Q&A with DJ Kayper: “What Is a Girl to Do?”

DJ Kayper sepia1.jpg

She’s young, talented, cute, and smart. Serious about what she does, no ego, respects the roots of the music she loves. In short, she’s amazing, and sepia loves her.

>>burning envy<<

Seriously, though, it’s hard to hate DJ Kayper. She’s just too amazing. We squeed back in September, when Abhi blogged about her gig at the House of Blues in Houston. Taz and the rest of the beantown mutineers tried to catch her Boston show a few days later as the final touch on an fabulous night. Her skills are ridiculous, her taste is excellent, and she’s so low-key it’s always sort of exciting to get to know anything about her.

So of course I tried to get to know all about her. Recently fired off a batch of unconscionably inquisitive questions…and to my immeasurable delight, she answered them all! Even about being a DJ with breasteses!!

So let’s start with the obvious question — how did an Indian girl from Croydon get into hiphop?

I grew up during the golden era of hip hop and was influenced a lot by what my older brother was listening to. He listened to all types of music but in the early ’90s everyone was a fan of hip hop so that’s really how it all started for me.How old were you when you started DJing? What drew you to it?

I started djing properly when I was 12 years old. I had two older cousins that were successful dj’s in the early ’90s and whenever I would go to their houses, I’d always go through their records and watch them mess around on the turntables. I had a fascination with djs and turntables and I really wanted to learn but nobody had the time to teach me so I had to figure it out on my own.

I guess when I started djing, I was very young and had a lot of free time on my hands so I would come home from school everyday and practice for about 3 hours and about 10 hours a day on the weekends. But back then it didn’t really feel like practice, it was just something I did without even thinking. Djing has turned into a full time job for me now so the only times I really get to practice is when I do mixtapes and mixes for my radio show every week which turn into practice sessions when I’m trying new things out.

I read somewhere that you started as drummer before DJing, and also that you can’t swim, and wanted to be an actress and/or a wrestler. Squash/verify these internet rumors, please! Seriously — wrestling?

I did play the drums for about 4 years in high school but because I didn’t have a drum kit at home, I was never able to practice as much as I should have so I was a bit of a crap drummer! Luckily djing took over. I developed a bit of a phobia of water when I had to take swimming lessons in primary school. I hated going in the deep end because it was 11 meters deep but my teacher would always throw me in and then put a stick in the water for me to grab onto. He was harsh!

So I can swim a little but not well enough to not have someone by my side in case I drown. I’ve always wanted to act – maybe someday I will go for it. I never wanted to be a wrestler but I did play wrestling with my brother when I was a kid. It was basically an excuse for him to try out wrestling moves that he saw watching WWF!

On your BBC Asian Network radio show you’ve interviewed some fascinating and high-profile musicians. Who was your favorite guest? Any good behind-the-scenes stories?

One guest that sticks out in my mind is Xzibit. Before I went in the studio to interview him, the record label people told me he was feeling tired and a bit grumpy! He actually turned out to be one of the funniest guys I’ve met. He is exactly what he’s like on Pimp My Ride. I showed him a picture of my beat up VW Polo which was my first car at the time. He looked at it and said “damn! WTF is that, how many times have you crashed?”Then laughed at me hysterically for about a minute.

I’m a great driver!

DJKaypersepia 2.jpg

Very few people get the chance to meet, let alone get to know, their childhood idols. And now you’ve got DJ Jazzy Jeff and DJ Premier on your speed-dial. Is it weird?

The weirdest and coolest thing for me is the fact that they know my name and know that I exist in the world. That’s all I wanted.

What’s your strategy for dealing with people who can’t get over the fact that you’re a DJ who happens to have breasteses? Ever punch anyone for being annoying about it?

Lol – Breasteses! No – I’ve never punched anyone for anything actually. Narrow minded people have always made me want to be a better DJ because I’m a very competitive person and always like proving people wrong.

[Snip]

We love that your previous mixtape was called Bring Back Yo! MTV Raps! I remember staying up late with friends to watch the show. If MTV, um, had another music video show — what would you like to see on it?

To be honest, I don’t think another music video show would work on MTV anymore. Music videos back in the day used to be iconic but these days, record labels don’t want to put the kind of money they used to put in for videos, hence the reason why there’s not a lot of music videos that stick out anymore. So now we have a new generation of kids that are growing up with a lack of appreciation for music, music videos and more of an interest in reality TV.

                            ****************************************************************************

Read the full interview (15 questions) here for more rumor verification, the best songs to get a crowd moving, city/club recommendations, ASIMO the humanoid robot, Kayper’s next heist (harhar) and more.

EXTRA: DJ Kayper’s top 5 non hiphop music video picks! Very surprising, some of these. She danced on the couch to Prefab Sprout. (??!!!) There, I just gave it away.

19 thoughts on “Q&A with DJ Kayper: “What Is a Girl to Do?”

  1. We never found her in Boston, sadly. Though there was a fun car ride w/ The Kominas, Brownstar, and Phillygrrl to try and hunt her down. Unfortunately, when we got to the spot, we found out she performed there the night before. Next time for sure!

  2. She’s not that hot:

    That’s what I’d expect someone home alone on the computer on a Saturday night would say.

    But I understand if it helps alleve the bitterness.

  3. She’s not that hot: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioassets/photos/2007/6/11/21760_2.jpg

    I personally think she’s stunning in the two pictures in the article (showing us a two year old picture isn’t going to change my mind).

    But I’d rather judge the young lady on her merits (skills) than her beauty.

    Observer, please do post up a picture for us all to judge if you’re into that type of thing.

  4. Apparently she’s going to be doing a show in LA on Nov. 9th at the Insignia…anyone out there in LA know or heard of insignia and where it is? I cannot find much info on the venue..

  5. i’m always jealous of people that have followed their passions and made a successful of themselves, and she is attractive to boot. good for her.

    makes me want to go out and buy a dj hero kit.

  6. She’s not that hot: a solid 7 bro

    wow… where do u meet grls who are significantly better than this one…geez.. you must have an exceptional social circle..

  7. She’s an 8. And add +2 for world class talent.

    I think it’s the other way around. She’s a DJ, yo!

  8. I couldn’t care less if she was a hunchback dwarf with red eyes – her skills are what make her hot! It takes guts to be a female DJ anyway, what with it being a male-dominated thing and everyone judging her on her looks and not her ability. And what really matters is her magic on the decks, not how she looks in pictures. With Photoshop, anyone can be a hot model. Talent is hard to fake, though.

    (not that there’s anything wrong with hunchback dwarves or red eyes.)

  9. can i propose a new rule – anyone who decides to ‘rate’ someone else’s appearance with a number has to forward the post to all their female relatives, including mom and grandmas.

    anyway, thanks for alerting to existence of the dj, cicatrix. very cool, but as always, the question remains: where are the mcs?

  10. Completely agree with Dr Anonymous. or they should put up there photo for the world to judge o them

    Caught was at Oxford Street for the Christmas Lights. I say it again. Pure class.

  11. Apparently she’s going to be doing a show in LA on Nov. 9th at the Insignia…anyone out there in LA know or heard of insignia and where it is? I cannot find much info on the venue..

    On her page it says it’s in Santa Monica, but I couldn’t find any such place in Santa Monica. It seems Insginia might be the local booking agency that will finalize the venue for her, just a guess.

    If someone finds anything more, let us know. I would like to go check her..I mean her music out.

  12. We’re not sure how this Shyam’s comment”rating” her looks slid by us on 11/2, but that comment and his comment on 11/6 have been deleted. This is NOT hotornot.com. and undermining a talented DJ by “rating” her looks will get you banned.

  13. Not only should they bring back Yo! MTV Raps!, they should bring back MTV. No more of this The Hills, The City, Road Rules crapola. MUSIC TELEVISION, hello?

  14. she is really sic..I listen to her show on BBC every Friday..and yes she is phat…pity that she probably never gonna come to Auckland..