DJ Spinbad, in his 15 years behind the decks, has accomplished more as a DJ than most artists could ever imagine. Having performed in more than 20 countries and on dozens of television shows, including The Tonight Show w/Jay Leno (3 times) and The Late Show w/David Letterman (twice), his list of accomplishments exceeds that of 99% of his peers.
Despite headlining extended tours with multi-platinum artists Moby and Dido and opening for bands such as No doubt and The Backstreet Boys, Spin is the same b-boy from Queens whose love for hip-hop has enabled him to turn a hobby into a career. “I’m a fan of dope DJs” he says, “I came up listening to guys like (Jazzy) Jeff. Scratch (EPMD). Richie Rich & Aladdin. I entered my first real DJ competition in ’95 (Fat Beats Battle in NYC) an won.” Since then Spin has DJed alongside most of his idols, including collaborations with both DJ Jazzy Jeff and Scratch. He has done what has been called the most bootlegged mixtape of all time (Rock The Casbah…’80s Megamix) and is currrently honing his production skills. “Making beats seems to be the natural progression (for DJs), but I’ll never stop cuttin’ it up. I plan to be like one of those old ass jazz musicians…f**kin’ it up in a diaper”.
The main thing separating Spinbad from other New York DJs has always been his scratching skills and his ability to compose crazy multi-tracked intros and megamixes. “Back in the early to mid ’90s, NY cats weren’t really doing much in terms of scratching. They were more about body tricks and visuals. Then the west coast exploded w/ a gang of ill-ass scratch djs and brought everything to another level. I can definitely say I was one of the first east coast dudes to start flaring and crabbing.”
