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 If you know about ITF, you should know about
Vinroc.. This is probably mr. ITF!He's won the ITF singles final 2 years in a row now.. In 1997 in San Francisco, and the latest one in Amsterdam 1998! Vinroc is also a member of the 5th-Platoon crew from New York! Dj'ing is his life, and in this interview I did with him February 1999, he talks about how he got started, future plans, and also gives out advice for any new upcoming dj's out there! I can only wish him the best of luck in future battles! Peace! Vin Roc: Whatever level your on, if you like mixing or doing tricks, If you put your heart, mind and soul into it y'all should be aiight.
THE INTERVIEW: Hey Vin-Roc! You just won the 1998 ITF final in Amsterdam for the 2nd year in a row! Tell us how it was winning! How did the battle turn out? It felt good and was relieving at the same time! I wanted to make a point this year and hopefully I did. Tell people a bit about yourself.. For how long have you been a turntablist, and how did you get that interest? I consider myself a dj who has influences from the turntablist community. I've been djing for about 11 years. I started when I was 10 or 11 (cant remember). So I grew up mixing and scratchin. The turntablist movement didn't start till the early 90s, so I wasn't exposed till later on. But being a dj is my first love and I incorparate it with what I do now. Turntablism in my belief does not necesarily involve the dj aspect any more in my opinion.  What and who inspired you to get into DJing / Turntablism? Any inspiration now? Dj Premier, Scratch, 5th platoon, The X-Men (The X-Ecutioners), ISP, Beat Junkies. I got inspired because there was a dj at a party I went to in the 5th grade. I saw that and I was just infatuated by the whole thing. The speakes, Turns, Mixer - it was love!! How did the 5th Platoon form? And who's the original members? Roli Rho, Neil Armstrong and Daddy Dog are the core. They were having practice battle with Sinista and Total Eclipse of da X-Men and they decided to form a crew. What do you consider is the style of 5th Platoon and how would you describe your own personal style? A culmination of style from eveyone who influences the group like the X-Men or the Piklz, but also each other. We all have are own ideas. My style ranges I think from whatever is influencing me at that moment. Some times I get inspiration listening to dancehall, jazz, hiphop, Tito Puente or sometimes a ride in the Holland Tunnel or a roll across the Golden Gate will do the trick! How often do you practice? alone? With the Crew? I practice when I can, since I have a hectic schedule. But I think alot about music. It 's in my head 24/7. I am known to have a short attention span since I'm always in my world. Practicin with the crew is almost imposible, cause I live in the Bay, but when I'm in da N.Y we always hook up..  Do you feel a dj should have his own personal style? Yes! Cause that is what distinguishes you from every other dj!! Are there any other crews or DJs you respect? Anyone who can influence me in anyway. A crew is just a culmination of minds. But I respect all individuals who express there music with emotion and translate it well to the listener. How would you define the definition between a Turntablst and a battle dj? They are all just djs, who think of music in different ways! Do you feel that Hip-Hop DJs and Turntablism is getting the respect it deserves? It is gettin there! How do you see Turntablism evolving in the future? Into many different forms... There's a lot of competetions out there. Which style of battling do you prefer? (The DMC, the NMS 1 minute head to head or the ITF categorical battles). I like all of them. ITF is head to head, and its like a game of chess - very challenging! DMC is one chance to do it, do or die! Both I find interesting. Which battles have you entered since the beginning and what's your worst and best experiences with battling?  The best was actually being happy with somthin I
did, and the worst was losing my nerve even after I've been battling
awhile. It was kind of a moment of weakness.What do you wanna do the day you stop scratching? What's your future plans? I don't think I'll stop scratchin, but I don't feel my whole idea of music is based on scratching. It's just a tool I use to interpret what I hear in my head! Later on it could be a mpc, a computer or a guitar or a combination of all... Any advice for new upcoming djs? Put your soul into it. It's like playing a traditional instrument in ways. You can learn to play all the keys on a piano, but if you dont put your emotion into it its a lost cause. That's important to me and every time I do somthing I always have that in mind. If there's a technical routine that I come up with that im not feeling, I'll scrap it for somethin that translates better. For ex. I have a routine that I made hella juggle patterns for. I felt it didn't sound right, so I took it out and kept it relatively simple because the funk translated better. I think that was the nasty boy routine but I dont remember. But thats my advice but yall dont have to listen to me.. What's in store for Vin's future? Projects? My website www.vinroc.com will be out in mid February and my battle breaks record will be out... I think I'm going to call it "Daly City Cuts" will also be out... Also I have a CD coming out in april or may. I wouldnt call it a mixtape, but I wouldnt call it an album either. It's just a compilation of ideas floating in my head. They could be routines or full length compostions I keep hearing. it gets frustrating so I have to record it soon or I might go insane. Igot a mixtape called "RECONSTRUCTION" out right now and a lot of folks like it, so I'm very happy people enjoy my work on that level. But I have many things I want to share with people, so hopefully they will listen and give me feedback because I like intelectual discusions about music. Any tips for the Turntablist community? Dont get caught up in the competition of it. I know that it always has been a part of the growth of turntablism, but so has soul and putting emotion into your music. Whatever level your on, if you like mixing or doing tricks, if you put your heart, mind and soul into it y'all should be aiight!! VINROC'S MANAGER NOTE: - Bookings contact lanphan@jps.net or 510.832.1218 USA - Vinroc's battle break records out by March 1999...very innovative! - Crazy shit CD out in April or May 1999... | |||||||||||||||||||
These pages are updated Feb. 15th, 1999
© 1999 Stig Mortensen!
D J S T I G ' S W E B S I T E - 1 9 9 9!!
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