DJ Poetic Rock - Interview (2013)

1. How did you start your story with hip hop? 

I started in 1988. First as a graffiti writer and later I started a career as a DJ. 

2. What was first rap/electro funk track what you heard? 

The first Electro Funk Single was Afrika Bambaataa - Renegades of Funk. First Rap Record was by Beastie Boys, Licensed to ill in 1987. 

3. Who is in your opinion was first hip hop artist in Germany? 

I don't know who was the first, thats hard to say. In my hometown Bremen, which is located in the north of Germany Lyrical Poetry were the first "real" Rap Group. 

4. When you started to be a writer, how long did you do it? 

I started 1988 and I was writing 3 years till I changed to DJ'ing. 

5. Did you bombed trains? 

No, only walls. 

6. Do you remember ones interesting situation during writting? 

No not really. I had never to run away from the police. Ah, just once I had to run from the Police, from the polish Police. It happened in 1997 in a place called Wloclawek. It was really late at night and we were not really careful. Suddenly, a police car came to the wall with full speed. It was crazy, like in these action movies. Two Officers jumped out of the car while we were on the run. They concentrated on me and friend. They got me almost but then my friend was falling down and they jumped on him and arrested him. I found the others which were hiding and returned to the house without any trouble. Later, we picked him up at the police station and payed 100 German Marks (50?). The police officers were laughing. Graffiti wasn't a big problem in that time. They just wanted some money. We laughed a lot that night. 

7. Please give of names some of great writers? 

There are so many great writers. I really liked the Graffiti Writers around my Town. Havok was my favorite. He did most of my Cover Artworks for Mixtapes and CDs. 

8. What was your tag? 

I was know as Crabe in the late 80s. Later, I switched to P-Rock which also became my DJ Name: DJ Poetic Rock. 

9. At this time, in very beggining who was your main inspiration? 

I got inspired by many people. Mostly people around me. Talented Graff writers, DJs and B-Boys. I liked Jazzy Jeff, Cash Money, DJ Mixmaster Ice of UTFO, DJ Scratch, DJ Daddy Rich of 3rd Bass. I also got inspired by local DJs like my buddy DJ Goldfinger of Lyrical Poetry. 

10. For many people hip hop is music, when you started, in your city hip hop lives as one body? 

Yeah, when I started Hip-Hop was still a culture. American Rap was big in that time but I'll loved always the culture as a whole. I was writing Graffiti, spinning records and sometimes I was rapping, too. I was breakdancing in 1984, when Beat Street was the hit. But I was 10 years old at this time. So I wouldn't say that was my start in Hip-Hop. I just did what everybody did in 1984-1985. In 1988, it was different, I really decided, yeah this is what I want to do. I have tried Graffiti but I recognize there are better writers out there so I switched to music. It was a good decision, I guess. 

Scrap Beat & DJ Poetic Rock 

11. Your first equipments? There was Technics 1200? 

In the very beginning I had a simple record player and a 5 channel Monacor Mixer. When I got more professional I was rocking two Technics 1210 MK2 and a Vestax Mixer. I used a Fostex 4 Track recording machine for demos and Mixtapes. 

12. When was yours first major show? 

My first big show I did at Club Roemer 1992, before I have performed on friends Parties only. 1992 was the first time I stepped on a real Stage in front of 300-400 people. 

13. Could you remember when you first time did be in Poland? 

My first jam was in 1995 in Stettin with Swift (Battle Squad), Storm, Wedding B-Boys. Organized by Broken Steps, Cerber and Dobry were my connections. 

14. Before you come to Poland in 1995, did you hear about oldschool's polish hip hop cats? 

I have been several times in Poland. 1995, 1996, 1997. I have performed in Stettin, Wloclawek, Poznan, Bydgoszcz. Some of these places I have visit twice. I went also to Warsaw in 1997. They asked me to perform as support for Run DMC but we had some differences about money, so I just went there to watch the concert, to meet people without performing :) No, I didn't knew nothing. That was before Internet. We had no idea. I met some B-Boys from Poland on a Jam in Germany, i think it was in Dortmund 1995. We had no money in that time so we slept and rest most of the times in Banks. In the mornings we went to the train station and went back home. There was no money for hotels. And I remember that there were some B-Boys which had no place to stay also. It was Broken Steps from Poland. So we went all inside of a bank (you know that place where you pick you money). Sometimes these rooms were very big and I remember the one in Dortmund was huge. So we checked out out the B-Boys doing them headspins and uprocks during the night in the bank :) Yeah, like I said that was the first time I met some polish b-boys. We made connections, I gave them a B-Boy Mixtape which i was selling on the Jams. Thank god, that I had my telephone number on it :) One day I got a call. A voice said: Its me Dobry from Broken Steps, can you come to Poland to rock a party? Thats how all started. 

15. What was name of this mixtape? 

The Mixtape I gave to Broken Steps was my first Mixtape called "The 1st Tape". And this Mixtape included 2 Electro Funk Mixes for B-Boys. 

16. What was your feeling when you first time be in polish hip hop jam? 

At my first Jam, which was in Stettin in 1995 I was spinning for 12 hours. That was amazing. I have never ever spun that long anymore. The jam started very early in the morning. It was a B-Boy Competition which took the whole day. From the morning to the evening. I just took a break of 45 min. to eat something and to have a cold beer. It was crazy. I was much into Electro, Funk, Miami Bass and all this B-Boying stuff in that time. The people in Poland went totally crazy for this kind of music. It was like new to them. Graffiti and B-Boying went big. Rap was not so big as I remember. It was more about dancing and Graffiti was coming up in Stettin. After the competition, the disco night started and people wanted to dance. I remember I was spinning "Planet Rock" and all these Oldschool Records and the people went crazy. Beautiful girls was dancing to Oldschool Breaks. Original Funk. I saw people recording my showcase with their tape recorders directly from the Box. It was before internet, before mp3. The People loved the music and they had their chance to get some of these songs by taping my performance. A little crowd was watching me while I was mixing and cutting records. People asked me for the brand of the turntables I'm using. It was something new and people were interested. We were really amazed about Poland in that time. We thought the scene in Poland had still this originality, this Oldschool Feeling which was already missing in Germany. I had a great feeling not only about the concerts or Parties I was spinning at. I loved the people. Some of them had really nothing but they shared the little things they had, with us. People treated us very respectful. I feel very blessed to be a part of the polish Hip-Hop History. That stays forever. 

17. When you be in Poland, Did you heard about Universal Zulu Nation in Poland? 

I think I saw some Zulu Nation tags on different walls in Stettin in that time. But I think there was no chapter in Poland in 1995. At least I have never heard of one. We all did our thing under the influence of the Zulu Nation. We lived Hip-Hop as a culture with all the elements and philosophy. 

18. Can you give me information about your all discography? Have you pix of covers? 

I released more than 60 Mixtapes. I had 1 vinyl out and different CD's and videos with different bands and projects.

19. Probably did you met a lot of polish hip hop cats. Whose you remember to this day?

Scrap Beat, Broken Steps, Ryba and much more but the most clearly i remember are a lot of sexy women :)

DJ Poetic Rock (second from left) and Ryba (second from right)