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Seattle's #1 DJ & Washington's #1 Producer:

by Mr. So What
     If you ever travel to Seattle and see a flier for a major event, 9 times out of 10 you can bet your house that DJ FunkDaddy will be spinning the cuts. FunkDaddy has been instrumental in the NW Hip Hop Movement. With over 10 years in the game, he has laced tracks on albums by E-40, D12, C-Bo, Mac Dre, Sir Mix A Lot, N2Deep, Daz, Cool Nutz, Spice 1, Mr. D.O.G., B-Legit, and PSD. He is also on his 10th Mix tape.

    We felt we would not be doing our job if we didn't introduce you to the man behind Seattle's Hip Hop Movement and give you a more vivid picture of how hard you must work as a DJ or any other position in the entertainment business. So with no further ado.....

So where did your illustrious career begin? I was always into rappin. I just never had a producer or DJ, and since I felt that both of those were needed, I  forced  myself  to learn how to do all three. It all started in middle school, but I feel it matured in high school.

Who are your musical influences? So  many. George Clinton, James Brown, Dr. Dre, Battlecat, Mike Mosley, Cameo, Mixalot, Run DMC,  & damn near anything that came to this coast influenced me

What was your 1st project? My 1st project was myself. The rappin & production lacked in the beginning, but the scratchin picked up sorta fast. Then my production started getting on the level of major producers. Finally, a friend of mine (J.D. Hill) started hooking me up with clients

"All the previous record deals were one time deals. I opted to go with different labels each time, because each record company was making mistakes that I felt were vital to my record sales"

Who gave you your 1st big break? E-40 gave me my first break., when I was a no-name producer

 How did you hook up with Mix-A-Lot? Me and his boy, Kid Sensation were cool. So when Kid started rappin under Mix, I would DJ for him, and when he opened for Mix, I would sometimes DJ for them both. Mix was cool. He paid me at times when I didn’t even expect to get paid. I was new to the game and would have just done it for the love of it, but there were also times I could tell he thought I didn’t fit with his crew.

I understand you have previously had several record deals? Can you elaborate? My 1st album “funkurightonup” came out on D-shot Records via Til Ya Tight. It did cool., but D-shot was a hit'em and quit'em type person, so we took the 2nd album to Sunset  Boulevard Records in L.A. They promoted a little stronger. I found one of my songs being played in the TV series, "Dangerous Minds" and in the movie "Rhyme and Reason" (check out Puff Daddy’s pool party scene). The 3rd album was slated to come out on Dog Day Records, but at the last minute, they dragged.

So why & how did you get out of your last record deal? All the previous record deals were one time deals. I opted to go with different labels each time, because each record company was making mistakes that I felt were vital to my record sales

You have your city, Seattle, on lock. There is no denying that. When did the demand pick up for you a producer? Producin’ definetly picked up dramatically after I did the tracks for E-40. Then I got business from Mac Dre, N2deep, Mix-A-Lot, Psd, Cool Nutz, Mrdog, & DMS. Microsoft even asked me to do some music in one of there basketball games, but their software team had a dispute going on, so it didn’t happen.

Who do you like working with the most? 40-Wata, because it’s always a surprise to see what he’s gonna spit to the production I do.

What made you decide to start dropping mix tapes? Me & DJ skill were always competing against each other, doing like 15 min mix tapes of artists that were crackin at that time. They were always tight, but we did it for fun. One day Skill's partner, Littleton heard one of my tapes and said he was down to put it out with me. And so Volume 1 began.

Do you think Mix Tapes changed the game for DJs? And if so, how? Yeah. It gives DJs who are doin them a chance to showcase there skills, and DJs who are listening, to get a feel of what is being played in other regions.

Do you have any other solo albums coming out soon? I have a solo album that’s was slated to come out on April 2001, but I found out the other day the record label (Blueprint records) wants to push the date back to Dec. 18th to have more time to promote, and that’s just not gonna fly. Déjà vu all over again. I ain’t trippin though. I have a few labels that wanna put it out, but my main focus is production and DJin’.

Who features on it? B-legit, E-Dawg, Mr.D.O.G., Cool Nutz, Money B, J-Boogie, Livio, and a few other artists.

Your mix CDs get around and have been detrimental in introducing NW artist to hip heads throughout the West Coast. You are now on your 10th Mix CD. Who can we expect on it? Too many artists to name, but basically everyone that’s hot on the streets,  in the clubs, and a few local artists too

Any encouraging words for up & coming DJs? Yeah, it’s more than playing the records, and showcasing skills. Ya gotta be able to read the crowd, and feel what they wanna hear. Personal favorites aren’t always crowd favorites

We hope this interview with this legendary NW icon sheds a little light on the DJ view of the rap industry. You can find out more about FunkDaddy and pick up any of his mix tapes @ www.funkdaddy.com