DJ Z-Trip’s mixes combine different genres, themes

By Ruvin Spivak
Daily Bruin Contributor

Imagine a DJ mixing Pat Benatar over The Pharcyde or “Dust
in the Wind” to a hip-hop beat. Mixes such as these are what
have launched DJ Z-Trip out of the underground and into the
mainstream.

On March 6, DJ Z-Trip will be performing for underground hip-hop
fans at The Palace in Hollywood. Z-Trip is co-headlining the
Scratch Tour with Dilated Peoples, Afrika Bambaataa, MixMaster
Mike, and a variety of special guests.

“Dilated Peoples is on the bill, and that’s going to
get kids that are just straight into underground hip hop,”
Z-Trip said. “If that’s all they ever listen to, then
as soon as they hear what I pull out of my crate, I hope it rattles
their teeth.”

Teeth rattling might be a rough description for what Z-Trip is
trying to do with two turntables but for him, it’s all for
the love of music. The DJ feels like he’s on a mission to
spread the gospel of unity among the musical genres of the
world.

“I’m just a lover of music,” Z-Trip said.
“There I was, on tour with Linkin Park, and on my days off
I’d hit up a Tower Records and blow 300 bucks on music
because I had to keep up on it and pump new sounds and new ideas
into my head.”

He makes it sound like he’s a machine, but DJ Z-Trip
genuinely feels as if he processes music at a faster rate then an
average person.

He relates his passion for music to people who can’t get
enough of fashion.

“Fashion to me, is very low key.,” he said.
“But some people are fashion nuts. They go shopping every
week. They get accessories, etc. Well, I’m the same way about
music. That’s my thing. I have to listen to it, make it, and
play it. When I mix music, I don’t come off like the guy
who’s trying to make two things fit, but I come off like the
guy who understands that two, three, or even four things fit
because they have a common theme.”

This ability has enabled DJ Z-Trip to cross genres and find
commonality between Bruce Hornby’s “The Way It
Is” and Run DMC’s, “It’s Like That.”
According to Z-Trip, both have similar themes and have the same
line. He mixes them to show that they not only belong in the same
musical universe but also on the same CD rack at the local music
store.

DJ Z-Trip has been crossing over genres for years, but the music
industry is just now catching on to his unique style. His newfound
attention has led to a record deal with Hollywood Records with some
very unique conditions.

In an effort to preserve his underground reputation, Z-Trip was
able to ink a deal with the label that would enable him to release
up to 10,000 albums on any label before sharing profits with
Hollywood Records.

With this kind of freedom on a major record label, DJ Z-Trip has
decided to start his own record company.

Both his label and the recording of a new album are scheduled to
begin in April. Z-Trip has two things planned so far regarding his
upcoming releases. The first release will be similar to his work
with DJ P on “Uneasy Listening, Volume I” where the two
DJ’s mixed a wide range of musical styles into an album that
was woven thematically as well as musically.

“My second album is going to be something I’ve been
working on for years, but it just so happens that I feel I’m
not ready to release it as a studio album just yet,” Z-Trip
said. “I figure that with all the buzz I’ve helped
create with “˜Uneasy Listening,’ it would be a shame to
go right into a studio album because people, fortunately or
unfortunately, have just now been getting into what I’ve been
doing. I have to make sure I don’t get ahead of myself and
try to release something that’s too out there.”

Z-Trip expressed his frustration with the pace at which people
are processing music these days, but he knows he has to take it
into consideration as a reality.

“Crowds dig what I’m doing, and that’s the way
it should be,” he said. “But eventually, two or three
albums down the line, people are going to expect rap/rock mixes
from me, but they’ll hear a reggae release. My hope is that I
open people up.”

DJ Z-Trip seems to be a man with a mission. It’s only been
a week since the Projekt Revolution tour with Linkin Park and
Cypress Hill ended, but he’s already begun the Scratch Tour
with new headliners that’ll draw different crowds. The agenda
remains one and the same, though. DJ Z-Trip performs to inform by
making every mix one that has the potential to heighten the
listener’s sensibility to music of all genres.

“I want to get out to people as far away as Witchita or
Wyoming or at Best Buys and Walmarts and reach the ends of the
earth, with my music,” he said.