“DJ Funk Daddy”
Greg Buren
Producer, DJ, Artist
DJ Funk Daddy, a pivotal figure in Seattle’s hip hop scene, is a producer, DJ, and rapper who has worked with artists like Sir Mix-A-Lot and Kid Sensation. Known for G-funk influenced beats and key collaborations, he has helped shape West Coast hip hop and the Seattle sound since the 1980s. He has also founded several record labels releasing both his own music and that of other artists.
DJ Funk Daddy remains a significant influence in the NW music scene.
Photo by Rachel Crick at Alki Beach, where he lived during the bulk of his career
Transcript
I am DJ Funk Daddy aka Greg B and this is my story. Around the time of about 1989, I had begun to see DJs doing tricks on two turntables. I was a badass on one turntable but I had never seen it done on two turntables. When I tried to practice doing something close to what I thought would be on two turntables, I failed miserably. About that time, I ended up reconnecting with a friend of mine, DJ Chaos. He used to be a breakdancer but was now a Seattle DJ who was smooth as butter. Chaos became my sensei, walking me through the techniques of using two turntables. I was happy. I started to show my friends some of the new skills I learned. I would scratch sounds and words on the left turntable and then mix it up doing the same thing on the right turntable. But the overall response from these people was not impressed. It made me begin to doubt myself. I was discouraged.
I kept practicing and practicing and then one day an opportunity arrived. There was a DJ contest. A big one. I was excited. I entered and couldn't wait to compete and show the world what I thought I could do. When the day had come, I got on the stage and was setting up my records and turntables and adjusting everything. I was super crazy excited. I was ready. I didn't even get a chance to look over to see who I was battling against, who my opponent was. And when I finally did, I was shocked. It was my sensei. It was the guy who taught me everything on two turntables. He taught me so much. It was DJ Chaos.
Chaos went first and performed flawlessly in my mind. No doubt. He was smooth. I didn't see any mistakes. He was a better polished DJ. When he was done, I then started my routine. I was still doubting myself, but I too made no mistakes. I was pretty smooth too and the crowd was really starting to get into it. I actually started killing it and the crowd loved my routine. And the end of that story is I ended up winning that battle. I ended up winning the whole contest. What I believed happened was that DJ Chaos, even though more experienced at that time, more skilled and more precise, I chose better records. I chose better sounds and songs and performed different tricks, but I think all of that's relative, but different tricks all together making the performance stand out and engage the crowd more. I actually believe the record music of my choice made the difference that night.
Whatever happened to DJ Chaos? DJ Chaos went on to become a huge DJ, changing his name to DJ Punish, also becoming a gold and platinum producer for Sir Mix-A-Lot and numerous others. He even scratched and produced Mix-A-Lot's biggest hit, "Baby Got Back." That's him scratching on that song as well as he produced it or co-produced it, one of the two. I went on to become DJ Funk Daddy and also produced scratch for gold and platinum artists, including Sir Mix-A-Lot, E-40, D-12, Mac Dre and others. I still give it up and will never forget my Sensei DJ Chaos aka DJ Punish for showing me how to rock two turntables instead of one.