There are not enough positive things I can say about DJ Jedi. I mean, we can start with the basics… Like the fact that hes an Emmy Award winning turntablist who is one of the best in Los Angeles on Serrato OR Vinyl. Whatever you wanna do. Before he was known for rockin classic LA Soul/Hip Hop/Funk spots like Zanzibar, The Echo, The Rootdown, Modern Audio Collective and The Do-Over… he was chillin at the Legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem, and traveling overseas to rock shows like The Sydney Festival in  Australia. When hes not busy doing that, hes busy mentoring and teaching the High School kids the power of music at a bi-weekly music camp in Santa Monica called Downbeat 720.  AND hes a Comic Book Geek.  So were dealing with Top Quality here, trust me.

And I’m obviously am not the only person who thinks so…  Russell Simmons picked up Jedi to DJ his Tony Award Winning Def Poetry Jam Sessions, and invited Jedi along for the world tour as well. From There, Digable Planets saw the talent, and fresh on their reunion tour, recruited Jedi to be their resident DJ… taking him on another world tour of awesome Countries and Concert festivals (you name it… hes done it). Just recently, he made Peanut Butter Wolf’s list of Top Ten DJs (get ‘em son), and was the featured DJ at one of LA’s best funk parties, Funky Sole @ The Echo. So my man is doing this thing. Very well.

But honestly, thats not even the point. Beyond his abilities to use his magical Jedi MixMaster powers to get the party start EVERYTIME (and I mean EVERY. TIME.), Jedi is just an all around wonderful human being with an amazingly acute ear for wonderful music, and a powerful understanding of how to use that music to inspire and influence good feelings and great times. He’s the DJ that will get the party started, then go into the crowd and party to the next DJ that comes on after him, and enjoy the party that HE just started. And he will be the one with the most energy of ANYONE in the room. I’ve seen him do it.  He is the definition of a TRUE Music Nerd.

I dont think I truly appreciated Jedi’s capabilities until I returned home from the East Coast Fest 2010 trip I disappeared to. We went to a show here and there that had different DJ’s opening, but there was almost always something missing whenever we went. A certain energy, along with blatant talent and mixing ability was always absent… and it kept parties from poppin off the way they should. It wasn’t until I returned home that I realized I had a desire to see DJ Jedi do his thing, since I realized it had been a while since I seen him spin. Turns out the next day, my boy was rocking the final Rootdown show at The Gabah… and doing a Michael Jackson tribute for SoulSessions in Chinatown the day after that. So despite the jetlag, massive unpacking and instantaneous work that suddenly had to get done, I threw on my good clothes and headed out, both nights.

Being one of those nerds who buys out a booth and loves to “Party Watch,” Gabah at The Rootdown was a pleasure to see. While my Rootdown session was cut off by work emergency/issues, it was still one of the best mixes I had heard in MONTHS… he knew his crowd well and knew exactly what to play to get everyone alert and interested, drawing people to the dance floor like a moth to a flame. He did a beautiful mix of Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince’s “Summertime” with Erykah Badu’s “The Healer” that sounded damn near magical. And when one of his records started skipping a beat, he stopped the track and goes “Sorry folks, thats REAL vinyl.” The comment was met with cheers and laughter, and the party continued on like nothing happened. Even more marvelous was his set for Michael Jackson, where my boy was playing all kinds of classic material from his J5 Days to the  Off the Wall and Thriller hits, along with secret b-sides, like the rare PYT Remix.  This one was not only a pleasure to watch, but to hear as well. My boy’s got a POWERFUL music (and Michael Jackson) collection. Seeing the kids all over the floor enjoying themselves thoroughly, singing along to every Michael song and attempting to dance like him… wonderful sight for sore eyes. To come back after being away for a while, and returning to two great parties like his… it felt like a “welcome home” of sorts.

Surprisingly enough, I didn’t meet Jedi at one of his shows, although it turned out later that I had been to tons of his shows and didn’t even realize it (its a musically small world). I actually met him at (wow dude, how awesome is this) a Common show a few years back that also doubled as a taping for Yahoo Music. Both of us arriving there late, we ending up being stuck towards the back… but that didn’t stop US from getting the party started. It quickly became obvious to both him and I that WE came to have a great time. Were the ones at the show shouting out the lyrics to our favorite songs, yelling out “J. DILLA!” at any given moment, and dancing thoroughly when “Thelonius” came on. He was more geeked than ME to be there, and I LOVE Common. So thats a statement. After sweating off my make up and fist bumping my boy a few times, he slid me his card with all his info on it, told me he appreciated the energy and the fun, and asked me to check out his stuff. Best thing I ever did… as everything fell into place from there, and it turned out I knew this dude through other means the entire time.

So it goes without saying that its been a hell of a great time watching DJ Jedi do his thing the last few years. And its great to see great people kicking ass in the music world. Very rarely can you find any DJ who represents the culture of turntablism and music appreciation to the fullest, and almost represents an idea of home for you (I knew I was back in LA when I was at that Michael Jackson tribute… and it felt good). Someone you KNOW will play great music because they already know what it is, and they are actually taking your requests (lol). A person whose talents and sound continue to expand faster than my brain can keep up with. And a general pleasure to be around.

No asskissing. Honestly. This is just a glowing review for a DJ who is well worth the time. I’m just telling the truth.
Go find out for yourself.

@DJJedi
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