This article was originally published in the September 2018 Trenton Downtowner.
At the Mill Hill Basement — a music venue under the Mill Hill Saloon on South Broad Street — the room is small but the vibes are big. The energy and the crowds are edgy and creative. And on the first Sunday evening of every month three hip hop DJs hold court there for those who remember how hip hop began: with two turntables and the DJ.
It’s called the DoJo, a nod to the kung fu havens where those interested in the craft of martial arts can come to learn the culture and skill, an event for established and aspiring DJs from all around the area, and especially showcasing Trenton-based talent.
There is a host, Courtney Wade — known as Rocky The Promoter, a Trenton-raised DJ, events promoter, and co-founder of Cap City Entertainment recordings — and three DJs who hold this thing down: Travis Nagy from the Jersey shore, plus Kelvin Smith and Darnell Story, both from Trenton.
Liz Cisco, another hip hop emcee and singer from the Jersey who now lives and performs in Trenton, has a Sunday night shift tending bar at the Mill Hill Basement. Cisco was the catalyst for the whole experiment.
“I know the DoJo is certainly not the first producer or DJ-focused event, but what gave me the thought was honestly just having the right people in a room together,” she says. “The night of Kelvin’s website launch event Darnell, Travis, and Kelvin were spinning, and I wanted it to become a monthly thing. I spoke to them and to Rocky The Promoter about starting a Facebook group chat, hoping that would help things fall in place. It took a few months to come to fruition, but once the guys were in touch, the ideas just started flowing. I cannot take any credit beyond bringing them together. They’ve been putting in the groundwork and are incredibly enthusiastic. I sure as hell enjoy listening to their sets every month,” she says.
The room is dark. Trenton-based DJs like It’s Just Ahmad and DJ Fatha Ramzee Shabazz, who spins exclusively 45 RPM records, mix it up with other regional talent from places like Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Old kung fu flicks, 1980s classic boxing matches, and goofy vintage cartoons play on the big screen behind the DJ tables as the artists spin.
Without emcees, hip hop heads can reacquaint themselves with the art of spinning records and how it was the DJ, not the emcee, who innovated hip hop music.
“The idea is really to start bringing back that good vibe and to hear different sounds. There’s so much interesting music. I want to inspire,” says Nagy, 28, who goes by the moniker King Who? while he’s spinning. “There are some people who might be spinning music everybody knows. I like to play what people may not be that familiar with. I like the idea of a DJ who can be the person to present stories to people. I want a place for young producers and beat makers to come and do their thing. Have some fun with it. Be around some people without their guard up. Nobody has to be too ‘cool,’” he says.
Nagy met Liz Cisco years ago while they both worked at a Garden State Parkway rest stop, she at Starbucks and he at Sbarro. He does a mix of DJing, mixing, and composing. He is three years in now and has quit working day jobs. Lanky and laid back with long locks usually under a ball cap, King Who? has a friendly, humble energy that’s as infectious as his music. He explains that his DJ name is an extension of that humility.
“The idea is that I’m not a king of anything. A lot of people claim to be kings. I don’t believe in the ‘status’ thing,” he says. “My whole life has been about music. My dad used to play old Slick Rick records in the car when I was young. He was into a lot of different music so I got put on to a good selection as a kid. I’m not really a talker like that but I could talk all night about music. Once you see how someone else treats their music, you kind of gravitate toward each other,” he says.
Kelvin Smith, known while DJing as Flea Market, is a huge vinyl collector. That is where the stage name comes from. He has been interested in the DJ game since he was a teenager but lacked resources for the equipment and the full set up. For years he never had the physical space. He was in school and lived overseas for a while, but was always supportive of local DJs and attended a lot of DJ events. Trenton’s It’s Just Ahmad, who does regular gigs at Trenton Social, is his personal mentor. Smith told Ahmad he was going to start getting some equipment and right before a 12-hour event Ahmad asked if Smith wanted to use his set up. He has been a DJ ever since.
“I take credit for the start of the DoJo event because of my solo website release party in September, 2017,” Smith says. “I wanted people whose style I admired to DJ with me. I didn’t want to do a four-hour set. So I reached out to King Who? and Ill Omega. That night was magical. It was one of those things where everyone felt it was a special night,” he says.
Smith fell in love with hip hop in 1992. It was pretty much Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown up to then, until Kriss Kross came out with Totally Krossed Out and his parents let him get that record — it had no cursing. And in 1995 or ’96, when he was old enough to walk around the mall by himself, he bought something with the parental advisory sticker on it. Then he was introduced to Method Man, Das Efx, Redman, and EPMD, now legends in the game.
Smith grew up in Hamilton on the East Trenton border, attended McCorristin High School (now Trenton Catholic), and went to Heritage Days and to church in Trenton. His dad is a certified public accountant and his mother is a human resources department senior manager. He also has two hard working sisters. He lived in East London for about four years as a graduate student at Middlesex University, where he earned a master’s degree in psychology. He now works as a full-time social worker for the state.
“I love working with people who are at a disadvantage; I love learning how to work with them as well as provide the skills and knowledge that I’ve gained over the years to assist in my clients’ needs,” he says.
Smith never wanted music to be a thing that he relied on to pay his bills, however. The artistry, craft, and ultimately the love of it could get lost if he is chasing the dollar and forced to do things that he doesn’t want, just to make money, he notes. He does it as a hobby. His music is something that he likes to do when he has the time and interest for it. It’s nice for him to be able to turn down gigs if he doesn’t. Smith also doesn’t see the other guys who hold down the DoJo as competition. He wants each DJ to do well and to make names for themselves. They want to see each other grow as they all have their own styles and followings.
“I just want to see us get better as artists. Exchange ideas in a positive way through our music. It’s a learning process, and my job as a DJ is to introduce new music the audience may not have access to,” Smith says. “I don’t play Top 40. I do my own research and I find music people may not know about. Some DJs have a thing where they won’t play music from their own hometown and I disagree with that. If I find something local or from Oakland and it’s dope I’ll play it. There’s a shit ton of music out there that I’ll never get to,” he says.
It gets discouraging sometimes, though. Because there are those crowds who expect to hear Drake while Smith is “playing some weird shit,” as he puts it. “I come across that sometimes. If you’re coming to a gig, come with an open mind. My job is to introduce you to dope shit. You can listen to Top 40 on your ride home. I might do a cookout where I’ll play some Michael Jackson, but for my other DJ gigs I’m not doing that,” he says.
“If I look out from the corner and I see somebody bobbing their head ridiculously, my job is to keep that going, to keep that energy up,” Smith says.
And Smith loves interacting with other DJs and hearing their interpretations of the art form. He gave the third DJ in the trio, Ill Omega, a very obvious middle finger at a DoJo event this spring, while he was playing something that really got his energy going. “He played something I hadn’t heard in a while, a Ghostface track. And if a good DJ does that, plays something I hadn’t heard in a while or never thought of playing in that same way…I just get so excited,” he says.
Ill Omega is named Darnell Story in real life, and he and Nagy met for the first time at Smith’s website launch party. D. Montana was his DJ name before — he’s a big Scarface fan — but as he thought about what the word Omega means, how he makes beats, and about all those legendary producers like J. Dilla and how creative they are, he decided to change it. Story grew up on West State Street, then moved to Lawrence and went to Lawrence High. His dad is a jazz musician and his mom was an avid record collector. He and his dad always bonded over music. He took him to jazz clubs where he would be coughing from all the smoke.
Story, now 31, fell in love with hip hop and wanted to participate in it was when he heard Wu Tang Clan’s “36 Chambers” — because it was like a full length kung fu movie. He wanted to learn how to do all those sounds. He would play that CD with his headphones on and be in his own world.
“I grew up in the Jay-Z, Tupac, Redman, Biggie era,” Story says. “But I matured and learned how to really hear and analyze the music. I really got into it and studied records and wanted to learn how to make beats. Like where every sample came from or what break is that?” he says.
Story and Rocky The Promoter created the label Cap City back in high school. Rocky was more of the rapper and host, good with lyrics. Story made the beats. Around that time the local hip hop scene was exploding, and he started getting more equipment and learning more about recording.
“I’d describe my style as authentic and original. I don’t follow any rules. I try to look for songs that may not go with each other and mix them together, like Celine Dion and Run DMC. Weird stuff,” he says. “I was always a teamwork guy. I don’t care if I’m working a corporate job or something else. That’s why the DoJo works. It’s like we’ve known each other for years,” he says.
Back in April, Story and local punk rapper Ray Strife dropped an EP called “Go For the Gusto,” which is streaming on Tidal and elsewhere. Because Strife has more of a punk background Story wanted to start the recording out with a bang. He wanted to create ups and downs in the music. Story goes through albums like they’re movies and wanted to do that with Ray’s new music to keep the imagination going. Story works at Merrill Lynch as a tax analyst during the day and is a father to a nine-year-old son, Darnell, Jr.
“I’m happy this came about,” he says about The DoJo. “Everyone has different schedules, but if I was 18 and wanted to check out DJs and what they were doing, this is for the love of the craft. We look forward to every DoJo,” Story says.
Story also wants to get more female DJs, like Desiree Tsunami, involved in the DoJo to show the guys up.
“I want the DoJo to be a boiler room, like a lo-fi media hub in Trenton and put notice on a lot of people DJing and in production,” he says. “The DJ came before the emcee. There’d be no hip hop without the DJ. I want to bring that back and put the spotlight back on the DJ. I want a hub for DJing and production, battles, tutoring, everything,” he says.
The DoJo, Mill Hill Basement, 300 South Broad Street, Trenton. First Sundays, 7 to 10 p.m. $5 cover. facebook.com/TheDJProducerDoJo or themillhill.com.
DJ It’s Just Ahmad, left, and Rocky The Promoter.,
