Rob Swift is a turntablist pioneer. From his extensive work with the X-Ecutioners to his solo projects, including the political War Games, he has always worked to sharpen his craft and expose audiences to the pure art of turntabalism. A Rise makes her formal introduction to Halftimeonline readers getting personal with Rob about his future behind the tables, why Bruce Lee is his biggest influence, and what it means to be a DJ.

Website: DJRobSwift.com

A Rise: How does your character as an individual line up with who you are onstage? Is Rob Swift and Robert Aguilar the same person when you perform, or do you assume an alter-ego when you do your thing in front of people?

Rob Swift: I think there are characteristics of Robert Aguilar that are in Rob Swift. I think phonically, what you hear me do on albums, what you hear me do on stage, is an extension of who I am, as you know, an everyday person, you know, Robert Aguilar, but, the way I present myself on stage is definitely completely different from who I am as a person. What I mean is you know on stage my whole goal is to really get the attention of the crowd that’s in front of me. I’m a lot louder on stage, maybe even boastful in a way, like when I get on the mic but when you see me on the street I’m not that way. If you see me in the crowd of a bunch of people, I don’t really stand out in my opinion. I try to be discreet so I think that is difference with me [considering that] what I present on stage is more of an alter-ego but I think what you hear me do…musically, is an extension of who I am as a real person…

A Rise: What would you consider like the most influential aspect in your career? What do you think stands out the most about your contribution to hip hop considering the collaborations you partaken in?

RS: That’s such a hard question because there’s so many things that I’ve done, and each thing I cherish in its own unique way.

A Rise: Does anything really stand out above others as your favorite memory?

RS: You know, I think, when I look back on my career, the thing that I probably value the most about what I’ve done I really feel, not to toot my own horn, but I really feel that as far as the turntablist community is concerned, I feel that I’ve been the one that has led the way on the vocal standpoint. What I mean by that is, you know, for the most part DJs are quiet, don’t interview much, whereas, I think that I, for a while now…really since I started on the scene being in DJ competitions, and the videos and stuff like that I have always championed the idea of being heard you know? And not just being heard by my skills, and people listening to me scratch and shit, but more so being vocal, and speaking about the art form, educating people about the art form, and doing interviews. Most times DJs just wanna cut, and wanna scratch, but I always knew that it was just as important, if not more important, to expose the art and explain it to people, explain what we’re doing so that when they come see us they know what’s going on and they’re not just confused. Especially the ones that are my peers, the ones that I came up wit in the DJ battles and stuff like that. I mean we deejayed for other DJs like yo check this new style out, look how I’m killing this record, and a lot of times we neglect the audience, and I think that I kinda credit myself as being the guy at the forefront trying to bring in the audience and tryin to explain to them what it is that we do and why our art is so important. I think for me, out of everything that I’ve done, being in music videos, GAP ads, dropping albums, that’s the thing that I look back and feel that I can say that I left some sort of a legacy cuz yeah, DJs are so quiet, you know?

A Rise: Well, some of them aren’t I mean you got your DJs that do the mixtapes and are really loud and get a lot of publicity and their face is everywhere, and they really don’t even know how to fuck with a set of Technics. You just see them sort of behind the tables and you hear them talking over the records and doing the voiceovers on the mixtapes, and I’m not gonna name any names, but they really tend not to have the raw.

RS: I hear you.

A Rise: I guess you would call them turntabilist skills. Obviously you stand out, as do some others..I mean, where do you think the legacy you’ve laid down is going to go and how do you see your career developing in the future? Are you going to continue to push the envelope and create other subgenres like you did with War Games? I mean, it seems like folks like you are still out, but you don’t get the same type of props that these guys (e.g. commercial DJs) do, or you could say you get them, but not to the same degree..

RS: Yeah, I know exactly what you’re saying. I think that uh, folks like myself do it for different reasons. When I step on the turntables, I’m not doing it to get girls or so that people notice me when I walk into a club. I do it because I genuinely appreciate and love the idea of making music on the turntables you know what I mean? So whether I’m at a small club in NY that packs 400 people, or whether I’m performing in an arena in Italy somewhere, what I get out of it is the same you know. I’m being creative and I’m taking an opportunity to showcase the art form to people, so that’s really what I see myself continuing to do in the future, just figuring out different ways you showcase deejaying as an art. War Games was a way for me for to make a political-social statement with the album, but it was also a way for me to say look what I can do with the turntable. I don’t have to just show off my skill I could communicate, I could debate and touch on political-social issues by scratching. That was a way for me to showcase the turntable as an art, because there so many people out there that don’t see it as art and that don’t respect it right now. I’m currently working on a DVD that’s more or less a biographical look on my career since my first battle.

A Rise: When was your first battle?

RS: 1991

A Rise: Wow

RS: Yep, yep..15 years ago you know? So its like a DVD that’s more or less mapping out the last 15 years of my career as a DJ, what I’ve done, ups and downs, from winning my first competition, to deciding to leave the X-ecutioners, but again, that DVD isn’t so much about Rob Swift and this that and the other, Its just me showcasing my love for the art and where the art has taken me. I’m trying to figure out different ways to expose the art to people because there’s so many more people out there that still don’t even know it exists, that still don’t know much about it. I perform today at clubs and kids will come up to me afterwards and say yo, I’ve never seen a DJ like you. And its like [for me] this shits been around since the beginning of hip hop so, you know, that’s where I see myself in the future, just continuing to educate people and expose them to what I do and to what others do.

A Rise: So who has been the most influential figure in your life? You have a very prolific mind in terms of how you chose to express yourself musically and as an individual. I read that your dad was a DJ, latin music, salsa and meringue..

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Posted by A Rise on Monday, May 15th, 2006 and is filed under SICKWIDIT, SPOTLIGHT.