DJ Pain 1 is an increasingly high-profile musical talent in Madison, busy as a studio producer, live DJ, and arts educator. His work on The Recession by Young Jeezy is gold certified, and he continues to work on beats for both local and international performers.
As a DJ, he spins a broad mix of music genres at live performances and is also one half of the Fall Guys, a project with MC Starr. Every Saturday night from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., both spin the "Planet Jamz" mix show, which features a regular selection of Madison hip-hop artists, on JAMZ 93.1 FM. Their work on a previous iteration of the station was detailed here last spring.
Additional information about DJ Pain 1 can be found in a previous profile about his work.
Artists I spin: Fall Guys, Lucha Libre, Goddes and She, First Wave, Crushin' All Force/S.C. dance team, IQ, Paramount Productions...
Performance style: It depends on the crowd.
Venues I spin: Cafe Montmartre, the Cardinal Bar, Madison Avenue
Crowd: Dancing preferred, but I've also done sit-down shows.
What makes me unique: I am a musical chameleon. I've played 50th birthday parties, house parties, dance clubs, pride events, underground rap shows, kids' birthday parties, receptions for art events, teacher conventions and break dance battles without ever feeling out of place.
Best hip-hop act today: It's kind of a hip-hop tradition to have a 'Top 5.' I'm not entirely sure who my top five comprises of, but Public Enemy, AZ and Tupac are in it. As far as DJs are concerned, locally I was influenced by Kres, Newsense and Nick Nice and nationally by DJ Shadow, Qbert and Premier.
Upcoming shows for DJ Pain 1 include:
- Friday, March 6: "Just Bust" First Wave Open Mic at Memorial Union
- Friday, March 13: Performance with Lucha Libre and The Fall Guys at Café Montmartre
- Saturday, March 14: Feel the Beat Producer Competition with DJ Schooly and Lucha Libre at The Annex
This is part of a series highlighting Madison's hip-hop emcees and DJs. If there is someone you want us to profile, please contact us.