RIP DJ RASHAD

@mall-music-inc
@teklife57

Live recordings from our festival and event series focused on fearlessly singular voices in dance music and transportive modern composition.

Coming up from nothing to something is a hell of an accomplishment, that's why when it comes to DJ Spinn, that feat is highly attainable. Starting out at the early age of 14, DJ Spinn had his mind set on future musical goals Growing up, writing, djing, dancing, and producing, DJ Spinn made sure to stay on top of his game. In 1997, while dancing with Chicago's infamous "House-O-Matics", DJ Spinn gained a honorable rep djing for one of Chicago's number one dance groups. In the same year, he headlined DJ gigs at the biggest teen parties in Chicago including those at Club Cavilini's in Harvey, Dolton Expo, Markham Roller Rink, and The Rink on 87th, not to mention numerous house parties and school events. 

By 1998, DJ Spinn had a following that loved the style of house tracks he and long time buddy DJ Rashad were creating. Their notoriety led to the opportunity to drop one of his house tracks, Bout It Bout It Mix,on vinyl—aka a 12" record—with Ray Barney's Dance Mania Records. A year later, the legendary DJ Chip and DJ Thadz album, Bang Ski, which included the track Bang Bang Bang Skeet Skeet Skeet, also featured DJ Spinn’s Chicken Headz and DJ Rashad’s Child Abuse. As they gained more DJ and production credits, it was only a matter of time before DJ Spinn & DJ Rashad got their chance to grace Chicago's world famous dance music distributor, Dancemania. But in early 2000 "Dance Mania Records" had stopped its 20 year musical legacy which was responsible for the legendary careers of Traxman, DJ Funk, Jammin Gerald, Paul Johnson, DJ Deeon, DJ Milton, DJ Slugo, DJ Nephets, and DJ PJ, to name a few. Nevertheless, DJ Spinn knew his success would not be hampered by the fall of any label.

Since 2000, DJ Spinn has released numerous albums, remixes, and sets which have changed the way people thought about House music.  Whether it be DJ'ing at the Detroit Electronic Music Festival, or creating the No. 1 selling Juke track of all time, "Bounce N Break Yo Back," DJ Spinn has become the figurehead of the local movement that is taking the world by storm.  With upcoming projects with MIA, Bok Bok, Headhunter, Big Dope P, Basutbudet, and Ghetto Division, DJ Spinn is setting the foundation that will make himself an integral part of the international music scene.  

EQ Why bridges the Chicago footwork scene and the experimental music underground with his raw, abstract tracks. While his tracks retain the fast, choppy tempos and aggressive, sometimes sexually explicit vocal samples typical of juke and footwork, he often incorporates jungle-influenced breakbeats and more offbeat samples. His work stylistically draws a line between footwork's Chicago home base and its stranger Japanese variation, as reflected by EQ Why's Chitokyo Mixtape from 2013. 

Originally going by the name DJ T-Why, Tyrone Smith was affiliated with Bosses of the Circle, a footwork collective (founded by DJ Roc in 2005) that later included artists such as Young Smoke and Jlin. All of these artists were featured on Planet Mu's Bangs & Works, Vol. 2 compilation in 2011, which included three selections by T-Why. He released a few mixtapes under this name before changing his moniker to EQ Why in 2012. Starting with that year's Equalized EP, he began releasing a staggering amount of music online. 

The 12" EP Enter the Why, Vol. 1: You Got It was released by Duck N' Cover Records in July of 2013. This was shortly followed by The Dynamic Time, a CD issued by the Japanese label Booty Tune, and Chitokyo Mixtape, an intense 60-tracks-in-60-minutes cassette released by the experimental label Orange Milk. EMC2, a split EP by EQ Why and DJ Elmoe, appeared digitally in late 2014. The full-length World Relief, featuring collaborations with DJ Roc, followed in 2015. Several digital albums, including Cold World and BattleGroundz, were released in 2017. 

EQ Why had another prolific year in 2018, as Orange Milk released WhyTrax (a collaboration with Traxman) and the experimental EP Spring Steeze (with Diamond Soul) was released by Bedlam Tapes, in addition to solo releases such as Back to the Block and Make the Feet Go Around. 

Featured Publications: DJ Mag, Chanel, Apple Music, Adidas, Fact-Mag, Mixcloud, The Wire, Beatport, The Quietus, Zap Mag, BBC Radio, Dublab, Vice, XLR8TR & Nyege Tapes. 

For Bookings & Info: bookeqwhy@gmail.com

DJ RASHAD TEKLIFE 
 <a href="mailto:djrashad1366@gmail.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">djrashad1366@gmail.com</a> 
For North & South America Bookings Devin@Surefire

BOOKING: warren.morris@theplayground.co.uk

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