Miami’s DJ Craze has one of the more impressive résumés in the history of turntablism. The Nicaraguan-born DJ whiz is a three-time DMC world champion—the only person ever to win the coveted crown three consecutive years—and just a year ago, Kanye West selected him as his tour DJ. Craze recently took some time out to chat with SW.
SW: What type of music are you spinning these days?
DJ Craze: Anything with bass…If it’s fidget house, bassline, dubstep, or hip-hop, I’m going play a lot of bass-heavy shit. I think that’s part of growing up in Miami. We’re into salsa, reggae, merengue…and all those kinds of music have a lot of sub in it.
Talk about DJing for Kanye [West].
It was all right. I really didn’t talk to him that much. For the “Glow in the Dark” tour, the band and me were in a trench below the stage wearing, like, all-black SWAT gear, which was weird.
Was it disappointing?
It was a little. I wanted to shine. I’m thinking, ‘I’m on the road with ‘Ye, I’ma kill it. I’ma DMC champ, I’ma show these people what’s up.’ And I didn’t get to do any of that.
Do you prefer spinning vinyl or using a digital program like Serato when you DJ?
Actually, Traktor [a separate digital DJing program]. I’m a vinyl lover, but ya know, I was touring back in ’98 and I was carrying four or five crates and I was wearing out my records…Right now Traktor is doing a tour for [Klever and I], and we’re promoting it. It’s like Serato but better. Actually, I don’t want to say it’s better; I want people to make their own decision.
As a DJ, is Traktor easier to use?
Naw, it’s harder to use, but that’s what makes it dope. Serato is great, but Serato is more for simple DJing. You can get more in-depth with Traktor. You can customize everything. You can’t customize nothing with Serato.
What can people expect when you hit Seattle?
It’s gonna be a party. I’ll play a little bit of hip-hop, Klever plays more electro, I play more fidget house, which is more gangster if house can get gangster. We kill it. Folks who come out are going to have a good time.
