“Liberating Oakland” by Tuffgyal808
Q#1: Are you a Bay Area Native? and if not, how long have you lived in the Bay? Dedan: I’ve been in the Bay since 1988, i’m originally from Harlem, NYC and I came out here to go to UC Berkeley.
Q#2: When did you start on the creative path you are currently on? Dedan: I’ve been enamored by the night life probably since I was about 16 back in NY. Before I DJ’d I was a dancer and a heavy club goer. My love of dancing and battling took me all over NY at that time and to all different types of parties and night clubs including YMCA (on 135th), Rooftop, Union Square, Latin Quarters and later the Choice, Sound Factory, Red Zone, Save The Robots, Nells, the World, Mars (RIP Beasley!), the Tunnel, House Nation and many more… It would probably take a whole book to describe the influence these clubs had on me, some of these clubs were mainly hip hop, some were mixed and some played what is now called house music – so my music palate was very broad by the time I came to Berkeley.
I was probably a bit spoiled lol. The musical diversity I missed and eventually I started buying music to make up for it, which ultimately lead to me sharing this music with other folks as a DJ.
Q#3: Where do you find your inspiration? Dedan: As mentioned in Q#2 major early inspiration came from the clubs and the dj’s that molded my music taste; djs such as ez-rock (Yes rob base’s dj was brutal!), clark kent, red alert, brucie b, dj duke of denmark, mixmaster miriam, franky knuckles, tony humphries (who preaches the gospel of breaking records – amen!) plus many more that had me groovin’ so much i never bothered to know who they were.
Nowadays my greatest inspirations are from the creators of today’s underground dance music (AKA HOUSE!) and dj’s such as David Harness, Patrick Wilson, Dj Rob Rhythm, Wazir, Cecil and Cali, DJ Hanif, Spinna, Osunlade, and Frankie Feliciano.. the list goes on and on and I’m sure I missed some folks!
And ultimately I’m inspired by my original Brothers & Sisters dj partner Dj Daniela, my current partner Dj Emancipacion and the dancers and music lovers that react positively (or negatively) to the music we share.
Q#4: What was the first piece of vinyl you ever purchased? Dedan: So long ago, I’m sure I bought some new york, new york song (that one that goes “start spreading the news” lol!) when I was a kid, as well as ohio player’s fire for some reason but I’d say my first REAL purchase was eric b and rakim paid in full import mix, the one that goes “this is a journey into time.” (I think that was by coldcut) Being an import it was pricey, I bought it at Rock and Soul with my school buddy and we split the cost. I think he still got the record though (hmm how’d that happen!?).
Q#5: Anything else you’d like to share? a joke/quote?
Dedan: Peace to Dori & the Great Nandini! And… we will be starting Brothers & Sisters back up so keep an eye out for us. Join our group at: http://www.facebook.com/groups/clubbrothersandsisters/
Resist!
this is Malia 