Put your Cash Money where your mouth is

Recently we’ve seen the cream of the hip-hop crop come through Beijing, with visits from 2006 World DMC turntable Champ DJ Netik, 2nd place finisher DJ Yassa, as well as world class beatboxer, Killa Kela. But none of these performances would be possible without the DJs and MCs that paved the way. Call them the “old school,” the “pioneers” or whatever, the hip-hop architects are still serving up history lessons, reminding fans that bling ain’t no thing. Club Mix is bringing over one such hip-hop heavyweight, DJ Cash Money, to Beijing on June 29.

Coming up in the vibrant Philadelphia hip-hop scene in the ‘80s, Cash Money and MC Marvellous were more “street” than contemporaries DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince (Will Smith to you youngsters). With talented DJs competing in the City of Brotherly Love, the DJ art form progressed to include new techniques invented by Cash Money. Cash recalls, “I saw this other DJ do this scratch which was the foundation for the transformer scratch. So I added more rhythm and funk to it. Everybody was trying to do it after they saw me. DJ Jazzy Jeff was the first DJ to do it on a record which is why he has gotten so much credit for it.”

Though Cash Money’s party set has more scratches than Lindsey Lohan’s Mercedes, his track selection—which ranges from old school classics to the freshest tunes—and his ability to hype the crowd will get you going. “I think of rocking the party first,” Money maintains, “then turntable tricks after that. [Scratching’s] like the frosting on a cake. I'm a DJ that entertains—I don't like to call myself a DJ. ‘Entertainer,’ I think, suits me.”

Anyone inducted into the DMC-Technics Hall of Fame in 1998 with the title World's Greatest DJ understandably has opinions about the current state of the music he had a hand in shaping. “When it comes to music ... 80 percent of people are stupid. They need MTV to tell them what song is hot. I could play a brand new song that is HOT!!! But if MTV isn't playing it, the dance floor would be empty... I could comeback in two months and play that same track. That song would be the biggest song because MTV is playing it now ... There are so many followers and not enough trailblazers.”
Despite his monetary moniker, Cash Money is passionately opposed to the materialism of today’s American hip-hop. “What ever happened to being good at your art form?” Cash questions. “Who gives a shit about how many diamonds you have? Elizabeth Taylor has had diamonds her whole life. I never seen her bragging about her stuff. This is the ignorance that the music industry promotes ... They never promote the positive brothas like myself, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Premier, KRS ONE, De La Soul who are traveling the world and bridging the races and cultures together thru music....Hip-hop is not dead...”