great way of expressing my creativity. I hope I don't get sued. In essence, I feel like I am promoting all those companies while promoting myself--just works.
khal: Now that you're garnering more exposure with the mix CD, what's next for Jus Ske? Are you going to be branching out into different avenues?
Jus Ske: YES. I want to do it all.
khal: Do you have any shout outs or final words for the people out there?
Jus Ske: I wanna shout out Allido Records, Star Trak, Danucht Clothing (pronounced 'thenewshit'), OSO, ENCORE, and RE5 Energy Drinks, jusske.com, prilabs.com, Butter Restaurant, Ty-Ku, Marquee NYC, Stereo.
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