Dilated Peoples

Dilated Peoples have made a mark rocking venues with energetic shows around the time they debuted with The Platform back in 2000. this follow-up to the sophomore release, Expansion Team shows why they've come this far. Neighborhood Watch is their most recognized record to date and it helps fertilize what they planted years earlier with their breakout cut, "This Way." Babu took a break from his busy tour schedule-they were in N.Y. for a show-to answer a few of our questions. Who says Djs only speak with their hands?

2NR: It was Oxnard, California where you got you're start?

DJB: To get the record straight my dad was in the Navy. We traveled around a lot. I was out in Maryland and Jacksonville [Fla.] before by father got stationed out on the West Coast. I was six or seven when we finally ended up in Oxnard. We stayed for about a year before we moved a city over, to Camarillo. I was a Junior or Senior in high school when we started a mobile DJ crew-S.I.K. (Spinners In Control). That was my first introduction to DJing. After clearing out one to many dance floors, I realized that I was probably better off DJing in the bedroom. I was the scratcher in the crew and like I said, I cleared dance floors. I was more into playing music for me rather than catering to the crowd. Around that time I met Kan Kick. He was one of the original members of a crew called Lootpack. Before I knew it I was hanging out in his garage everyday instead of going to Junior College. He's really the one that opened my mind to DJing, digging and production. I started entering DJ battles. I even battled Rhettmattic of the Beat Junkies early on and caught a win. I kept in touch with them. I entered local battles and no one really knew who I was until I ended up in a Rap Sheet battle with Shortcut and Rhettmattic. I ended up losing in a semi-final round to Short but I did enough to finally get invited to a West Coast DMC. That same week I ended up hanging out with D-Styles, whom I just met, when I got the invitation. He offered up a spot at his crib. I jumped on a plane that weekend with Curse and Melo-D, who I had loosely known, and ended up staying at D's house. It was a great weekend.

2NR: It was a future legend weekend!

DJB: Well when we were all hanging out it wasn't about anything. We were pretty much on the dick of Q-Bert, Mix Master Mike, and the X-Men (X-Ecutioners). We were all just ripe and happy to be there. You gotta understand that back then it was hard to find out about a DMC battle-let alone enter one. I mean they'd have an East Coast heat and a West Coast heat. They'd take the top three and they would be your U.S. finalists. It's not like it is now with the regional competitions all over the country-it's madness. Back then I was just happy to be there. I wasn't expecting anything. I was glad to meet DJs that were into it. In the battle I'd go up against DJ Quest, DJ Disk, Shortcut, DJ Rhettmattic, J-Rocc, Melo-D-all these great DJs and somehow I'd pull off second. Shortcut won first. I was second. And Quest and Disk tied and did a tie-breaker round where Disk advanced. All of a sudden I was going to a DMC U.S. Finals. New Year's of '95 Shortcut and I got to New York and got into all these DMC videos. That was my start.

2NR: You were putting out mixtapes at the time. How 'bout now?