I took this interview back in the days, when i was kinda working for a urban magazine in my hometown and, when Dj Nickel-B from the mighty Itation Sound had more time in his hands and we used to chat like once every couple of days!
I guess Itation Sound needs no intro so my comments would be just a waist of time! Hope you Njoy this interview!
Gwaan bredrrin?How yuh livin?
Give the people a little information about who you are and what you do.
WHA GWAN MURDA!!!! Bless up, first of all nuff thanks for this opportunity. My name is DJ Nickel B, and I am a selector on the reggae soundsytem called Itation Sound. We are a 4 man crew from the United States, based out of Vermont and California, who plays all types of reggae and a little hip hop. Our mission is to give the people entertainment and education at the same time. Massive respect to Murda and the whole Romanian massive, it is a blessing to have our music and message be spread all around the world.
How long have you been DJing?
I am 26 and have been playing parties and clubs since I was 16 in Baltimore Maryland , USA and I moved to Vermont, USA in 1998. I used to do more hip hop but I enjoy DJing reggae more cause of the message and creativity. I used my experience as hip hop and jungle DJ and applied it to mixing reggae with a lot of remixing and fast blending. Its crazy how much DJ world has changed since 10 years ago. It was all turntables and wax then, now its Acid Pro software, CD turntables, and MP3s. Its all good though we always stay up to the time with new technology. Cant fight it.
Where do you represent?
Well I represent every person in this world who wants to make progress in life.
I moved to Vermont and linked up with Itation DJ’s who were just getting started as a recognized reggae sound. Vermont has a good vibe cause we are in the country and its not too crowded here , we have plenty of beautiful ladies, and the vibes are just nice here overall. Good people, no badmind type of atmosphere here.
We know that you make a lot of mixtapes but does Itation perform live a lot?
Yeah man we love to perform live. One of our selectors is in California taking that scene by storm and opening up for artists. Cali loves the positive type of reggae we prefer to play. We been DJing in Vermont for years but personally I am in law school and working full time also so I haven’t been playing out that much and instead just hanging with my family. Still I have to DJ out at least once a month or I would go crazy cause I love to entertain the people. Another Itation member has been playing in Boston a few times a month, and that area has got plenty of vibes also.
We love playing our own bashment(party) events but have an even wilder time when artists come to town. We have opened up for a lot of artists including Capleton, Jimmy Cliff, Sizzla, Wayne Wonder, Beenie Man, Israel Vibration, Buju Banton, The Wailers, Warrior King, Mikey Dread, Meditations, Sanchez, Rupee, The Wu-Tang Clan, Culture, Sean Paul, Steel Pulse, Burning Spear, T.O.K., Dead Prez, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Luciano, and Anthony B. Itation has also promoted gigs(dj job) for artists Barrington Levy, Delly Ranx, Mega Banton, and Tony Rebel. It’s hard to put events on and break even since Vermont has a small population but we do what we can. That’s what its all about is working with your available resources. Usually we just cultivate friendships with the artists we promote for and its more of a family event than a business thing. We give thanks for the support of Delly Ranx and Tony Rebel, both these artists are a big part of the Itation movement.
Another thing on the menu is soundclash. This is when we battle other soundsystems with exclusive dubplates. Dubplates are special recordings of songs done just for our soundsystem and the artist puts our name in the song and talks sh%t about soundboys who try to test Itation. Music is not a competition but a mission, but soundclash is a sport that really keeps reggae alive and interesting for the people. We are entering a big regional soundclash called the 4th Annual Boston Forward Soundclash on August 5th. We been collecting dubplates for five or six years and finally have enough to flip up on some sounds. Its going to hard cause we never been in a big clash before, and people really only know us from our regular performances and mix CDs. We are not really a clash sound but we are not afraid of war and I am just glad to participate in it. You can find more info and also maybe live internet streaming for this clash on August 5th 2006 on www.itationsound.com.
Whats in the future for Itation Sound?
Well we give thanks that the past year or two has brought us good tidings. After years of hard work we are finally getting recognition and respect as a decent reggae soundsystem with plenty of variety. I want to use this growing reputation and continue playing events in other countries cause I love to travel. After I am done school I plan to focus more time and energy into DJing like the rest of my crew is. We have also gotten hooked up with I-Tunes and our podcast, RiddimCast, on I-Tunes and ItationSound.com has gotten over 10,000 listeners. This modern technology can be a curse or blessing but using it like this to promote positive music is truly a blessing. Jah willing, Itation will be playing reggae music for years and generations to come. We are also getting into professional music production, cause one of our selectors, Dread Lion, has been heavily trained in studio arts and is working hard in a California studio. Anyone interested in bookings, dubplates, or free sample mix CDs should link us up on ItationSound.Com Big big up to Murda and the magazine for this chance. Respect.
Warrion King on Itation Sound (dubplate)
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