DJ Charlie Rock on how he came up
Back in the days, people had to figure things out for themselves
The Music: Jazz is No. 1 on Rock’s list. He throws in funk and hip-hop and sneaks the jazz in by playing its funkier, more club-friendly cousin, acid jazz.
The Scene: Rock just scored a new night at El Dorado. It’s called Soul Flexin, and he and DJ Grandmasta Rats take over El D the fourth Friday of every month. “Soul Flexin is a night for the people that respect the art of moving butts,” Rock says.
The Story: Sitting down to talk with Rock is like sitting down with an unofficial hip-hop historian. The dancer and DJ has been at it since 1976, and he remembers a time when it was all about figuring things out for yourself.
“In the beginning,” he says, “I didn’t even know it was DJing. When I first heard a mix on a tape, I was like, ‘How did they do that?’ Me and my friend used to just grab our boom-boxes, and I would put it on pause and I’d switch to a different radio station. Then I’d record some Spanish or something. Then I’d push pause, and I’d find the Art of Noise beat-boxing show on the radio, and I’d record some of that. So, throughout the whole tape, I’d record bits and pieces of stuff, and then me and my friend would share and kind of battle, like, who had the better tape." FULL ARTICLE
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