Before Deep Fried Music, before the vinyl remixes, before three decades spinning everything from Wu-Tang to Pitbull, DJ Clear got his real break on a movie set. On Location DJ for "Above the Rim" and "I Like It Like That," working alongside 2Pac, Marlon Wayans, Rita Moreno, and Lauren Velez, he realized the possibilities were endless and decided to treat DJing like the real profession it was.
Dominican, raised in Brooklyn, hip-hop built him but never boxed him in. In 2004, Rane sponsored him to promote Serato's Scratch Live, back when a laptop on stage still got him pushback from other DJs. Now he runs his own label, putting out sample-based house and soul built to outlast whatever's trending, including last year's Brighter Days EP.
Our sixth Collector Spotlight is also a reunion. Clear mixed The Rogue's Gallery for mixtapekings.com back in 2012, and it was a pleasure to finally sit down and get his full story.
From the Crate
Today's artists need to get back to building working relationships with the DJ community if they want to have long-lasting careers in the music business. Respect the DJ."
DJ Clear, on what today's artists get wrong.
One More Thing
Clear's pick for who we should spotlight next is fellow Brooklyn legend Tony Touch, and he's already on our radar. If you want to hear Clear's own music, the Deep Fried Music Bandcamp is the place to start: deepfriedmusic.bandcamp.com
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