FOR THE CULTURE: EDDIE B SWIFT

BRONX, NEW YORK | EDDIE B SWIFT

INTERVIEW REALIFE

Bronx, New York native Eddie B. Swift is a DJ who started his career in the 1980’s dj’ing at house parties and block parties. In 1989 he’d compete in the DMC battles. Eventually Eddie would go on to spin at some of New York’s most popular clubs and venues. He’d later transition into radio and in 1996 Eddie was one of the first Dj’s to stream his show live on the internet. Nowadays you can catch him spinning on BReal.TV. Validated recently spoke with Eddie B Swift to discuss his earliest memory of hip hop culture, his journey as a dj, what’s next and more.

“There are a lot of flash a pan DJ’s out there, add Serato, add laptop and boom you are a DJ. In order to advance you have to know music, you need to know your demographic, you need to know who came before you, The Who, what and why’s determine how far you go in this industry. there are 1000’s of other DJ’s, what makes you any different from the saturated market of DJ’s?” - EDDIE B SWIFT

VALIDATED: You grew up in the Bronx River area of New York, the official birthplace of Hip-Hop, what’s your earliest memory of the culture?

EDDIE B SWIFT: the park jams, the parties at the rec center located in the middle of the projects, Jazzy Jay, Bam setting up, roping off the front to keep everyone other than the DJ or the MC’s outside of that area, breakdancing, B Boying going on, the triple OG’s, 40’s in hand puffing on joints, everyone got on BVD’s with either the suede Pumas, Chuck Taylors or shell toe Adidas. Cazals were heavy, only the freshest of the fresh were dipped from head to toe.

VALIDATED: You began your DJ career in the early 80’s playing at local house parties and block parties. What was it about dj’ing that caught your attention initially and made you say “hey, I’ve got to do this.”?

EDDIE B SWIFT: I would go to other house parties and they all would be packed and it didn’t matter who was dressed or looked the best because the music selector had everyones attention. he controlled how everyone reacted, how they moved, who they were dancing with, the circle they were in... he was the facilitator to everything going down. I was mesmerized by that and so wanted to be the guy to be able to do that... be the center of attention. They got all the hottest girls, they had the respect of everyone and people would just want to be around the DJ.

VALIDATED: In ’89 you participated in the world famous DMC battles, what was the experience like and what did the exposure do for you as a dj?

EDDIE B SWIFT: it was amazing! It was my chance to see where I was and how I was perceived by my peers. That year DJ Riz, Rob Swift, Sean C, Johnny Cash, LS One, Aladdin and Miz were among the competitors, which were about maybe 50 deep. here I was in the middle of all that. it was after, people knew, if they didn’t know who I was or where I was from. I made a lot fo connections and the chance to continue and form friendships with a lot of which I still have today. After that it was like you were talked about, good or bad, but your name was out there. rappers looking for DJs got to pick from the best of the best, promoters doing clubs got to pick who they wanted. for me, I got to work at one of the more popular record stores in the Bronx, which put me more in demand then a lot of the others.

VALIDATED: After your success in the club scene, you transitioned to the air waves. An early attempt landed you as a finalist for a spot at Hot 97, which eventually went to Funkmaster Flex. What did you learn from the experience?

EDDIE B SWIFT: the politics, the bullshit from behind the scenes, the usual, not what you know but who you know. But again it raised my profile, I wasn’t local. just a DJ from my hood, I was that Puerto Rican kid in the middle of of a culture dominated by the Morenos (how Spanish people referred to Black people) making my mark.

VALIDATED: Even though you missed out on the Hot 97 opportunity you kept pursuing radio. You became a guest DJ on the legendary “Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show” on WKCR and also hosted and DJ’ed for “Raps New Generation” on WCWP. How did those opportunities come about? 

EDDIE B SWIFT: relationships... Bobbito, who worked for Def Jam at that time, would invite me to come hang out when they did the show. Stretch had been invited to DJ on the Arsenio Hall show and it was me being in the right place at the right time. they asked and I jumped at the opportunity to play for the ultimate Hip Hop audience. any and everyone listened to their show, and I got to rock to what became a legendary show that still is one of the most talked about shows of all time. That led to me being invited by Davey Dee Ingeloff (of Republic Records and responsible for Drake, Weekend and so many other of the top artist currently) who was a student at CW Post and a frequent visitor to the record store I worked at in the Bronx. He asked me if I wanted to be part of a show he was doing which led to me getting my FCC license and a chance to takeover the show.

VALIDATED: In 1996 you saw an opportunity to pave a new lane in radio, as one of the first DJ’s to stream live via the web, on internet radio station www.simplyradio.com. What was it about internet radio that made you decide to jump on it early? 

EDDIE B SWIFT: I love, I mean love the culture of dj’ing and would do anything to be a part of it every chance I got, and the opportunity to do it from the comfort of home was so intriguing. The way you play at home is always better then out in the public. you get to play how you want, no program directors telling you what to play, play the clean versions, like it was liberating to play the way you do when you are at home, practicing, playing for yourself.

VALIDATED: Your popularity on the internet grew rapidly, as you continued to develop cutting edge radio show concepts, including “Lunch Breaks” which you co-created with veteran B-boy Crazy Legs. The webcast caught the attention of the New York Times, describing it as, “Think of Wayne’s World meets the Food Network — with a funky beat.” Did you realize how big the buzz of the show had become prior to the New York Times quote? 

EDDIE B SWIFT: well considering some good ideas come from mistakes, Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew is heavy into dj’ing. he did my show a few times, was interested in doing something on his own, now that alone, having an actual legendary B Boy wanting to do a show is already a good idea waiting to happen. Setting him up we realized he wasn’t really equipped to broadcast, facing the wall, bad camera placement, wouldn’t be a good look. While trying to figure it out, we were in his kitchen and he had this counter space that was ideal for the DJ setup and was able to place the camera in a good position but it caught his kitchen, fridge and stove in the background. It worked initially, if you want to DJ you are gonna do what you need to be comfortable. people online were noticing the kitchen layout and were making jokes about cook them this, poking fun at the layout. The idea was thrown around about actually making food at the same time. He added Dstroy as a host to interact with the audience on line but another element would be needed to make it complete. Legs couldn’t cook, DJ and interact at the same time, and the guest was added. the first part of the show would be Legs dj’ing while the guest would cook live and the second part would be the guest dj’ing and Legs and Dstroy critiquing the meal and from there it took on a life of it’s own.

VALIDATED: What was your initial reaction?

EDDIE B SWIFT: again, I love this DJ culture and a chance to work with Legs and Dstroy was a no brainer. Legend, funny as host, and a DJ cookie AND mixing live! You can’t make that up. lol the interaction was amazing, made it fun to do it and added another wrinkle into the online dj’ing culture.

VALIDATED: Your syndicated show, “The EBS Mindtrip” (formerly known as Eddie B. Swift Radio Show) held the #1 spot on De La Soul’s Dugout on Ustream. What was it about that shows dynamic that made it work so well?

EDDIE B SWIFT: the viewers, to watch actual dj’ing with all the DJ elements being done live, to the guest DJ’s and of course the interacting with the audience made it a welcome sight as opposed to just listening to audio and having the ability to reach global viewership.

VALIDATED: You recently secured a featured spot on www.breal.tv, an internet TV station owned and operated by Cypress Hill member B Real, one of the most interactive shows which utilizes the viewers in the chat room and makes them a part of the show. How did the opportunity come about?

EDDIE B SWIFT: well I am 7 years deep with @BRealTV and 1000 shows in. the connection came through MarkLuv, DJ from Pharcyde, and had a show on @BRealTV, was a viewer when I was live. he told B Real about me and he tuned in, watched and said to bring it to his platform, reached out to me, a conversation was had, opportunity was presented and the rest is history.

VALIDATED: You’re a firm believer that Dj’s should learn beyond the dj aesthetic and embrace the culture, why?

EDDIE B SWIFT: the more you know, the more you can grow, plain and simple. There are a lot of flash a pan DJ’s out there, add Serato, add laptop and boom you are a DJ. In order to advance you have to know music, you need to know your demographic, you need to know who came before you, The Who, what and why’s determine how far you go in this industry. there are 1000’s of other DJ’s, what makes you any different from the saturated market of DJ’s?

VALIDATED: With over 20 years of experience, you serve as a mentor to younger DJ’s. Which dj’s mentored you early in your career and what if anything did you “borrow” from them? 

EDDIE B SWIFT: I came up at a time where DJ’s were competitive, they really wasn’t trying to help you, because essentially they would be grooming their successors. so if you were able to prosper inspite of that you had a chance to survive if you were making being a DJ a career, a lifestyle, not a hobby. and watching all the others before me and during, I seek knowledge I need to know. I studied and watch them succeed and fail, and learned from that and used that. It made me who I am today.

VALIDATED: Also you often use “EBS Mindtrip” as a teaching tool, giving newer DJ’s the opportunity to rub noses with your fellow DJ vets. What do you want the participating dj’s to take away from this opportunity?

EDDIE B SWIFT: soak it up, this is the reality of becoming who you are as a DJ. gain the experience and knowledge and use that to put you in the position to be the best DJ you can be.

VALIDATED: Outside of your radio successes, You’ve expanded your brand to include marketing, management and event production. At what point in your career did you realize you wanted to venture outside of DJ’ing and radio?

EDDIE B SWIFT: you can’t DJ forever, unfortunately you age and have to prepare for the after. you have a ceiling and if it is your life, you have to prepare for the after but that will allow you to still be around it and help develop the future of this culture !

VALIDATED: What would you contribute your successful career and business ventures to? 

EDDIE B SWIFT: persistence and perseverance, you have to want it, you have to love what you do, you have to live the life you have chosen to be a part of. I have lost relationships and friends, I have sacrificed because I wanted to work the hardest to be the best I can be.

VALIDATED: What’s next for Eddie B Swift?

EDDIE B SWIFT: I still do the little things to keep me relevant... I still practice, I still strive for excellence. I surround myself with like minded people and I maintain a high skill set that still keeps me here and in demand. I DJ for Freestyle dance artist Lisette Melendez... doing shows all over. I do opening sets for Cypress Hill events and warm up the amazing crowds. I still do the club scene too, doing headphone parties with Quiet Events and doing online shows on various platforms. So you ask what’s next... I’m just maintaining. lol

VALIDATED: What’s your social media contacts and website?

EDDIE B SWIFT: website: www.eddiebswift.com www.breal.tv Facebook: www.facebook.com/djeddiebswift Twitter: www.twitter.com/eddiebswift Instagram: www.instagram.com/eddiebswift