Introductions

DJ Origin:

I view this entire experience as a new beginning for myself in multiple ways, thus I chose a name that signified that.  The element of Hip Hop I practice would be being a DJ because I feel that the DJ controls the music and the direction of the song, just as I do with my life. I chose the name Origin because it signifies the grass roots of hip hop and the Reggae that launched the movement; just as Hip Hop stemmed from Reggae,  I am starting with roots and expanding my life and knowledge. 

My relationship to Hip Hop:

When I was young, I never listened to what was popular at the time for my age group; instead I would listen to my father’s music, especially when we went on our numerous road trips.  I remember vividly listening to British Rock music to start off the trips during the day and by the end of the night, we would be listening to Roots Reggae by Culture and The Congo’s.  I grew up with a dispersed musical interest that differed from every other kid I knew.  My friends would be talking about the Spice Girls and Britney Spears while I nodded my head in ignorance, wondering who these people were and why I was the only one to not know about them.  When I moved to California, I decided it was better to fit when it came to my musical tastes as opposed to be in my current situation so I said farewell to my beloved Reggae and European music and began to listen to popular music. This was when I was first introduced to Hip Hop.

I went through a time where I rejected all music besides what was current and popular in an attempt to remain in a state of parallel with society, however by the time I reached eighth or ninth grade, I began getting tired of popular music that had the same melodies and same beats; I was looking for more diverse music and what was popular then was not cutting it.  I dug into my father’s Reggae collection and brought out the European music we used to listen to.  By this time, I started to look for more music to expand my library and I began in Europe.  I went back to the late seventies in Europe to the Punk scene and began to listen to the Psychedelic Furs and Buzzcocks.  Then I began to look more modernly with the music and, with my father, located bands from Sweden, France, London, Tokyo, Wales, Germany, and so forth. 

I dove into electronic, independent rock, post-punk/new wave, Rap, Hip Hop, DJ mix compilations; I listened to all types of music.  One that sparked my interest was Hip Hop.  I had listened to it during my popular music phase, yet I was looking for more.  I began to search for it high and low by listening to BBC Radio online, the local university radio stations, and YouTube.  I wanted to learn more about this newly found genre that was never properly introduced to me.  The more acquainted I became with Hip Hop, I began to think about whether I enjoyed the music and I agreed with what was being presented within the music.  I found that Hip Hop is a broad genre in terms of the meanings of the music, and I began to listen to the lyrics and realize that it had more in common to Reggae that I would have imagined seeing as they sounded vastly different to me, yet both speak of struggles within the world.  I do not know much about the Hip Hop music scene; however I grew up listening to the roots of Hip Hop through Reggae.  Now I want to learn more and see what transpired to create the renowned genre of Hip Hop as well as comprehend why Hip Hop is so fundamental to society today.

These are some songs that I like at the moment: