I had a super long intro written for this interview, but after reading it…all the hype and typical rap journalism isn’t required in 2009. Instead, let me sum up what’s going down like this:
I came to Cali.
Plan 9 was one of the first DJ’s I saw go off.
He had a unique style, played records that he pressed himself, and obviously loved hip hop.
Ten years have passed.
Plan 9 is still a true LA original.
And now I’ll give you Dj Plan 9…go check him out.
—P
What’s your name, DJ Plan 9, mean to you? Does it have anything to do with 1950s Science Fiction?
Great question! As a kid there used to be this Saturday afternoon monster movie show on UHF channel 19 in Cincinnati called CREATURE FEATURE…hosted by THE COOL GHOUL…I watched that shit every saturday like it was a RELIGION. One saturday they show PLAN 9 from OUTERSPACE. I watched it and lost my mind. Flying saucers? Vampires?? Zombies??? Bela Lugosi???? old stock footage????? What! it was all the shit I was into all at the same time. SENSORY OVERLOAD! There’s a scene in film where the aliens return to the mothership and have to answer his EXCELLENCY…The LEADER right? They have to answer to this guy. It breaks down basically like they been trying to invade the earth like 8 other times, ALL FAILURES. The leader askes them, “What plan will you follow now. The commander of the invasion force replies in a MAD OFFICIAL VOICE, “PLAN 9″! Then the leader says, “Ah, yes Plan 9 deals with the resurrection of the dead. Long distance electrode stimulation through the pineal pituitary gland of recent dead” WHAT! They had tried 8 times to invade the Earth and failed? 8 failed missions! but the ninth one worked!? I thought that was DOPE. STAR WARS episode IV had just come out, BattleStar Galactica was on, Buck Rogers was on , Long story short I was a science fiction nerd. I filed that movie in my mind until 1995, when I got invited to dj @ Spaceland by my friend Vinzula (google him He’s DOPE) I had to come up with a Dj name…ALIAS whatever. I consulted with the peace-pipe and late night TV. On Channel 5 the Late LATE LATE show is playing, and thus I adopted the name Plan 9 from OUTERSPACE. A must watch for everyone by the WAY!
What’s your first memory of Hip Hop?
My first memory of hip hop had to be in ’79, my mom had a Cutlass convertible, we would ALWAYS bump WCIN. Chic ‘goodtimes’ would come on the radio and we would sing it ALL LOUD and shit, right. This one time it sounds a little different, the bass line is thumpin’ as usual but then this guy starts TALKING…RHYMING a “hiphop a hibbie a hibbie” My mom was pissed cause she thought it was CHIC and this guys is talking and it makes no sense to her. I waited and waited for the dj to say the name of the song they didn’t so as soon as I got home I called up the station and asked about the song that starts off sounding like CHIC and they told me it was Rapper’s Delight.
This is a multi part long ass question: How do you feel about technology and the DJ? Do you have an opinion on file downloading and it’s affect on the music industry? What about the transition from mixtapes to podcasts? Dj’s using Serato to spin mp3s over vinyl?
Technology in the hands of the talented dj is great. Technology in the hands of the mediocre dj is not so great. As far as the transition to mixtape to podcast, I hate and LOVE that. I miss actually holding the music…geeking out on the packaging if it’s dope…passing it hand to hand to a friend. But then I love that I can make a mix put it up on zshare or soundcloud and it can be downloaded by anyone anywhere at anytime. It’s weird as far as the vinyl vs. mp3 thing goes. If you are proficient @ rocking vinyl and then choose to rock serato I can’t be mad, but its way out of hand right now. To quote DE LA’s 3 is a magic number,” Every body wants to be a DJ” and C-3PO, “This is madness”; Sometimes I’ll be at a gig playing w/ serato DJ’s and 9 times outta 10(word to Quik) something will go wrong…CAN’T TRUSS IT
When I first met you way back when, you had your own record label, released a bunch of vinyl, and were producing tons of beats. Are you still doing all of those things?
Yeah man! I’m back at it! The new label is called AFROBEEP. We are readying several projects for release digitally as well as physically (vinyl & cassette).
What’s next for DJ Plan 9? Where can your fans come see you do your thing? Have anything to plug?
Working on alot of music right now…Several beat projects with my wife, Dj Liquyd under the name FISH$CALE, Also working on a project called NINE FINGAZ with ABF of the 5 Signs…an album is also in the works with the 60′s french lounge singer Louis Le Grand. On the dj tip you can catch me @ the ‘Some of my Best Friends are Black’! (SOMBFAB!) parties we’ve been throwing for over a year now! It’s alot fun,all the dj’s have to rock ALL VINYL…Lately we’ve also been doing this thing called MYSTERY CRATE where dj ‘s bring a crate and switch it with another dj. You have to play out of crate that you have no IDEA what’s in it. CHALLENGING and FRESH! We’ve had some incredible sets so far and more to come this summer! WHOOOOOOOP!
Shouts to SPITHATE/ SOMBFAB / AFROBEEP / 213* and INSTRUMENTAL!
photo: CAMERASHEYE(Leimert Park Camera Club)
www.myspace.com/sombfab
www.myspace.com/fishscalejohnson
www.soundcloud.com/fishscale
www.instrumentalagency.com
