crumpet chats to mixtape king j period

MIXTAPE KING: J PERIOD
New York DJ J-Period was all about the cassette tapes as a junior until he bought his first album Prince’s Purple Rain.
“I think I was nine or 10. First hip hop was Run DMC King Of Rock or Big Daddy Kane, I think, around the same time. I started listening to hip hop [when I was] around six or seven years old.”
It wasn’t until he was in university that he taught himself to spin records using his college roommate’s turntables.
“I would sneak in and practice when he was away,” he laughs.
Despite being somewhat of a latecomer to vinyl, he’s certainly made up for it in the last 10 years collecting records, moving to New York, learning turntable techniques and creating mixtape tapes which has seen him working with artists from the likes of Lauryn Hill, The Roots, NaS, Big Daddy Kane, Kanye West and Q-Tip. Cut to his latest project Grindin’ Volume 2 mixtape and he’s made probably close to 25 mixtapes.
“I’m not as prolific as some of these once-a-week cats, but I have always preferred quality to quantity. Ten years from now, no one will care how many tapes you put out, they’ll only care if they stand the test of time.”
It’s great you don’t shout your name throughout your mixtapes – how annoying is that?
“Who wants to listen to that shit!? I prefer to let the artists speak – I think that speaks louder and means more. I’m also trying to make tapes that play like albums, and you would never hear an artist shouting their own name over and over on a mixtape – it would sound ridiculous. I prefer to promote myself by putting out tapes that makes cats run and tell their friends.”
Serato – yes or no?
“DJ Premier said my favourite line about this to me when we were on tour together: Vinyl is like high school and Serato is like college… and no one should be allowed to go to college without graduating from high school. Feel me?!  So for me? Yes. I spent too many years carrying crates, I use Serato. But if you jumped right in at Serato? You better get your GED or study your history.”
What made you do the Q-Tip tribute?
“Q-Tip and Tribe have always been among my all-time favourite artists. I also loved having Tip as a subject because he is so slept-on as a producer. No one realizes he produced all those joints for Mobb Deep and NaS, and so the possibilities seemed endless.”
<jperiod.com> or <myspace.com/jperiod>. J Period Mixes Grindin’ Volume 2 is out through Grindin’.