RIOT SQUAD REPRESENTATIVE: DJ PUDGEE-P

INTERVIEW TERRELL “REALIFE” BLACK

VALIDATED: What’s your earliest memory of hip hop culture?

DJ PUDGEE-P: There’s so many, probably the break dance scene, I remember setting up cardboard or a piece of linoleum flooring and me and my friend on the street would try replicating shit from the movie “Breakin’”.

VALIDATED: How did you get your start as a dj?

DJ PUDGEE-P: My mom was having a garage sale when I was a kid, she had one of those all in one stereos with the turntable on top and a few records. I started fucking with it and said I’m pulling this out. I started with that, saved up and got a set of belt drive decks and a radio shack mixer and moved up the food chain till I got some Technic 1200’s and a Gemini mixer.

VALIDATED: You dropped out of school to pursue djing, did family give you pushback for your decision to chase your dreams?

DJ PUDGEE-P: My father did for a while until I showed him I was serious about it and could actually make a living from it. Then he was supportive, my mother always was, you know moms always support anything you do that’s positive.

VALIDATED: You took to the streets of NY pushing your “Ride Out” mixtape series, selling over 10,000 copies which landed you a spot with TapeKingz, what did that do for your career? 

DJ PUDGEE-P: TapeKingz took me to the next level, distributing my tapes overseas and booking me parties all over the states. We developed a friendship and to this day Steve’s like family to me.

VALIDATED: Which dj’s influenced you and what if anything did you borrow from them?

DJ PUDGEE-P: DJ Premier was my biggest influence, I would always tried to scratch like him, then I wanted to develop my own style to set me apart from everyone.

VALIDATED: You were NY artist Stack Bundles official Dj, how did that collaboration come about?

DJ PUDGEE-P: I met Stack through his manager, he was a friend of mine that helped me with my career and he was putting these artists together to form a group which at that point was known as Starting 5 or S5 for short.

VALIDATED: You also helped build the career of Chinx?

DJ PUDGEE-P: Stack, Chinx, Bynoe and Cau2G’s were all members of S5 which is now known as The Riot Squad, so I was the DJ for that group. I was working with them as much as I could, coming down to the city 4 hours to Far Rock in a gutter apartment they turned into a makeshift studio. 

VALIDATED: You’re currently the official Dj for The Riot Squad, what can you tell us about it?

DJ PUDGEE-P: I was always there DJ and always will be, we started together and we’ll finish together.

VALIDATED: To put the music aside for a second, I understand you have a passion for motorcycles also? 

DJ PUDGEE-P: Yup, riding motorcycles is like therapy for me, it just clears your mind.

VALIDATED: You’ve won awards, worked with legendary dj’s, helped the careers of up and coming artists but what would you say is the highlight of your career so far?

DJ PUDGEE-P: The Highlight would be working with Stack and Chinx. They were different, they developed so quickly as artists, sky was the limit for them. They’d be the 2 top artists right now if they were still here.

VALIDATED: What’s next for Dj Pudgee P?

DJ PUDGEE-P: Next for me... if anyone out there is still waiting, they’ll just have to wait and see. Lol

VALIDATED: Where can the readers follow and support you?

DJ PUDGEE-P: I have stuff on SoundCloud, I’ll be streaming on Twitch soon and Instagram will keep everyone up to date on new projects all under DJ Pudgee-P.