HOT, COOL & VICIOUS

WORDS BY KHALID STRICKLAND a.k.a. BLACK PACINO

There may be a shortage of female rappers these days but the ranks of female deejays have strengthened.  Deejays Blazita, June and Nickiee Barnes are ladies of diverse ethnicities and backgrounds.  But aside from mastering the wheels of steel, this trio has a few common traits… they’re strikingly beautiful, enterprising and at the top of their respective games. Despite their individual accomplishments, these three women still have plenty of upside and even greater prospects on the horizon.

So without further ado, allow me introduce you to my friends…

THE HOT: DJ BLAZITA

The term mixtape has become an oxymoron.  Not only are analog tapes nearly extinct, deejays that actually mix records are just as scarce.  While staying in tune with the latest technology, the celebrated DJ Blazita has managed to keep her mixing and cutting skills razor-sharp.  Mastery of this lost art helped Blazita to win the coveted 2008 Justo’s Mixtape Award for Best Female DJ.  Blazita’s skills are also what make her popular straight-to-the-street blends, such as the Sex & The City: 90’s R&B Classics mix series, stand out from the pack.  Her CDs have been featured on MTV Mixtape Mondays more than 10 times in the past 2 years and have been favorably reviewed on Rapmullet.com, Thickonline.com (Canada), in Scratch Magazine, Foundation Magazine, and Juice Magazine (Germany).  In addition, Sex & The City, Blazita’s own favorite mix series, was recently nominated for two awards (Best Blend mix, Best Slow Jam mix) at the 2009 Southern Entertainment Awards.

“I feel like skills have fallen off for mixtapes,” Blazita says.  “So I keep mixing and scratching involved in all of my projects.  I feel like I have a really good ear for music.  (A song) can be exclusive, but if it doesn’t sound good and it’s not something I’m going to listen to two weeks from now, I’m not putting it on a CD.  A lot of people are all about the newest song; whatever came out five minutes ago.  But I think you’ve got to use your ear to make a project last you’ve got to put solid, quality music on your CD.”

Hailing from Cleveland, the seasoned DJ now calls Brooklyn home.  In 2005, Blazita moved to NYC and spun records at clubs, private parties, comedy shows and other events around the tri-state area.  Her tireless hustle has paid dividends with numerous radio appearances; Blazita has mixed and hosted for such notable stations as Sirius Satellite Hip Hop Nation, Shade 45, DTFRadio.com, 1.FM Jamz and 91.9FM NYC.  Blazita now has her own radio show on ThatsHipHop.com every Wednesday night from 10pm to midnight.  In addition, Blazita helms the wheels-of-steel at hotspots nationwide.  Her reputation precedes her and she’s known not only to draw a crowd, but keep them satisfied with a deep and diverse playlist.

“People like to focus on the mixtape (aspect) but I’m really well-balanced,” she states with confidence.  “I play at a lot of clubs and I can really mix.”

A true master in all facets of her craft, DJ Blazita piles up the accolades as her star continues to rise.

Links of interest:

DJBLAZITA.COM

DJ BLAZITA TWITTER

THAT’S HIP HOP

Previously posted:

DJ BLAZITA-SEX & THE CITY MIXTAPE

DJ BLAZITA & DJ UMC-90′S PIFF

DJ BLAZITA & CAM’RON-REMEMBER ME?

THE COOL: DJ JUNE

Here’s a bit of Hip-Hop history: Beat Street Records was a legendary record store located in downtown Brooklyn.  On any given day, artists like Jay-Z, Boot Camp Clik and B.I.G. could be found there, shopping for music or personally delivering their own freshly-pressed records.  The well-stocked basement store was host to memorable record-signings and special events.  This hotbed of Hip-Hop activity is where I first saw the lovely DJ June, a Japanese female deejay, monitoring the turntables.   Long before BK’s gentrification she was an odd sight to behold.  But after hearing her blend exclusive pieces of wax, nothing was lost in translation… June knew how to pick ‘em and she fit right in.  Although Beat Street Records has since closed its doors, DJ June has elevated her position.  DJ Scratch of EPMD is her mentor and close friend; he taught her many tools of the trade.  She also spins records at clubs all over the country, moving the crowd at joints for Diddy, Lil’ Kim, Jim Jones, Fabolous, Vivica Fox and a score of others.  June describes how she ended up at the spot that helped launch her career.

“I liked the store.  I asked them if they were hiring and they said, ‘Yes.’  I told them I had experience in Japan as a buyer with Jazz music.  Maybe they were looking for a Japanese employee ‘cause sometimes they’d have Japanese customers but nobody spoke Japanese.  When I started at Beat Street I wasn’t a deejay.  They didn’t let me touch any records to deejay.  I was just taking care of the stock, checking the price on the records and stuff like that.  There were already 3 or 4 deejays out there.  And then some people quit and so I had to play the records.  So basically I played the record for the customers.”

“Customers would ask me, ‘What’s new? Can you mix?’ ‘Cause they don’t have no time and they don’t really listen to radio or something.  So they ask me what’s new and what songs go together with (other songs) so I had to show.  Some customers asked me, ‘Do you deejay?’  I’d say, “No.  I don’t want to be a deejay.’  And one customer from Florida was a manager or promoter for the club. He asked me.  Then he asked me to come to Miami and deejay for him.  I was like, ‘No, I never deejayed in the club.’  He said it doesn’t matter I’ve been listening to your music in the store.  I want to have you.’  Two days later he sent me an airplane ticket to Miami.  That was my first gig.  I opened up for DJ LS One, he deejayed for DMX.”

June now spins at NYC’s Club Sutra with her homie, the world famous DJ Tony Touch, who she also met at Beat Street.

“Tony was also my customer.  So I met him at Beat Street.  I was taking care of him every time he came to the store.  He was really nice to me.  We never hung out outside and every time he came to Beat Street we’d talk.  Sometime he’d call me and ask if we had a certain song at the store and I’d say, ‘Yes’ and he’d come to pick it up.  My friend is a writer for a Japanese magazine.  Five or six months ago she asked me if I knew any famous deejays and I hooked her up with Tony Touch, DJ Scratch, DJ Wiz… so I introduced her.  I’ve met everybody. Jay-Z shot the video for ‘99 Problems’ out there.  Memphis Bleek was a regular customer just coming out to hang there.  Aaliyah came to sign autographs, which was nice.  A lot of rappers and R&B singers came out there… a lot of deejays.  (Musically) I like everything.  I listened to a lot of underground hip-hop when I was in Japan.  I came here in 2000 and underground rap is popular in Japan.  Not really underground but like… DJ Premier, Gang Starr.  Hardcore rap is big in Japan.”

And with her perfect combination of good looks, charisma and skill, DJ June is pretty big here in The States.

Link of interest:

DJ JUNE MYSPACE

THE VICIOUS: DJ NICKIEE

Nickiee Barnes is a very amicable, grounded person so “vicious” only applies to her relentless work ethic.  Not only has she rocked clubs worldwide, the multi-tasking deejay is also the owner of Good Girl PR, a successful firm that publicizes all sorts of major events and celebrity clientele.   Good Girl currently represents Hot 97’s DJ Cipha Sounds and rapper Sosh B. Cardi, among others.  Nickiee, who also holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Denver, pursued her entertainment industry dreams after working in the financial field.

“I was a compliance officer at Deutsche Bank and I was quite bored,” Nickiee explains.  “I decided to take up deejaying as a hobby.  I started marketing myself and all these famous deejays asked me to do PR for them, so I in turn started a PR firm called Good Girl PR.  I love it.  I’m doing what I love, I’m passionate about it.  I wake up every day, work for 15 hours and I don’t complain about it.  Hard work always pays off.”

Ms. Barnes has indeed made a lot of progress in a short amount of time.  In addition to publicizing special events for the likes of Russell Simmons, Nee-Yo and Kim Kardashian, Nickiee has added television to her swelling resume.  She recently appeared on FOX News’ Good Day New York and every Thursday from 7 to 8pm she co-hosts a show called Cross Over TV on NYC’s Cablevision 68.  She also works very closely with Safe Horizon, an orginization that provides support for victims of domestc violenece, crime and abuse.  Perhaps Nickiee Barnes will become an author as well, because her story and words of inspiration contain the makings of a great self-help book.

“When you associate with ambitious people, it only inspires you to be ambitious. There is nothing in this world that I cannot accomplish, seriously.  Goals are attainable, I just have to plan, be consistent, and acknowledge that everything takes time.  I wish I understood this exact point in my twenties.  I was totally into instant gratification and wanted everything to appear in the palm of my hand, but now I know that I have control of my choices and the path that I choose to take. As long as positivity molds my world, all of my goals will come to fruition in time.”

As Nickiee’s career blossoms, there’s no time like the present.

Links of interest:

SOSH B. CARDI

NICKIEE BARNES BLOG

DJ NICKIEE MYSPACE

DJ NICKIEE TWITTER

SAFE HORIZON