DJ SMURF : BEFORE THERE WAS CRUNK

By K-Star
http://www.we-the-voices.com/

Right now, at this moment, the South and most of the nation is ablaze, a new single called, “Wait” [The Whisper Song] by the Ying-Yang Twins is heating up speakers everywhere as the weather begins to do the same. This track, with its whispery verses and thumping bassline, was the creation of ATL legend – DJ Smurf aka Mr. Collipark. The Godfather of Crunk sits down with We The Voices to discuss his history and the future of Crunk music and Ying Yang

We The Voices: “When did your career begin? What was the first song you ever recorded?”

DJ Smurf: “Back in the late 80s, being a DJ, like 1987-1988. Man, the first song was “To the Walls”. It was a bass record back in 1992.”

We The Voices: “Crunk seems to be a phenomenon right now that everyone is making serious money off of – in what direction do you think the music is headed towards? How was crunk music when it was just regional?”

DJ Smurf: “It’s heading in the direction with what Ying Yang is bringing to the table. Pretty much the South is on it’s own. What Ying Yang is doing is bangin’ in the clubs. All of that was bred from “Whistle While You Twerk”. We don’t get the credit that we deserve. “Wait” is a hot record in the club. Changing up the game is something that comes with the territory in this business

We The Voices: “How was that first experience meeting the Ying-Yang Twins?”

DJ Smurf: “They weren’t a group when I first met him. D-Rock was recording bass music when he was 15-16 years old. We were both signed to Ichiban Records, which was an indie label in Atlanta. I had done a remix with him and that’s how we hooked up. I came into the studio and that was the first time I met Caine. After I had done the remix, I had wanted to get D-Rock for my album, “Dead Crunk,” which had Lil' Jon and Ludacris before their shine. D-Rock had done this joint with me called, “One on One” and I saw him and Caine and it was a wrap since then.

We The Voices: “What do you think is the testament to your success?”

DJ Smurf: “Ying Yang. We started from nothing. No money, no nothing. They don’t know the real story about Ying Yang and how much we built from the ground up. When you put that much work into something when no one gives you nothing – it’s upsetting when someone wants to hate on you and your crew.”

We The Voices: “You’ve come a long way in this industry – what do you think has been the most difficult obstacle to face?”

DJ Smurf: “Getting paid for selling records. From selling “Whistle While You Twerk” to going over to Koch and selling 400,000+ -- AND having to fight, it’s horrible. Labels give you too many excuses. They love to pay you when the pie is little, but let that shit grow big and they forget to pay you what they owe. No one expected us to succeed. They thought that we’d be okay. When we sold all those records they owed us a check and getting a check from a label is hard work, let me tell you! No one wants to put money on you if they feel that you can’t deliver…”

We The Voices: “With the success that you’ve accumulated over the years – are you more sought after as a producer?”

DJ Smurf: “I’m gonna tell you some real shit, very little industry people cared little about Ying Yang. Before, “Get Low” no one cared who produced the beat, since “Wait,” my phone has been ringing off of the hook. A lot of cats think that the beat is crazy.

We The Voices: “Coming into the game in the late 80s – early 90s has that influenced your sound any?”

DJ Smurf: “My sound is what we brought to the table with “Say Ai Yi Yi” and “Whistle While You Twerk.” Caine wasn’t with the bass music, he’s a street dude. D-Rock and I was with this bootyshakin’ music to the core. Slowed down bass music. It wasn’t bounce music like how that New Orleans music is. It was different… it was ours.

We The Voices: “How do you feel about the music nowadays?”

DJ Smurf: “I’m bored with it. Since the South is running shit, we ain’t got nothing else to watch out for. We got very few TRUE artists down here that’s doing shit. I mean I can put my momma in the studio and churn out a hit! That’s how bad I feel the music is right now. With this new Ying Yang album, I don’t feel any pressure to sell albums. “Wait” [The Whisper Song]… TVT wouldn’t put that out as a single. We just felt the beat and felt that that was the heat. I haven’t felt this way, really, since the first album. There’s going to be some shit on this album that’s going to fuck up some people’s faces. We’re on some next level shit.”

We The Voices: “What’s next for you?”

DJ Smurf: “We gonna shoot the video for “Wait” [The Whisper Song]. Caine wants to branch out and do the music he wanted to do. D-Rock wants to go ‘head and work on his music, this gives me time to build up the record label. I got something in the mix with Maroon 5 and Three-6-Mafia on the works. I’m trying to get into everything. D-Rock wants to act and get into the movies.