|
|  |
Darryl started working as a DJ 7 years ago in Calgary Alberta Canada. The year was 1995 and the popularity of the “Scratch DJ” was rapidly growing. Darryl acquired the skill in this area from his peers who were doing it, and from watching videos of world class DJ’s. After 7 years of dedicated practice and hard work, Darryl has himself become world class, with the skills that have rewarded him with more than just knowledge. He has played at top clubs in Canada, competed and placed in scratch competitions, and showcased with world famous scratch dj’s and rave dj’s. His ability to read and understand what the crowd wants is extraordinary Darryl’s hard work and dedication shows when he is scratching, with a large number of people standing around him in awe. Not only is he a student of the scratching element, he’s a teacher when he plays. People are interested in the way he expresses himself by manipulating the turntables, in making them sound like musical instruments. Anybody can be a DJ, but it takes a special kind of talent to develop yourself into a “Turntablist”. Darryl shows us how only a small handful of people can achieve this goal. The following is a list of events and experience in chronological order, of what Darryl has done, and what he has accomplished.
1995 This was the 1st year of work as a DJ. Primarily it was the most important year to build a strong foundation for the future. Much time was concentrated on practice and the production of mix tapes. Darryl did however, play at some parties in this year. He also volunteered for a local Cable station called Shaw 10 where he wrote, shot, produced, directed and edited a 30 min segment about the Hip-Hop culture in Calgary which was aired.
1996 Having developed stronger skills, Darryl adapted to the club scene quickly. He was offered opportunities to play more local Hip-Hop showcases and get more club work. In this year, Darryl started playing at CJSW University radio station on Friday nights. This would continue for the next 3 years. During this time, he started experimenting with different types of music with scratching, and just not Hip-Hop. House music, Fuck, Soul and Jazz were new elements for musical understanding.
1997 This year would bring good experiences for Darryl. He was offered the opportunity to showcases with DJ’s such as Q-Bert and the Invisible Scratch Picklz. These DJ’s are world champions in the scratching catagorie Darryl also opened some big American Hip-Hop acts during this year. Wu Tang Clan, The Rascalz, Rob Base and DJ Easy Roe are among the names of these famous the first year Darryl completed in the DMC’s (DJ Mixing Championship). He placed forth for the Calgary Elimination’s. The DMC is a competition to decide who has the best mixing and scratching ability.
1998 - This year brought numerous opportunities for Darryl. In point form are the events he was involved with.
- Finished fourth again in the 1998 Calgary DMC elimination.
- Finished third place in the West Coast Canadian ITF elimination (ITF is similar to the DMC, but different organization).
- Play a spot at the 1998 Hard Lino Breakdancing showcase and competition. This is one of the biggest breakdancing events in North America.
- Opening act for more famous scratch DJ’s such as P-trix, Grandmaster Flash, Cash Money, and Babu.
- Opening act for Hip-Hop concerts with groups such as, ICE-T, Pharcyde, Choclaire, Vanilla Ice, Xhibit, Nanghty By Nature and Rob Base/ Oj Easy Roe again. These groups and acts are all famous recording artists in America.
- Played for the first time on a nation wide television program and documentary about Hip-Hop Culture in Canada. On The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
1999 - This year would introduce again a wide variety of experiences, and open the border for some international showcases.
- Finished 1st Place in the Calgary and Edmonton DMC eliminations. This was a big step from the previous year.
- Finished 4th Place in the North American DMC eliminations.
- Played at the battle of Year, the biggest breakdancing competition in the world, which took place in Hambury Germany.
- Showcased on the nationwide music television station Local Hip-Hop Group named Nupanella.
- Started making jingles for local radio station and TV programs.
- Showcased with scratch DJ’s such as Vin Roc, A-Trak, Evil E, and Mixmaster Mike.
- This year Darryl started working and experimenting with some well established House and Drum + bass DJ’s such as Paul Okenfold, Paul Van Dyke and Aphrodite.
- Open act again for Hip-Hop concerts with groups such as Naughty By Nature, Ice T, and Maestro Fresh Wes. He opened for one of the biggest Hip-Hop tours in North history. The “Up In Smoke Tour” featuring Eminem, Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Doggi the biggest names in Hip-Hop now.
2000 Much of 2000 was spent touring Canada and the U.S. with Hip-Hop recording artists Nupanella. Darryl did not compete in the DMC this year due to this. He did however compete in December of 2000 in The LoPro battle and again finished first place.
- Nupanella recorded an album this year that Darryl participated on with his scratching and musical production skills. The album held the number one spot on MP3 Hip-Hop charts for 4 weeks. Nupanella gained respect and positive feedback from the cities they toured and from the album. Unfortunately, Nupanella parted ways in January of 2001 due to artistic differences and the pressures of touring.
2001 - After touring for nearly a year, Darryl decided to settle down for a while in his hometown, of Calgary. He concentrated more on community and volunteer work. The following is a list in point forms of the events.
- Darryl started teaching people the art of turntablism and showing them how to scratch. He acquired numerous clients who were interested in being the next success.
- Darryl did a lot of volunteer work for The Calgary Stampedes Football Club. In particular, Anthony McClanahan and his Five For Life Foundation. This foundation concentrated on children and teenagers with motivational problems. It helped them by encouraging a healthy lifestyle and to always try you’re hardest to succeed.
- Later on in the year, Darryl was offered more work in the U.S. He played at a Hip-Hop fashion convention in New York City as well as “The Battle of the Year” breakdancing competitions in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Having friends in Hong Kong, Darryl went there for vacation in August of 2001 and competed in an open Dj competition for the X-games. Darryl finished first place in this competition, and created a new network of opportunities internationally.
- For the rest of the year, he concentrated or improving his skills for future competitions.
2002 - Darryl plans on teaching people his talents this year, and also to help people understand the art of turnablism. He stills practices everyday, and has broadened his musical knowledge and talent since 1995. He has gained much respect for all of the hard work he has done and is recognized by many as an original artist.
- Darryl was employed with Lan Kwai Fong Entertainment company for a little over a year. He is now freelancing once again.
|
;){kind=small}