The incredible DJ Yoda has a new album named Home Cooking on the way next month, and today we are very proud to be premiering his new single, Roxbury, featuring rhyme vet Edo. G and musician Nubya Garcia. We also caught up with him to speak about the new project, how he got into djing, and the different directions Home Cooking is taking him. Interview by Gingerslim.
My first introduction to your work was through your Cut and Paste series, back in the early 2000s. They were always so immaculately put together, I was wondering how much experimentation you had done with your DJing before you got to that point?
I started off making “pause tapes”, and graduated on to a 4-track cassette recorder. I was making mixtapes for myself, and then for my friends. I started copying up tapes in the dozens and taking them to record stores to sell. It was around that point that I was approached to do a “legal” mix CD, and that turned out to be the first of the Cut & Paste series. It was still recorded on a 4-track though – no computers at all.
It’s funny because no one ever taught me to DJ. There was no YouTube or videos, and I had no friends that were into DJing. So I probably wasted about two years doing completely the wrong thing – swiping needles across records and stuff!
How did you end up moving into that area of expertise from the more standard practice of DJing?
I guess the stuff that always appealed to me was samples and sampling. I loved things like De La Soul’s first album, Steinski and Bomb The Bass – they were taking little snippets from anything from TV themes to educational records to funk. It just made sense to me to construct these mixes like that – taking tiny bits and pieces from anywhere that I thought was cool.
I definitely never had the competitive streak, so battling didn’t seem right for me – I just wanted to make something fun and creative. I didn’t even really care who else liked it, it’s always kind of selfishly been more for myself than anyone else.
I was never a DJ myself and I’d never come across that style before. Were there any earlier turntablists who influenced and inspired you in that respect?
For sure – loads. I was inspired by Q-Bert’s famous Pumpkin Squeeze Muzik tape (classic funk breaks with samples from spoken word and movies), DJ Spinbad (the first hip-hop DJ to do an all 80s-pop mixtape), Ron G (NYC mixtape DJ who was the first to make a big thing out of “blends” – mixing R&B acapellas with hip-hop beats), and DJ Riz (who did these awesome mixes where he’d throw in stuff like Tracy Chapman or Chris Isaak with hip-hop). And that’s just a few.
Did your passion for making original music grow as your DJ career progressed or had that always been something you had wanted to branch out into?
It was never a plan of mine. I think I was just challenging myself to branch out into new things. My first album Amazing Adventures still sounds a bit like a mixtape to me. And with each album I think I’ve developed as a producer.
Your single with Joel Culpepper last year was your first real departure from hip-hop and rap that I’d heard, and it worked so well. Had you been dabbling with that style before you made that song?
Not really, I kind of surprised myself with this album. I never intended it to be a jazz or soul album but at one point I took a step back and kind of accidentally realised that I’d made one!
How did that collaboration with Joel come about?
I keep an eye on new music – I always have done. And I’m always thinking about which vocalists would be cool to collaborate with. I watched about 15 seconds of Joel’s YouTube video Woman, and knew immediately I wanted to work with him. So I sought him out!
I know you’ve got a new project coming soon, can you give us a little idea of what to expect? Is it going to much of a departure from hip-hop? I notice you’ve got Nubya Garcia on the new single with Edo G, which is a good sign.
Yep, I’d been paying attention to UK jazz, which is going through this amazing moment – and managed to get to work with some of the key players in that field – Henry Wu, Theon Cross and Nubya. Plus I worked with some legends like Omar and Jungle Brothers. It was recorded at Abbey Road – I just wanted to try and do something with some real effort and musicality.
Do you pay much attention to the simmering feud between the older and younger generations of rap fans? Do you yourself have a particular stance on the matter?
Rap has evolved so far. I think in 2019 there’s a lot of utter crap, and there are some gems to be found too. I can see how the new sound pisses off some of the old guard. It’s designed to. That’s what young people’s music is for.
You received a lot of much deserved acclaim for your Stranger Things mix a few years ago and the resultant live mixtape tour. Was it very tricky adapting the mix for a live rendition?
Half of my live shows are AV – so it made sense to me to put together an AV show of the Stranger Things mix. It was good fun to have all those 80s influences on the screen as well as just the music – it came very naturally. I love theming audio mixes and AV shows – when you play every kind of music it’s a good way to focus things.
Have you got plans for anything else like that? Any big live performances?
Always! My website always has my current live dates on. I’m planning a very specific movie-themed AV show for this September, along with a big AV announcement. But before all that I’m touring the new record with Ed OG, Joel Culpepper, Eva Lazarus and a live band.
You’ve got the single with Edo G out now and then the album to follow, what’s next after that?
As well as everything I mentioned already, I’m also prepping a nice compilation of all my Cut & Paste mixes.
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Home Cooking is out April 12. Pre-order here. Follow DJ Yoda on Twitter and Instagram.
Gingerslim has been a hip-hop fan since 1994 and has written for various blogs and websites since around 2006. During that time he has contributed to style43, Think Zebra, Headsknow and Front Magazine. His main interests in rap are UK hip-hop and the underground movement in America, with a focus on Rhymesayers Entertainment and the once mighty Def Jux label. He lives in Bristol and has a beard. All other details are sketchy at best. Follow him here.