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This Saturday Fresh Produce, our infamous monthly hip hop & reggae party returns this month with the homie Bo Bliz!
Bliz was behind the legendary party and EP White T’s N White Belts, holds things down for crossfadedbacon.com and runs 2 monthly parties Work Out with Low Budget and The Bounce with Emynd in Philadelphia. We caught up with him for a quick game of “answer these questions I send you by e-mail.” See you Saturday, suckas.
What DJs did you look up to in Philly growing up?
Cosmic Kev on the radio, Jay-Ski. My homie Enue was in a crew called the Action Figures and seeing them in first person had a big effect on me. This was 97-98 when turntablism was still a very influential movement.
How is the DIY party scene in Philly different now from when WTWB was launched?
It has become much more diluted. For every good party there are 10 started by dudes that just started DJing 6 months ago. It’s not so much a problem to the good parties as it is just embarrassing to those involved.
What’s the most annoying stereotype about Philly?
It’s not so much a stereotype, but I think most people just don’t realize how dope it is here. The people, music, food, parties, and of course the affordability (in comparison with other cities) make it awesome.
What’s the most important thing you need in a fellow DJ (Emynd) you are consistently doing shows with?
Communication. Every night has a certain flow to it, and we talk about it as we go along to hit the joints we gotta hit and don’t leave nothing out. We are on the same page with absolutely everything. We have been doing this so long that there are no misunderstandings and we have a good system for sharing the work. That’s my brother.
You’ve done DJ nights based solely on a single year in music (1988 for example)…what was your favorite year (or era) for music?
94-95 for Nas and Biggie.
97 probably for sentimental reasons and Mobb Deep and Redman
2000 for a great Hip Hop revival.
2003-2005 when Philly artists and the Roc were truly killing it, as well as club music (in Philly).
At one point Philly had a lot of very active rappers (State Property, Cassidy, Gillie Da Kid)…are those guys still around or have they been replaced by newer people like Meek Mill?
Yeah they are definitely still around. They get varying levels of respect in the city and some are still doing their thing here. Unfortunately, once artists lose momentum on a national level it’s hard for them to get it back. I think every one knows some of the best rappers come from Philly but some of them had problems making the transition from the streets. I would look out for RediRoc and Lee Mazin if you’re interested in newer Philly artists that might make a national impact.
When are people going to get tired of trap and move on to the next thing?
I don’t know. The internet is hard to predict. I think its important to remember genres popularized on the internet used to come from geographic regions where they had a real home, like Club in Baltimore or Bounce from New Orleans. To me, that meant that they had more staying power. These newer trendy dance music genres are developed entirely on the internet, so the length of their popularity is anyone’s guess. That said, I do like trap. I don’t think it will be around that long though, just because the tempo of it is so out of the realm of most dance music dj’s comfort zone.