The Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in

turntablism Turntablism is the art of manipulating sounds and creating new music, sound effects, mixes and other creative sounds and beats, typically by using two or more turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into a PA system ...

. Established in 1992 in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

by J. Rocc. As of 2014, The Beat Junkie Crew also host their own record pool, clothing line and radio station. The Beat Junkies opened their own DJ school in April 2017, located in Glendale. In January 2018, they announced plans to go online and launch beatjunkies.tv. The Beat Junkies have won prestigious DJ battles and competitions like the DMC, the Supermen, and International Turntablists Federation competitions and going to world tour exhibitions. They have traveled and performed across the United States as well as Japan, Germany, The Netherlands and Canada. The Beat Junkies as a crew and individually have also featured in many other acts alongside artists such as

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 is an American alternative hip hop group formed in 1994 by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup aka Zaakir), Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mark Potsic (DJ Nu-Mark) and Lucas Macf ...

the Visionaries Visionaries is an underground hip hop crew from Los Angeles, California. The crew formed in 1995, and have since released four full-length albums on Up Above Records, and their fifth album "V" on their newly re-formed label Visionaries Crew, In ...

, the Likwit Junkies with Defari, Phil Da Agony,

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. They have sold over 20 million albums worldwide and have multi-platinum and platinum albums. They are considered to be among the main progenitors of West Coast and 1990 ...

Invisibl Skratch Piklz The Invisibl Skratch Piklz are an American group of turntablists. The members of the group were originally hip-hop DJs, who were among the pioneers of the turntablism movement in the 1990s; turntablists create musical pieces by mixing sampl ...

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American hip hop group from Los Angeles, California. They have had little mainstream success in the US, with the exception of the song " This Way", a 2004 collaboration with Kanye West. Better known in the UK, they reached t ...

, and

Peanut Butter Wolf Christopher George Manak (born October 8, 1969 ), better known by his stage name Peanut Butter Wolf, is an American disc jockey and record producer from San Jose, California. He is based in Los Angeles, where he moved to in 2000. He is the found ...

who was so influenced by the Beat Junkies that he recruited Homeless Derelicts (Grand the Visitor and Architect, currently members of

Urban Umpires Urban Umpires is a domestic private stock corporation working mainly in the realm of multimedia. It was founded in 2004 by Just Jay, who initiated Urban Umpires as a collection of entrepreneurs, DJs, producers, MCs, graffiti artists, videograp ...

) who were featured on ''Beat Junkies Vol.1'' and released them as the second ever Stones Throw Records release.

History

The group was established in 1992 by J. Rocc.J.ROCC - The DJ List
/ref> The original members included Curse, Rhettmatic, Melo-D, Icy Ice, Symphony, & What?!. Shortkut,

D-Styles Dave Cuasito (born July 6, 1972), better known by his stage name D-Styles, is a hip hop producer and DJ. He has been a member of Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Beat Junkies, and Third Sight. He has also been a resident DJ of Low End Theory. D-styles i ...

, Havik, and Tommy Gun (who joined in late 1992) were later added.

DJ Babu Chris Oroc a.k.a. Melvin Babu (born September 17, 1974), better known as DJ Babu or DJ Babu the Dilated Junkie, is a Filipino-American DJ and producer. He is a member of the hip hop trio Dilated Peoples, with Rakaa Iriscience and Evidence an ...

joined the Junkies by late 1993; the newest member is currently Mr. Choc, who was added to the crew in early 1996. The BeatJunkies have launched their own membership based record pool in the spring of 2014, curated by members of the crew, which provides exclusive cuts and edits at www.beatjunkies.com. Following the launch of the record pool, the Beat Junkies clothing line also was set into motion late 2014, which aimed at music lovers and enthusiasts alike. Celebrity influencers such as comedian

Russell Peters Russell Dominic Peters (born September 29, 1970) is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. He began performing in Toronto in 1989 and won a Gemini Award in 2008. In 2013, he was number three on ''Forbes'' list of the world's highe ...

, Chef

Roy Choi Roy Choi (born February 24, 1970) is a Korean-American chef who gained prominence as the creator of the gourmet Korean-Mexican taco truck Kogi. Choi is a chef who is celebrated for "food that isn't fancy" and is known as one of the founders of ...

, Radio Personality Rikki Martinez a.k.a. Letty, and artist ''AntiGirl'' have been featured in the 2014 Beat Junkie lookbook. At the top of 2015, "Beat Junkie Radio" began airing on Dash Radio. The station is curated and hosted by members

, Mr. Choc and Rhetmattic. Their live show "Soundcheck" goes on air every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month from 7-10pm, live sets are provided by select members of The Beat Junkie crew, and a variety of musical guests such as

Egyptian Lover Gregory James Broussard (born August 31, 1963), better known by his stage name Egyptian Lover, is an American musician, vocalist, producer and DJ, and was a part of the L.A. dance music, electro, and rap scene in the early 1980s. History Th ...

, ''Hitboy'',

Dom Kennedy Dominic Ross Hunn (born August 22, 1984), better known by his stage name Dom Kennedy, is an American rapper from Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California. Since 2008, Kennedy has released 5 independent mixtapes, most notably his 2010 critically accl ...

Anderson Paak Brandon Paak Anderson (born February 8, 1986), better known by his stage name Anderson .Paak (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and drummer. He released his debut mixtape, ''O.B.E. Vol. 1,'' in 2012 and went on to rel ...

, Knxwledge,

The Alchemist An alchemist is a person who practices alchemy. Alchemist or Alchemyst may also refer to: Books and stories * ''The Alchemist'' (novel), the translated title of a 1988 allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho * ''The Alchemist'' (play), a play by Be ...

and many more have been featured. In celebration of 25 years, the Beat Junkies have opened up their own DJ school in 2017 - th
Beat Junkie Institute of Sound
Located in Glendale, California, the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound offers fundamental and specialized DJ courses, workshops, private instruction, and an opportunity to join their community and learn the art form of DJing "Beat Junkie Style". Their philosophy on teaching is not bound by genre, music style, or technology. They authentically approach DJing as a discipline, a fine art, a passion. Placing a strong emphasis on the fact that there are mechanics, techniques, and history that one must study and master to earn the title of DJ.

Discography

*''The World Famous Beat Junkies Volume 1'' (1997) *''The World Famous Beat Junkies Volume 2'' (1998) *''Rock S***'' (1998) Label: Contaminated *''The World Famous Beat Junkies Volume 3'' (1999) *''Changes/Materialize'' (1999), Second Movement *''Classic Material Volume One'' (2001) *''Sick Days" (12") (2001) * Dividends, DJ Rhettmatic (2004)

Videos

*''Private Stash'' (2003) (DVD) *''D-Styles featuring the Beat Junkies - A Night at the Knitting Factory'' (2004)

Album appearances

* ''Sound Bombing II, JRocc and Babu'' (Rawkus Records) (1999) * ''Rah Rah Various - O.L.C.'' (1999, 2001) * ''SUP the Chemist - Dust'' (2000) ("Here" DJ Melo-D) * ''Scratch Monopoly'' (2001) * ''Various - The Return of the DJ - Allstar Album'' (2001) * ''LA-Japan Connection, DJ Yutaka - United Nations II'' (2001)

References

External links

Beat Junkie Record Pool

Beat Junkies Official Myspace Page

The Beat Junkie Story and Interview

Youtube-Beat Junkies "Word of Mouth Tour"

Discography

Turntable Radio Podcast 2002, The Mr Trick Years: Show #9DJ Melo-D Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2020) {{Authority control Hip hop groups from California Hip hop collectives Musical groups from Orange County, California American hip hop DJs