Exclusive Interview & Photoshoot: DJ Rob Swift Talks #BHF14 (BK Hip-Hop Fest)

Words by RESPECT. Editor In Chief, Datwon Thomas
Photos by Robert Adam Mayer aka Photo Rob
www.robertadammayer.com

There are tons of festivals to hit up in the summer time. Most are a herd session where loud music is blaring so distorted that you can’t sing, wail or rap to your favorite tune. If you’ve been a victim of such an event this year, head on over to the dope gathering of the illest artists in honor of Brooklyn Bodega’s 10th annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Fest.

This year the line up is pretty diverse and full of talented acts from the spectrum of headliner Raekwon the Chef, to the elusive Jay Electronica, to the flyest of the Pro Era young’ins CJ Fly and many more. The musical maestro for the evening will be one of the best DJs to ever touch the wheels in producer/battle champ/professor of the X-ecutioners, DJ Rob Swift. Repping the borough of Queens, New York, Rob Swift is an arcitect of DJ battle culture. He and his cohorts (RIP-Roc Raida, Mista Sinista, Total Eclipse) held down the east coast in the ’90s through the ’00s in the ultimate DMC battles and as a DJ band once signed to Loud Records. Their Billboard charting hit with alt-rock group Linkin Park titled “It’s Going Down” still shines as a pinnacle moment in DJ history.

Rob Swift spoke to RESPECT. about his upcoming role as the maestro of the music on July 12th for the anniversary of hip-hop’s most trusted festival in Brooklyn, NY. For more information on the multiple events, which runs from July 9th – July 12th, hit www.bkhiphopfestival.com
The whole thing about the Brooklyn Bodega/Brooklyn Hip-Hop Fest is that it brings a community together. It’s not just Brooklyn but it’s the hip-hop community that comes together from all over to celebrate the culture. How did you get involved for such a storied year [the 10th anniversary]?

Well I’ve been involved with the Brooklyn Bodega family for a few years now. I performed at the 2010 festival. They did a salute the DJ, a tribute to the element of hip-hop that a lot of times gets overlooked in the industry side of the culture. As we all know, rappers are the ones that gets most of the attention, most of the limelight. So they came up with this dope idea to dedicate a night to just DJs. There were no rappers there. My boy Torae who’s an MC and he held down the show and hosted. But for the most part the attention was being put on cats like myself, Rhettmatic [of the Beat Junkies] flew out from LA, Bobbito Garcia and a few others. It was just about us on the turntables, cuttin’ it up. It was like a throwback to the 90s when you used to come out to the DJ events. [It would be] myself and [Roc] Raida, Mista Sinista, Total Eclipse cuttin’ it up. It would be no MCs, it would be just DJs and a bunch of turntables on stage.

Then Wes [Jackson, Founder of Brooklyn Bodega] came at me this year on some, “this is going to be the 10th year anniversary of the festival and we want to do something that’s kind of a reflection of the last 10 years on this specific date.” So Wes came up with the idea of kind of figuring out a way to pay homage to all the different things that went down at each festival over the last 10 years, in to this one festival. He felt like, to honor Salute The DJ, it would be great for me to be part of the show and kind of curate it. When you think about it, in the essence and origin of hip-hop culture, it was always the DJ at the center of everything. Curating it all, keeping it moving and being the orchestrator so to speak. Wes felt it was a good idea to bring that vibe back this year. He felt I would be the perfect DJ, “You’re one of our favorite DJs and you were part of the Salute The DJ event. It just makes sense.”

This year I’ll be holding down all the music, as different acts come on. I don’t want to say who exactly cus it’s a surprise. It’s going to be really dope. Random acts will just run up on stage and get busy. Intertwined with all that, it’ll be me killin’ it. Just going nuts so…it’s going to be dope man.
What are you doing right now so the people can be up on your movements. We know you just completed the Unite late night show on ESPN U as the musical director, DJin’ on live television. What’s new?

Right now I’m really excited and happy to say that I recently got hired as a professor at The New School University in New York City. I’m a professor of DJing, go figure.

That’s the perfect title.

This fall I’ll be teaching my first college course as a professor working for The New School in DJing. Students will be taking the class at Scratch DJ Academy in New York City. It’s a credited course.

This is real man. You’ve got to go to the bursar’s office.

[Laughs] This is straight real! Totally! Yeah! You’re having to take my class and apply yourself, and if you don’t I could fail you. That’s how serious it is. Just really excited about it because, I’ve been teaching the art for years now. At home I teach friends, I’ve taught at the Scratch DJ Academy, but I’ve never taught the art as an official professor. The idea that I’ve always been a studious person in my studies and educating myself. Now the idea that I’m teaching at a college is like a full circle sort of experience for me. It’s really puts in perspective my career.

I started out, being taught, as a pupil. My older brother was my teacher and now I’m in a phase in my career where I’m giving back and I’m teaching a new generation of DJs that will eventually carry on the art in it’s proper context. I feel like I’m indoctrinating young people and projecting my theories and philosophies on DJing. I hope that like psychology, Freud and Freud had his followers…

What’s even iller is you majored in…

Psychology! That’s kind of the way I approach a lot of the teaching. It’s mental because there’s an element of physicality to DJing. It’s a tactile artform, you are manipulating records, sound…but a lot of it is mental. You first have to the mental capacity to digest what it is that I’m teaching.

You also got your Dr. Dre on, your action figure body-building happening…

Yeah, got my Brolic Arm!

That’s his Twitter handle!

I’ve been working out for about 8 years. When you met me I weighed probably like…I’m 6’1”…at the time when we met I weighed about 160. I’m tipping the scale at about 200 now. I got addicted man. I really love working out. It’s kept me young, kept me feeling youthful. Believe it or not, bicep curls help you with scratches man.

That’s the thing. People would think that it would slow you down.

It helps you with endurance and control. I never realized how much your muscles are actually involved in scratching til after I started working out. So for those DJs out there, you may want to pick up a dumbbell or something. [Laughs]

Rundown some of the cats that you are listening to right now.

I’m really digging Tanya Morgan. They’re dope man. They’re whole story how they met up on I think Okayplayer site. I get a Vibe from those dudes that they’ll be doing this even if they weren’t popular or getting paid for this. They just love rhyming.

To bring it back to what we were first talking about. Hanging out with Raida, Mista Sinista and Total Eclipse. We just loved DJing. We loved hip-hop. We loved being creative. That I feel is what the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival is reminding everyone of. It’s that we are supposed to love this artform. Not pursue the money or pursue the fame or the girls that come with it, just love the artform and be creative. I think that the line up is a reflection of that. I think that the staff, big ups to Wes and everyone involved that puts on the festival. The writers and the people that get involved on the promoting. We all love this art. I’m glad to be apart of it and looking forward to rocking with the artists that are going to be sharing the stage with me.

www.robertadammayer.com