(F) First of all, can you explain the concept of your CD “RUN FOR COVER”?

(C) This is a mix cd of cover versions of both classic and obscure soul songs. Many of the original songs - as performed by artists like Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, War, Barry White, Marvin Gaye, the Mary Jane Girls, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes etc. - are pretty well known and some are more “rare groove”-type standards (“Be Thankful For What You’ve Got” originally by William DeVaughn, “After Hours” and “Just Me & You” - both originally done by J.R. Bailey). In either case I chose these specific versions of these songs because I thought they were all really good & brought something different to the table from the original versions. Some of these versions are very rare, like the renditions of Cornelius Bros & Sister Rose’s “Since I Found My Baby”, or Inner Life’s “I’m Caught Up (In a One Night Love Affair).” Some you could go down to any used record store right now & probably find. But I’ve always thought that the best cover versions are a lot of fun − a great way to hear someone interpret a song you already love and hear something new in it.


(F) You are one of the well-known funk, soul, old school collector. How long have you collected them?

(C)I started collecting records from when I was a child. Other than “Sesame Street” records the first record I remember owning was the Jackson 5 − “Going Back to Indiana” TV special soundtrack (it was later sampled by Just Blaze for Jay-Z!). I’ve always loved all kinds of music, but particularly soul music. And like many music fans of my generation when hip hop began and I started to see the connection between it and the older records that rappers would rhyme over it became an obsession for me. I started looking for break records and records that people sampled or re-cut for the Sugarhill backing tracks and just started getting as much of it as I could. I’ve been buying records since high school − lots of punk and indie rock as well as the Motown, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock etc. But I’d say I started seriously collecting hip hop and soul in college − in the mid 80s.


(F) how many vinyls do you have so far?

(C) I probably have about 15,000 records. But several crates of that is junk − stuff I used to use for parties & weddings when I was more of a working mobile DJ − or stuff I don’t listen to that much anymore, so I’m scaling back my collection every day. The older I get the more I begin to realize that you can’t listen to all these records − and they take up too much room in my house!


(F) What’s the very first hip hop vinyl you bought?

(C) The first hip hop vinyl I bought was either Sugarhill Gang − “Rapper’s Delight” or “8th Wonder”, I think. I bought most of the bigger Sugarhill Records stuff when it came out − Grandmaster Flash, Crash Crew, Treacherous Three.


(F) How long Have you DJed?

(C) I’ve DJ-ed since about 1990. I started out just doing houseparties and weddings and stuff.


(F) What are some well-known venues(spots) where you have DJed ever before?

(C) I used to DJ at a lot of the smaller bars that had DJs in the Village in NY in the mid 90s. This place called Bob on Eldridge Street − I did a rare groove party there w/ my friends Hirotaka and Jeff Brown (a great jazz dance & rare groove DJ back in the day) called “Butter” that was really fun. Also, I DJ-ed at this soul food restaurant called Mekka on Avenue A which was kind of popular for a few years − lots of industry people and artists used to come in there. One summer I DJ-ed a party w/ a DJ who is really big in Japan now, Master Key, at this club Nell’s. Master Key and his partner, Hiro, were downstairs doing hip hop & R&B; I was upstairs doing classics. (Incidentally, the party wound up getting cancelled after a Bad Boy Records showcase for Faith Evans − when someone on the Bad Boy street team pulled down one of the water pipes near the ceiling downstairs & flooded the entire downstairs.)
And for the past five years I’ve been DJ-ing at APT − still my favorite place of all because they treat the DJs with a lot of respect & give us complete freedom to play whatever style of music we choose. The music director there, Alec DeRuggiero, is my hero! I DJ at APT every other Saturday night, but once a month I do a deep funk & soul party called “Bumpshop” with some great DJs: Mr. Fine Wine, David Griffiths, and Jared Boxx from the Sound Library record store. That’s been a lot of fun and it’s starting to take off now because New York hasn’t had a serious vintage funk party like that in several years.


(F) In DJing, what’s the most brilliant moment that you DJed with some well-known DJ?

(C) Most big DJs I’ve done parties with are since I’ve been at APT − Kenny Dope, Keb Darge, 45 King, Cash Money, Just Blaze, Dante Carfagna, the P Bros. They’ve all been really memorable nights, but I think the 45 King party about three years ago was the most memorable: he came in w/ a gym bag full of records − all original pressings, none in jackets or sleeves, doubles of everything & just rocked old school breakbeats for 2 hours. Everything was in order by BPM. It was pretty amazing. And it’ll probably never happen exactly like that ever again because I hear he doesn’t use vinyl to DJ anymore − only Serrato.


(F) What does DJing mean to you?

(C) DJing is just communicating with people through music. As much as it’s a way to express yourself & your own tastes and sensibilities it’s still a group experience. You’re there to have fun & get other people to have fun too.

(F) Besides DJ, you are one of the most important members in EGO TRIP. How did you guys start EGO TRIP?

(C) ego trip started as a free magazine we gave away in New York back in 1994. We wrote about hip hop and other styles of music too & always had a very strong independent-minded sensibility. We always felt that despite the fact that our circulation was small & we weren’t as well known as the bigger magazines that our content was still as interesting, entertaining and smart as anyone else’s. We started to become known for both our knowledge of hip hop and our sense of humor and influenced a lot of writers in the hip hop journalism game. After four years we stopped doing the magazine and began doing bigger projects. Two books: ego trip’s Book of Rap Lists, which was nominated for the prestigious Gleason Award for music journalism in 1999, and ego trip’s Big Book of Racism!, which was named one of the Village Voice’s top books of 2002. From there we’ve started producing television programming for the VH1 network and have done a number of shows for them over the past three years, including a new project we’re in development on currently.


(F) You also write for XXL magazine. What’s good things in writing for XXL?

(C) I love writing for XXL. It’s the best mainstream hip hop magazine out there and it keeps me in touch with contemporary music. I don’t listen to mainstream contemporary hip hop as much as I used to − it’s not the same to me as it was back in the day, or even a few years ago. But I still love the music and like to stay up on what’s going on. XXL gives me the opportunity to give light to new and underground artists whose music I think deserves a wider audience through my monthly column, “Chairman’s Choice”, and through occasional feature-length articles as well.


(F) I remember you have wrote an article regarding LYOR COHEN. What’s your relationship to him?

(C) Lyor Cohen is just someone I’ve interviewed a couple of times over the years. We have no relationship other than a very formal professional one when I get the opportunity to interview him. He’s a very powerful and important figure in the music industry, however, and I have great respect for all he’s done over the years. He’s a very intense person.


(F) XXL is one of the biggest hip hop publication in the urban music. Are you proud of writing for that?

(C) Yes! One of my partners in ego trip, Elliott Wilson, is the editor in chief. And he’s really turned XXL around in the five years he’s been there. It was just another rap magazine when he got there. Now it’s the best one.


(F) Finally, can you shout to your fans in Japan?

(C) Peace to all listeners out there in the Far East! I hope you enjoy my new mix cd & if so, keep an eye out for more in the future.