DJ Spinz (HoodRich Radio 6/24/12)
One of the biggest rap songs of the year has come from the relatively unknown (at least on a national stage) Cash Out with a song simply titled “Cashin’ Out”. The auto-tuned song has slowly risen to not only topping rap charts, but has broken into the Billboard Top 40. While Cash Out’s profile is only increasing, the producer of the song, DJ Spinz is a Producer/DJ whose profile should be rising. He was recently interviewed for the Fader by Andrew Noz, and it gives some nice background details on Spinz life, and shows that he’s been DJing for years and not just something he picked up.
Noz a couple months ago posted a recording of a Saturday night mix by DJ Diamond Kuts, noting how it weaved all kinds of music (Rap, R&B, Bounce, Club, Dancehall, and even Pop Top 40) that have gotten people dancing from the last 25 years. DJ Spinz, radio show doesn’t do that. In fact his worldview for rap music, doesn’t accord for much music beyond the six zones of Atlanta. But, this limited approach to his show, doesn’t mean his show is boring or limited, and in fact shows while Atlanta is known for the music of Lex Luger (originally, and still in Virginia) there are plenty of other strains of rap music. Tex James’ “Smart Girl (Dumb Booty)” with Stuey Rock’s amazing auto-tuned hook is impossible to get out of your head on one listens is able to sit on the same mix as Future’s lost in space love song “Turn on the Lights” and Waka Flocka Flame’s unchecked aggression of “Lurkin”. Atlanta has been Rap music’s center for a decade plus is in part because there has never been a singular sound to the city, even when Snap music was huge in the mid-2000s, Young Jeezy, T.I., and Gucci Mane were establishing the original trap sound (or well their producers Shawty Redd, DJ Toomp, and Zaytoven were respectively). Luger might still be the big name right now for Atlanta rap music, but producers like Mr. Hanky (“Smart Girl”), F.K.I. (“Bring It Back”), DJ Spinz (“Rooster in My Rari) and Mike Will Made It (who did “Turn on the Lights”, and should soundtrack a chessy Sci-Fi space flick) are the guys continuing to push the sound of Atlanta forward.
Quick notes on the actual quality of the mix: 1. Discussions between DJ Spinz, DJ Scream and Cory B are left in, because I didn’t feel like editing them out, and I really like nightclub commercials so those stayed. 2. If the sound is a little iffy, that can be blamed by the internet stream itself and how I recorded it (sorry!).
