Let’s break the ice. Let us know who you are, where you are from, and when did you fall in love with Skratching?
My name is Stephen aka Doc Jeezy, and I hail from Tennessee. It’s cliché but I fell in love with scratching when I was about 6 when I saw DXT scratch live on the Grammies with Herbie Hancock. I was transfixed and I knew I wanted to do just that.
You informed me that it’s been a while since you’ve released a skratch tape BUT you do make loops, loopers, and other tools. Can you give us some information about those projects.
I’ve been making loopers for about 7 years now. For those that don’t know what loopers are it’s a small flashed based program with infinitely looping tracks perfect for scratch practice. They became popular before the dvs revolution and the advent of locked grooves. I’ve released somewhere around 45 loopers all of which can be found yourlooper.com and tablist.net (for free down load)
At first, when I started making them it was just for fun, but as I released more I started to gain a following and a steady growing fan base. Since then Ive produced a trilogoy of loopers with the Sleeprockers crew based out of Sacramento, A looper for SkratchPad as well as my most recent Looper for the Skratcher crew collective based out of Vancover British Columbia, all the loops for the IDA north American online battle as well as providing content and loops for an upcoming app for iphones and ipad being distributed by tablist.net.
Who or what are your influences? What led you away from scratching and toward a focus on loops and loopers?
My biggest influence when it comes to scratching is Dstyles no question. His effortless flow and flawless phrasing never ceases to amaze me. My biggest influences when it comes to loops and production range from Early triple six mafia production to dj muggs. I love that dark dirty sound that makes you wanna break some shit and wild out.
I don’t feel like I’ve strayed away from scratching, I just don’t release many scratch tapes any more.If anything I scratch even more, I just get bored easily with recording freestyles. I feel like I’ve been there done that and I’m constantly looking for new outlets for my creativity. My last real scratch track I put out (Business as usual) was featured on the last Return of the Dj released by bomb hip hop. (Shouts to Dave Paul)
What is your process for creating loops? What separates a good loop from a bad one?
When I create loops I usually start with a blank slate in ableton and start by figuring out what type of drums I want to use and what tempo I want to work with. Once I have the basics down I use multiple vsti plug ins to create new sounds, to create the sonic backdrop. Sometimes I like minimal sounds, and sometimes I like to make them lush back drops for cuts.
As far as what separates a good loop from a bad loop, I guess it really comes down to what kind of mood I’m in. sometimes I can spend 45 mins on a drum sample and hate it, and sometimes I can spend 5 mins and come up with a banger. Or if I feel like I’m being to repetitive with my sound I’ll scrap it and start over.
Do you create them for yourself? Or do you create them with the intention of distributing them to others?
When I first started making loops I really just did it for my own use because I was into making beats and I used it as a way to have the exact bpm I wanted to train on. As I started to put out more loopers I realized that I needed to cater to those that where downloading them. Just because I was cutting to 70bpm death loops didn’t mean everyone else was. So as I dropped more and more loopers I actively made sure I had something on there for everyone that cuts. Be it 70 bpm, 80 bpm 130 etc.
What’s one thing you can tell someone about this niche of the music sphere that you wish you knew when you first started?
Don’t skimp on your equipment; buy quality, because in the long run, that’s what will determine the quality of your end product. You cant expect dope cuts on a belt drive turntable lol
What equipment do you use? Do you have a favorite piece of gear?
I use both analog and digital gear. My work horses are ableton Live, my MPC 1000, multiple midi keyboards, Numark TTX’s and a rane mixer as well as serato. I’d say I love all of my gear equally.
What was the last song you listened to?
Master of Puppets by Metallica
What style(s) of music do you enjoy spinning, looping, or listening to?
I’ve always been into hip hop anything from gangster shit to 90’s boom bap. Being a dj I listen to an eclectic mix of damn near everything minus country. I love soul, funk, dnb, classic rock, metal, Punk,and breaks. When I Play out I usually spin a mix of hip hop funk and soul.
When it comes to loops, I try and stay away from sampling, I like to start from the ground up and build my own sounds. I have nothing against sampling, but I just feel like I’ve done enough of that .
Any scratch tapes available online? Can we find your loops anywhere?
I’ve got a good selection of loops here https://soundcloud.com/docjeezy
as well as here https://soundcloud.com/idacanada/sets/ida-north-america-scratch
you can get volume one of my loopers here this has my first 35 or so http://www.tablist.net/looper/doc-jeezy-complete-looper-pack-vol-1
https://soundcloud.com/docjeezy/sets/skratch-tools
Where do we connect with you online?
https://twitter.com/docjeezy
https://soundcloud.com/docjeezy
Any last thoughts? Shout outs?
My final thoughts are this, stay humble, work hard and keep doing what you love, the minute you feel like you’re where you want to be is the moment someone will take your spot. Never be content.
I’d like to say thank you to Honna From tablist.net for the unwavering support since day one. Thanks to West coast Family, the Sleeprockers Crew, The Skratcher Crew, Almighty Creative, Skratchcase, SkratchPad, Stokyo, Dave Paul, Thatkidnamedcee, Dissonance, Mike Msa, Paul Skratch, joonie c, and anyone that has ever downloaded anything I’ve ever dropped. I’ll never stop doing what I love, because you all push me to be a better scratch dj, producer and person.
Thank you Stephen Aka Doc
