On
"ESSENTIAL DANCE 2000," Atlantic's first joint
release with the Warner Essential label, the one-and-only
DJ Skribble spins pop, house, electronica, hip hop and
progressive trance into a boombastic multi-artist mix
which makes it perfectly clear why MTV's own superstar
DJ is tops both in his field and on the dance floor.
Capturing all the vibe and vitality of a live Skribble
club set, " "ESSENTIAL DANCE 2000" "sees
this master dj blending hit tracks - from an eclectic
array of musicians such as Moby, Cher, Filter, William
Orbit, the Vengaboys, Fragma, and even Bob Marley -
with his own idiosyncratic brand of anything-goes mixing.
"A DJ should be able to go into any kind of party
and adapt to any kind of situation," Skribble says.
"If you're not versatile, you just trap yourself
into a corner. I pride myself on trying to play many
different styles of music. I can go to a hardcore hip
hop club, play for those kids, then go to a hardcore
rave and play the hardest trance set. What makes a great
DJ is the ability to play for anybody."
The
New York-born Skribble - alias Scott Ialacci - began
working the decks at the tender age of 11, and soon
stepped into the national spotlight as a founding member
of the hip hop collective Young Black Teenagers. The
group's two Hank Shocklee-produced albums courted controversy
in the late 80's/early 90's, but also earned Skribble
the esteem of such rockers as Primus and Anthrax, who
invited the DJ to tour with them on the wheels of steel.
Since then, he has traveled the world numerous times,
spinning for the likes of the Notorious B.I.G. and Craig
Mack, not to mention opening sets for the Chemical Brothers.
An avowed hip hop junkie, Skribble's genre-busting style
has led to his contributing remixes to such artists
as Olive, Pink, the Jungle Brothers and Faith Evans,
along with scratching and spinning on The Fugees' smash
"THE SCORE" and Wyclef Jean's "CARNIVAL."
Skribble's
many MTV roles - on such shows as Sisqo's Shakedown,
MTV Jams, The Grind, The Daily Burn, Yo! MTV Raps, the
annual Spring Break festivities, and of course, Global
Groove - have made him one of the world's best-known
and most-loved DJs. In addition to his hugely popular
Saturday Night Dance Factory radio show on New York
City's famed WKTU-FM, Skribble also spent two years
in the mid-Nineties spinning for Ed Lover and Doctor
Dre's HOT-97 Morning Show, inspiring the smoking hip
hop mixes that have been collected on his two "TRAFFIC
JAMS" compilations (featuring contributions from
such Skribble aficionados as Busta Rhymes, Lauryn Hill,
Wyclef Jean, Gang Starr, Juvenile, and Reverend Run).
He has also teamed up with longtime collaborator Anthony
Acid for the acclaimed two-volume house music series,
"MDMA: MUSIC 4 DANCE, MUSIC 4 ATTITUDE."
In
1996, DJ Skribble starred on Broadway as part of Bill
Irwin's groundbreaking contemporary musical, Hip Hop
Wonderland, and was a featured performer with the long-running
off-Broadway hit, Jam On The Groove (where he backed
the legendary Rock Steady Crew hip hop dance ensemble).
Summer 2000 has already found Skribble taking on yet
another high profile gig, pumping his trademark sound
as musical director and DJ on CBS' The Cindy Margolis
Show. Now, with "ESSENTIAL DANCE 2000," DJ
Skribble amply displays the prowess and power that makes
him the life of any party. "Being a DJ, the goal
is to get people in the palm of your hand," Skribble
says. "You have total control of where you're going
to take them throughout the night. That's what drove
me toward openness, because there are so many different
ways you can go. I just figured, 'I want to play everything.'"
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