Interview by Victor Crezée
With everyone (who has the privilege to do so safely) expected to #staythefuckhome, we figured this was the perfect time to re-upload some older content people may have missed. We’re kicking things off with 2018’s Watch The Sound — the 90s Hip Hop video mix by Amsterdam-based DJ SP. Around the time of the original release, Patta Soundsystem’s Victor Crezée sat down with SP to talk about his craft, being a video collector, street fashion, 90s Hip Hop, and much more.
So SP, how long have you been doing this video thing?
For quite a while — about eight years. I made a video mix in 2010, like Flexican does every year. A year mix, but with videos. That was well received.
The problem with video mixes is that once you upload them, chances are they won’t be online for long. You can’t just upload them to YouTube unless you only use rights-free music. Vimeo kept my stuff up for a while, but a few years ago my account got deleted because of too many copyright infringements.
Ah, that sucks. SoundCloud has a deal now, right? Meaning your mix won’t be deleted if you really edit and turn it into something new — like you actually do. Is that why you haven’t put out any mixes for a while?
Yeah, mix-wise, for sure. I’ve done mini-mixes and edits of tracks with acapellas. But the other stuff is just too much hassle. As soon as you put it online, it gets taken down — sometimes even while it’s still uploading. You’ll get that notice right away.
Is your mix still up on Vimeo? Maybe they’ve updated their policies, so let’s upload it and see what happens.
I really want everyone to be able to download it for a while, so it stays alive and people can have it without it disappearing. How did you start doing this?
I remember being a kid at Fat Beats and there being a video mixtape. VHS. I bought it and played it to death. The dope thing was it had all these videos we’d never seen before.
So you don’t remember it? I’ll bring you the tape.
How did you get involved with video mixing?
It was because I started DJ’ing digitally. I did the Serato thing for a while — it was easy, and it showed a lot of potential. It had all these tricks that made certain sets easier: loops and stuff like that.
Yeah, I switched to CDs like everyone else. Around 2005, everybody switched to CDJs. I did that for a year or two, but I wasn’t happy, because I just wanted to feel vinyl. And then, a while after that, came the possibility to DJ videos. I really didn’t understand it yet. In general, spinning digitally is weird, because you’re working with a needle and a vinyl record, but it plays WAV and mp3 files.
And then it works with mp4 as well? Everything is MIDI and everything moves with your mixers and your fader? Crazy.
The guys from Off The Wall really spun with DVD CDJs — they had every video on an individual DVD, so they’d have to take out and put in a DVD each time. They had folders and folders full of videos.
But you could pitch them already?
Yeah, same as with CDJs. I thought what they did was dope, but I wasn’t about to start burning all those DVDs and DJ with them. I had already moved on to Serato with vinyl. Then the video option got added, and I decided to try it. So I went looking for videos. That was a problem, too.
Yeah, where do you find those things?
You can’t just start downloading YouTube videos. I found all these message boards with people offering archives: pop, Hip Hop, 70s, 80s, 90s shit — collector’s shit.
I found a lot of videos through that, but you’d have to convert them first. So I had to learn to do that properly. How do you convert a file so it plays well and your computer can process it?
I bet you’d have to edit out the logos of some Latvian or Estonian music video channel too.
Yeah. Then came the video pools, like audio pools. There were a few, but most were garbage — low quality and bad audio.
A lot of old videos weren’t high quality. The colours were dull. But audio has to be good, because you’re spinning it in the club. So again, you’d have to convert it, and that was so much work.
And on top of that: pricing. It’s still like buying records — a video will run you one euro. So if you have about 20,000 of them, it’s insane.
So how big is your collection now?
I have more than 15,000 videos. Not all Hip Hop.
That’s what I was getting at. Because you were one of the DJs in the Fat Beats days — you ran the shop. You must have a massive vinyl collection. Do you have all the corresponding videos?
Yeah, pretty much. I think I have 90% of that collection. But I’ll run into videos I never even knew about back then all the time.
Sometimes I’ll find mad under-the-radar tracks I didn’t even know about — and then I find out it has a video too.
Funny, because there weren’t a lot of music videos being made back then.
You’d think you’re limited to singles, but it’s not that bad. I tried to keep the mix balanced. I could’ve gone way more obscure, but for an introduction it should have some familiarity.
It definitely has stuff people won’t know about — a couple surprises. Especially the younger crowd will be scratching their heads at some of the videos. I didn’t want to make a 90s party banger mix, but it definitely has some 90s hits.
It flows really well. For those that know, it has the more well-known tracks, but overall it’s uplifting. It’s not only a visual thing — you can just listen to it as well.
Yeah, that was my intention too. Dope images are extra nice, but it should also be a tape you want to listen to now, and again in two years.
I’m not concerned with the hype of the moment. I want people to still want to listen to it in ten years. At least, that’s what I want. I don’t want to listen to it twice and feel like, “Aight, I’m done. Next!”
Did you grow up in Amsterdam or in Purmerend?
Purmerend.
How did you end up at Fat Beats back then in 1996?
I used to frequent Rhythm Import, one of the first import vinyl stores. And Vibes, which was in the same building.
Every week I’d save up some money and buy a bus pass to get to Amsterdam. That pass was valid for like 90 minutes — enough time to buy a couple records and get back to my hometown. I did it every week.
Fat Beats would have stacks of every record, but the other stores didn’t. You really had to know when they got the new boxes in, or you’d be assed out.
And you knew exactly when that was?
Yeah. Every Thursday night and Saturday morning.
But you weren’t the only one who knew that. Is that where you met Edson, one of the co-founder of Patta?
Nah, that’s not how I know Ed. But yeah, there were others who knew when the re-up was, and the staff would hold records behind the counter for their buddies or the top DJs in Amsterdam.
Back then I wasn’t a DJ in Amsterdam though — I just played at a youth recreation center around my way.
So you’d see that new Skinny Boys in the back, but it wasn’t for you.
Nah, I couldn’t have it then. I didn’t meet Mr. Wix and KC The Funkaholic until later.
When Fat Beats opened, I’d be there all the time. After a couple months they asked me to come work there.
And they made you store manager immediately, right?
Yeah, it wasn’t long after that.
And that must’ve been heaven.
Yeah, of course. Because you go from being a kid, watching them open the boxes, hoping they have something you want… to opening them yourself. You still wouldn’t know what the boxes contained. They’d send the occasional fax with a packing list, but usually not.
And you were in direct touch with the US — something really special back then.
True.
So you knew exactly what was up, what was hot.
Word. And whatever you needed, you could get. The lines were suddenly real short. If you needed a shoutout for a tape or something, it was just a phone call away and you’d get a verse.
Something that was impossible before. Pre-internet.
Yeah, the internet back then was a joke. Dial-up shit. You’d either have to get a tape or a record. A lot of promos, test pressings, unreleased stuff. Magazine ads were a thing too — often the first time hearing about something that would soon be released. You had to buy magazines to stay up to date. And listen to radio — we’d get the tapes the week after. So different back then. Now a video will be released and I’ll DJ it the same night.
Might be a corny question, but can you tell us a few of your favourite videos that always stuck with you? Or what’s the first video you ever saw?
Wow. I think the first I ever saw was Rapper’s Delight or The Message. That made a big impact on me because I was so young.
But one of the more timeless videos would be Tha Alkaholiks – “Next Level.” Visually, that one is so dope.
Obviously, the Pharcyde videos. Eric B & Rakim – “I Ain’t No Joke.”
Wasn’t there a Hip Hop video show on TV in the mid 80s? With a female presenter?
Yeah — this was before YO! MTV Raps even. It was on Sky Channel. You’d see these videos and it was weird — that was the only place you could see them.
Would you record that show back then?
No, but I have a lot of DVDs with YO! MTV Raps shows, VHS tapes even. That I used to record and watch over and over.
But tapes broke easily. And you’d record over old shows if you didn’t have any extra tape.
The stupid thing is… we should’ve taped the whole show. You can find the actual music videos anywhere now, but all the bits in between — all the bullshit between the videos — was the magic.
Grand Puba with Mary J Blige, or the one in the studio with Pete Rock in the basement.
Yo, so do you always DJ video?
Basically, yes. I have so many videos, some edits… So even if I’m not putting out the video, I’m still playing the same files — the video just isn’t hooked up. It’s basically just a matter of plugging in an extra cord. Sometimes you don’t want to do it, and not every party promoter is into it. Some say video is too distracting. It’s best when it’s there but not too prominent. People will just stare at the screen, and it also gives off too much light — that takes away from the party atmosphere.
Yo, how did Patta get involved in this actually?
I was busy working on this mix and told Ed about it. He told Gee about it, they liked it and said, “Yo, let’s get behind this.” That was about a year ago.
Also, about a year ago we had this night in Sexyland. Yamandú, you, me and Wix . And you played with videos. Then about a month ago Ed approached me like, “Yo, SP’s almost done with the video mix,” and I thought back to that night.
It wasn’t packed, but mad gezellig — good vibes. The video thing worked great. I got to see a couple videos I had no idea existed. I was into it immediately.
I had no clue you were still working on mixes. Also, the city could use a proper old school night. There’s plenty of them, but none that actually have any depth to them.
Yeah, it’s only the hits they play there. It’s done by kids that weren’t there — they really weren’t about that. The people that actually were aren’t putting on those nights.
The shit is mad popular, but it’s all the same: straight-up mainstream 90s Hip Hop/R&B hits.
Even when I heard throwback shit in my day, I still wanted to hear tracks I wasn’t familiar with. To learn something.
Yeah, that’s not how people go clubbing nowadays. People are used to Spotify now. They want to hear what they know.
The dope thing about the Hip Hop videos is that kids will see exactly why Patta even exists. It all follows from Hip Hop and the steez in the videos.
Yeah, I’ve noticed that. I made the mix starting with the audio, and then when I went to apply the videos, I saw just how much my generation — and Gee and Ed’s generation — was influenced by Hip Hop videos back then.
I see that in what Patta does now. The I Ain’t No Joke video, for example — Eric B & Rakim in the FILA suits. You could release those today. It’s exactly the vibe and the attitude.
It’s obvious how much that has influenced us — especially the images, not just the music.
Yeah, there was no such thing as a Hip Hop speciality store. For me, when I’d watch Wu-Tang videos, I’d have to decipher their lyrics to know what gear they were wearing. “Champion gear that I rock…” and then find out where to get that gear.
Yeah, it wasn’t even Hip Hop gear back then. They made it that. They owned it.
Fast forward to now — there definitely is Hip Hop gear, streetwear… inspired by that. It’s dope.
Not only what you wear, but also how you carry yourself, how you do business…
Yeah, the DIY mentality.
Yeah — like, you don’t like it? “Fuck it, your loss.” I’m on my own shit. Believe in my own strength.
That’s so good to see. The mix has an old Black Moon video. The kids these days are dressed exactly like that.
Yeah, everything goes full circle. That’s why I think the kids are really gonna appreciate this mix.
Yeah, I also think the younger crowd would love it. Especially if you’re interested in music and fashion.
And the mix is tight!
No doubt — you’re DJ SP!
True. I try to make timeless mixtapes that surprise even me. And that I want to re-listen to myself.
Follow DJ SP on IG to stay updated, please let him know that we need a Watch The Sound, Vol 2 too!
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