I decided to show love to the people of underground media because underground media plays a major role in the careers of recording artist who are not in the mainstream . I was breaking
my brains , tring to decide who & what Im going to include as a first media feature on this publication . Therfore I decided to interview Dj Ready Cee of the Ready Cee Show since he has been one of the first radio deejays to host a program on the internet .
1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING RADIO ?
Shit, ever since I was playin music off my tape deck over a CB radio mic in '86! LOL
Man I started out doin it on the rough seas of pirate radio in 1998 along with DJ Snuu & DJ Yooter on 91.9FM in NYC with a show called The Underground Lockdown. We were on from 12-4am every Saturday night. We had some conflicting timing issues a while into it and stopped the program after a year. In the meantime I connected with the owners of the station and worked it out to continue the program on my own as The Ready Cee Show in '99. I'm not with that station any more but this year we're celebrating 10 Years of holding up that true Bronx Hiphop tradition that everyone seems to be abandoning lately.
2.WHAT & WHO INSPIRED YOU TO HOST YOUR OWN RADIO PROGRAM ?
WHAT inspired me the most was hearing the overwhelming amount of wackness that had infected the radio at the time. Phony DJs and uncultured hosts were running rampant on commercial radio and the doors were closing fast on skilled DJs and real hosts from the streets. When the money takes over its out with the realness and in with the robots yaknow! So when the chance came up to do my own thing in the market where Hiphop matters most I jumped at the opportunity. I'd already been DJing for 20 some years so it was a breeze making the transition. That also gave me the ability to keep things more in-house with the production because I already had my own idea about how I wanted it all to play out: Me, Dj Mixx, Snuu and my homie The Walkin' L as the co-host. As far as WHO inspired me, I'd have to shout my big Brother, Craig for keeping me well fed with records in my early years, Snake, Big Al & Casanova Rock or Dr. Funk, Dr. Rock, Ushay, Marley Marl & Pete Rock from the IN-CONTROL days, Red Alert just to name some...
3. DO YOU PLAY MUSIC FROM RAPPERS WHO ARE NOT REALLY LYRICAL BUT POPULAR AMONGST MOST OF THE MASSES ?
I play whatever I think is dope. I don't put up any bullshit boundaries between my ears and the speakers when it comes to music. If I like it then I'm fuckin' with it. I don't care if one other person likes it or if a trillion other people are feelin' it. The opinion of the masses has no presence in my musical decision making. Who I am and the people I represent are those who mold and create this form of music every day and we come from a time when Hip Hoppers had an identity and took pride in their interest and craft. I was doing my thing before 'THE MASSES' even considered Hiphop a respectable form of music so I don't give a shit about 'THE MASSES'.
4. NAME A FEW CELEBRITIES & UNDERGROUND ARTISTS WHO YOU'VE FEATURED ON THE READY CEE SHOW .
I've been blessed to touch base with an avalanche worth of intergalactic superstars throughout the time I've been doing what I've been doing. No one can be mentioned before my good friend DJ Kool Herc who's given me alot of wisdom to work with in this jungle! I've had many many artists on the show man... Grand Master Caz, Craig G, Tony Touch, Lord Tariq, Nice & Smooth, Percee P, AG, Dres from Black Sheep, Trife and the Theodore Unit, MC Shan, Immoral Technique, Ali Shaheed, Shyhiem, Das Efx, Sadat X, C Rayz Walz, J Dilla REST IN PEACE, DJ Premier, EPMD, OC, Kool G Rap just to name some off the top...
5. SO THIS IS YOUR 10TH YEAR OF THE READY CEE SHOW. HOW DO U FEEL ABOUT BEING ON FOR A STRAIGHT DECADE AND HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING ONE OF THE FIRST RADIO DEEJAYS TO HOST AN INTERNET RADIO SHOW ?
Its feels good but its just a drop in the bucket. I've put in a lot of work before these past ten years and it all counts to me. The internet is still very new in my opinion. Things change every day. Theres so much room for creativity online that time really doesn't even factor in with it. Its constantly evolving faster than we can really keep up with it individually. Thats what makes it such an intriguing and challenging playing field. The Ready Cee Show definitely takes advantage of whatever technology is within it's reach.
6.WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A RAPPER BEFORE YOU PLAY HIS OR HER SONG ON YOUR SHOW ?
I'm just lookin for dope shit. I don't have a list of criteria that MCs have to match or anything. I don't care about your background, I don't care what you ate for lunch yesterday just give me a dope joint to rock! I've had so much music submitted to me over time that its somewhat desensitized me to the plight of the common rapper I admit that. There are times that the redundancy of aspiring artists gets to me. Most are under the assumption that there's some type of formula that has to be followed in order to 'make it' and that causes a lot of copy cat rappers with no originality. I'm mostly impressed by artists who ignore trends and do what comes naturally. If you're truly any good it'll show. Its something you're born with you can't learn how to make a dope Hiphop song, it might sound good but I can tell when shit has no soul.
7.I HEARD MY BROTHER DJ POLARITY IS SPINING EVERY WEEK ON THE SHOW , HOW DID YA HOOK UP ?
We definitely have my man Polarity on from time to time but the only other DJ who's on my show each and every week is DJ Mixx. Me and Polarity have been down for years. He was a regular on the show when it was still on 91.9fm out here. He was just coming up as a DJ at that time but he's definitely since made a name for himself in New York City. We both started Fat Beats Sundays where we would rock all day live at Fat Beats Record Store and showcase other DJs. We put that on hold for the winter but we got big plans for bringing it back in a major way this Spring.
8. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON INDEPENDENT RADIO PERSONALTIES CHARGING ARTIST FOR AIR PLAY?
If they're willing to pay fuck it. That's what commercialism is all about anyway. Selling a product and gettin paid. Musical integrity and pride can't be found in that situation but that's not what its there for if you ask me. I'm not gonna charge anyone to play their music but if they wanna run up and slide me a c-note to ensure a spin or two then bring it on! LOL. I've been doing this a very long time and I do more for Hiphop before 10am than most of these phonies have done their whole lives. I don't have anything to prove to anyone at this point. I am totally down with anyone making money. If I was doing commercial radio I wouldn't be able to play the real shit that I play anyway. Id be forced to play mostly booty Top 40 stuff so no, I wouldn't have any problem at all tappin' rappers' pockets if they want their WACK shit played on WACK commercial radio. Just don't bring that shit near The Ready Cee Show! Lol
9.HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THNK INDEPENDENT MEDIA IS TO REAL HIP HOP AND THE UNDERGROUND MUSIC SCENE IN GENERAL ?
I've always been a huge supporter of underground media and new technology but its turned into sort of a double edged sword nowadays. While the new media and technology have given independent artists more freedom to take their work all the way from A-Z, its at the same time opened the doors to let a lot of people in who don't really belong. This new equipment and software has made it easy for people without a drip of talent to appear like they do. Hiphop has always taken new technology that wasn't necessarily made with the Hip Hopper in mind and manipulated it to our own usage. Now companies are making products designed specifically for Hip Hoppers to use and that creative aspect has been destroyed. Its become an assembly line of mass production with no one manning the quality control station! LOL. We have to get back to being more creative. Find something that wasn't meant to be used to make a beat and use it to make a beat. Find a topic that you have no knowledge of, do some homework and write something new! Challenge yourself! Everythings so easy now. Its hard to appreciate something that so easily accessible. We had to work hard to get our Hiphop on back in the day so I guess that gave us more appreciation for it.
10. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TAKING THE READY CEE SHOW TO A COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION ?
Commercial radio would have to go through some radical changes before it would be ready to contain The Ready Cee Show. I'm not really interested. Radio is so local. Been there, done that. Not on a commercial level but our frequency was just as strong as any other so we had NYC on lock for 6 years straight whenever that ON-AIR light lit up! The nets where its at for me. I'd much rather take it to satellite or HD radio before the old analog-ass FM dial. For me radio is dead. Its an old played out form of broadcasting and its out of your control. We live in a self-created playlist age. An IPOD AGE. People want to hear what they want to hear when they want to hear it. Thats why I now do the show LIVE on Ustream every Wednesday & Saturday and podcast all my episodes through iTunes for the world to enjoy. We've had well over 60,000 subscribers to the podcast over the last few years and its growing daily. The reason is because people have a choice now. They're not forced to adhere to the musical opinion of some unassociated radio program director who doesn't know the meaning of dope cuz he's lookin for a suit and tie rap thats cleaner than a bar of soap! HAHA BIGGUP GZA! Real talk though!
11.WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PURSUE A CAREER AS A RADIO HOST ?
Just do it. People are creating podcasts every day and puttin em out there. There are thousands and thousands of podcasters on Podomatic which is the network that houses The Ready Cee Show. Other programs we're down with like DJ Mixx's The Chronicles, Apollo Treed's Soup Kitchen Exclusives, my homie DJ Toshi and Classic Storm Radio, The DSew Show out in London, producer GeeO Supreme's podcast.... the list goes on. There's no reason for anyone who wants to do it to not be on. Just be true to the game thats all.... and for God's sake if you claim to have a HIPHOP radio show then get a fuckin DJ if you're not one already. The DJ is the backbone of Hiphop music and if you dont have one around then you're not dealin with much. Last word of advice, if you're a phony DJ, MC, producer stick to the commercial stuff cuz we're patrolling the underground heavy this year and you WILL be revealed.
GREAT QUESTIONS FAM good lookin out cant wait to see it !!!-- THE READY CEE SHOWFREE Podcast-New episode every week!Over 50,000 Subscribers!http://www.thereadyceeshow.com/mailto:Subscribers!www.thereadyceeshow.comdjreadycee@gmail.com
Interviewed by Viktory ( Bx Supreme Promoter )
Http:www.twitter.com/viktory79
http://www.myspace.com/vioktory79
my brains , tring to decide who & what Im going to include as a first media feature on this publication . Therfore I decided to interview Dj Ready Cee of the Ready Cee Show since he has been one of the first radio deejays to host a program on the internet .
1. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN DOING RADIO ?
Shit, ever since I was playin music off my tape deck over a CB radio mic in '86! LOL
Man I started out doin it on the rough seas of pirate radio in 1998 along with DJ Snuu & DJ Yooter on 91.9FM in NYC with a show called The Underground Lockdown. We were on from 12-4am every Saturday night. We had some conflicting timing issues a while into it and stopped the program after a year. In the meantime I connected with the owners of the station and worked it out to continue the program on my own as The Ready Cee Show in '99. I'm not with that station any more but this year we're celebrating 10 Years of holding up that true Bronx Hiphop tradition that everyone seems to be abandoning lately.
2.WHAT & WHO INSPIRED YOU TO HOST YOUR OWN RADIO PROGRAM ?
WHAT inspired me the most was hearing the overwhelming amount of wackness that had infected the radio at the time. Phony DJs and uncultured hosts were running rampant on commercial radio and the doors were closing fast on skilled DJs and real hosts from the streets. When the money takes over its out with the realness and in with the robots yaknow! So when the chance came up to do my own thing in the market where Hiphop matters most I jumped at the opportunity. I'd already been DJing for 20 some years so it was a breeze making the transition. That also gave me the ability to keep things more in-house with the production because I already had my own idea about how I wanted it all to play out: Me, Dj Mixx, Snuu and my homie The Walkin' L as the co-host. As far as WHO inspired me, I'd have to shout my big Brother, Craig for keeping me well fed with records in my early years, Snake, Big Al & Casanova Rock or Dr. Funk, Dr. Rock, Ushay, Marley Marl & Pete Rock from the IN-CONTROL days, Red Alert just to name some...
3. DO YOU PLAY MUSIC FROM RAPPERS WHO ARE NOT REALLY LYRICAL BUT POPULAR AMONGST MOST OF THE MASSES ?
I play whatever I think is dope. I don't put up any bullshit boundaries between my ears and the speakers when it comes to music. If I like it then I'm fuckin' with it. I don't care if one other person likes it or if a trillion other people are feelin' it. The opinion of the masses has no presence in my musical decision making. Who I am and the people I represent are those who mold and create this form of music every day and we come from a time when Hip Hoppers had an identity and took pride in their interest and craft. I was doing my thing before 'THE MASSES' even considered Hiphop a respectable form of music so I don't give a shit about 'THE MASSES'.
4. NAME A FEW CELEBRITIES & UNDERGROUND ARTISTS WHO YOU'VE FEATURED ON THE READY CEE SHOW .
I've been blessed to touch base with an avalanche worth of intergalactic superstars throughout the time I've been doing what I've been doing. No one can be mentioned before my good friend DJ Kool Herc who's given me alot of wisdom to work with in this jungle! I've had many many artists on the show man... Grand Master Caz, Craig G, Tony Touch, Lord Tariq, Nice & Smooth, Percee P, AG, Dres from Black Sheep, Trife and the Theodore Unit, MC Shan, Immoral Technique, Ali Shaheed, Shyhiem, Das Efx, Sadat X, C Rayz Walz, J Dilla REST IN PEACE, DJ Premier, EPMD, OC, Kool G Rap just to name some off the top...
5. SO THIS IS YOUR 10TH YEAR OF THE READY CEE SHOW. HOW DO U FEEL ABOUT BEING ON FOR A STRAIGHT DECADE AND HOW DOES IT FEEL BEING ONE OF THE FIRST RADIO DEEJAYS TO HOST AN INTERNET RADIO SHOW ?
Its feels good but its just a drop in the bucket. I've put in a lot of work before these past ten years and it all counts to me. The internet is still very new in my opinion. Things change every day. Theres so much room for creativity online that time really doesn't even factor in with it. Its constantly evolving faster than we can really keep up with it individually. Thats what makes it such an intriguing and challenging playing field. The Ready Cee Show definitely takes advantage of whatever technology is within it's reach.
6.WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A RAPPER BEFORE YOU PLAY HIS OR HER SONG ON YOUR SHOW ?
I'm just lookin for dope shit. I don't have a list of criteria that MCs have to match or anything. I don't care about your background, I don't care what you ate for lunch yesterday just give me a dope joint to rock! I've had so much music submitted to me over time that its somewhat desensitized me to the plight of the common rapper I admit that. There are times that the redundancy of aspiring artists gets to me. Most are under the assumption that there's some type of formula that has to be followed in order to 'make it' and that causes a lot of copy cat rappers with no originality. I'm mostly impressed by artists who ignore trends and do what comes naturally. If you're truly any good it'll show. Its something you're born with you can't learn how to make a dope Hiphop song, it might sound good but I can tell when shit has no soul.
7.I HEARD MY BROTHER DJ POLARITY IS SPINING EVERY WEEK ON THE SHOW , HOW DID YA HOOK UP ?
We definitely have my man Polarity on from time to time but the only other DJ who's on my show each and every week is DJ Mixx. Me and Polarity have been down for years. He was a regular on the show when it was still on 91.9fm out here. He was just coming up as a DJ at that time but he's definitely since made a name for himself in New York City. We both started Fat Beats Sundays where we would rock all day live at Fat Beats Record Store and showcase other DJs. We put that on hold for the winter but we got big plans for bringing it back in a major way this Spring.
8. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON INDEPENDENT RADIO PERSONALTIES CHARGING ARTIST FOR AIR PLAY?
If they're willing to pay fuck it. That's what commercialism is all about anyway. Selling a product and gettin paid. Musical integrity and pride can't be found in that situation but that's not what its there for if you ask me. I'm not gonna charge anyone to play their music but if they wanna run up and slide me a c-note to ensure a spin or two then bring it on! LOL. I've been doing this a very long time and I do more for Hiphop before 10am than most of these phonies have done their whole lives. I don't have anything to prove to anyone at this point. I am totally down with anyone making money. If I was doing commercial radio I wouldn't be able to play the real shit that I play anyway. Id be forced to play mostly booty Top 40 stuff so no, I wouldn't have any problem at all tappin' rappers' pockets if they want their WACK shit played on WACK commercial radio. Just don't bring that shit near The Ready Cee Show! Lol
9.HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THNK INDEPENDENT MEDIA IS TO REAL HIP HOP AND THE UNDERGROUND MUSIC SCENE IN GENERAL ?
I've always been a huge supporter of underground media and new technology but its turned into sort of a double edged sword nowadays. While the new media and technology have given independent artists more freedom to take their work all the way from A-Z, its at the same time opened the doors to let a lot of people in who don't really belong. This new equipment and software has made it easy for people without a drip of talent to appear like they do. Hiphop has always taken new technology that wasn't necessarily made with the Hip Hopper in mind and manipulated it to our own usage. Now companies are making products designed specifically for Hip Hoppers to use and that creative aspect has been destroyed. Its become an assembly line of mass production with no one manning the quality control station! LOL. We have to get back to being more creative. Find something that wasn't meant to be used to make a beat and use it to make a beat. Find a topic that you have no knowledge of, do some homework and write something new! Challenge yourself! Everythings so easy now. Its hard to appreciate something that so easily accessible. We had to work hard to get our Hiphop on back in the day so I guess that gave us more appreciation for it.
10. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN TAKING THE READY CEE SHOW TO A COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION ?
Commercial radio would have to go through some radical changes before it would be ready to contain The Ready Cee Show. I'm not really interested. Radio is so local. Been there, done that. Not on a commercial level but our frequency was just as strong as any other so we had NYC on lock for 6 years straight whenever that ON-AIR light lit up! The nets where its at for me. I'd much rather take it to satellite or HD radio before the old analog-ass FM dial. For me radio is dead. Its an old played out form of broadcasting and its out of your control. We live in a self-created playlist age. An IPOD AGE. People want to hear what they want to hear when they want to hear it. Thats why I now do the show LIVE on Ustream every Wednesday & Saturday and podcast all my episodes through iTunes for the world to enjoy. We've had well over 60,000 subscribers to the podcast over the last few years and its growing daily. The reason is because people have a choice now. They're not forced to adhere to the musical opinion of some unassociated radio program director who doesn't know the meaning of dope cuz he's lookin for a suit and tie rap thats cleaner than a bar of soap! HAHA BIGGUP GZA! Real talk though!
11.WHAT IS YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO PURSUE A CAREER AS A RADIO HOST ?
Just do it. People are creating podcasts every day and puttin em out there. There are thousands and thousands of podcasters on Podomatic which is the network that houses The Ready Cee Show. Other programs we're down with like DJ Mixx's The Chronicles, Apollo Treed's Soup Kitchen Exclusives, my homie DJ Toshi and Classic Storm Radio, The DSew Show out in London, producer GeeO Supreme's podcast.... the list goes on. There's no reason for anyone who wants to do it to not be on. Just be true to the game thats all.... and for God's sake if you claim to have a HIPHOP radio show then get a fuckin DJ if you're not one already. The DJ is the backbone of Hiphop music and if you dont have one around then you're not dealin with much. Last word of advice, if you're a phony DJ, MC, producer stick to the commercial stuff cuz we're patrolling the underground heavy this year and you WILL be revealed.
GREAT QUESTIONS FAM good lookin out cant wait to see it !!!-- THE READY CEE SHOWFREE Podcast-New episode every week!Over 50,000 Subscribers!http://www.thereadyceeshow.com/mailto:Subscribers!www.thereadyceeshow.comdjreadycee@gmail.com
Interviewed by Viktory ( Bx Supreme Promoter )
Http:www.twitter.com/viktory79
http://www.myspace.com/vioktory79
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