Collector Spotlight
The Crate Speaks
A series featuring the DJs, collectors, and curators who have been building their crates since before the algorithm existed.
"The Mixtape is the last genuinely authentic Hip Hop format."
J.PERIOD
The Last Genuinely Authentic Hip Hop Format
The Brooklyn DJ behind Best of Nas, Best of Lauryn Hill, and The Hamilton Mixtape on turning the mixtape into an audio documentary, the FaceTime that put him in charge of a Billboard No. 1, and what makes music worth burying in a time capsule.
DJ Tabu
The Crowd Is My Scene Partner
The Brooklyn-raised DJ with Trinidadian roots on learning music from her uncles' 45s, why a corporate event and a nightclub use different muscles, and why the B-side sometimes becomes your favorite record.
DJ Clear
Respect the DJ
The Dominican, Brooklyn-raised DJ behind Deep Fried Music on getting his break as the on-location DJ for Above the Rim, mixing The Rogue's Gallery, promoting Serato Scratch Live in 2004, and why today's artists need to respect the DJ.
DJ Scream
Relationships Is Everything
The Atlanta DJ credited with breaking Future, Migos, Gucci Mane, and Jeezy on hosting Shawty Lo's I'm Da Man, why relationships matter more than talent alone, Big Facts, the Scream Foundation, and why he's still a vinyl collector to this day.
MICK
Rebrands Are Important
MICK, formerly Mick Boogie, on building concept mixtapes instead of chasing exclusives, the J Dilla tribute Busta Rhymes called hip-hop historian work, a decade of Summertime with DJ Jazzy Jeff, and why simplifying his name to one word was a good decision.
DJ Skee
Nostalgia Is the Most Powerful Drug in the World
The first DJ to play Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, and Post Malone on the radio, co-founder of Dash Radio, and now founder and CEO of The Realest, on breaking artists, fighting fraud in memorabilia, and why vinyl is the baseball card of music.
DJ Perly
Leave It All on the Stage
A two-time DMC USA Champion and Heavy Hitters DJ on the night she made history, the DJs who shaped her ear, and what she'd tell the next young woman trying to break into turntablism.
DJ Kast One
The Crate Doesn't Lie
A Bronx native and Hot 97 morning DJ on the record that hooked him, the mixtape era grind, and what independent artists get wrong about pressing vinyl.