Chicago is full of DOPE creatives. It’s amazing to get to know them & their journey. We got to talk to a POD homie about his work in music!
What’s up DJ Scend! Thanks for talking to POD today! What’s good?! Tell us about you & what you do!
Yoooo thanks for talking with me today! So my name is Stephan but most know me as Scend (pronounced “send”). I love music in many ways for many reasons haha I’m currently a DJ for a couple spots here in Chicago. I’m an Instructor at Scratch DJ Academy. I have a radio show called The Hip Hop Project run by myself and a few close people of mine. And most recently became co-owner of a company called DJs Are Not Jukeboxes
That’s tight! I’ve seen a lot of “DJs Are Not JukeBoxs” around .. What inspire you to start?
So my buddy Trew (Ground Lift Media) hit me up almost 2 yrs ago asking if I would be interested in doing the 1st mix for a series called DJs Are Not Jukeboxes that his company was starting. I was in transition without knowing it at a day job I had held down for 13 yrs at that point and after I got an opportunity to finally make music my full time career, our talks became a lot more business with it. We realized how much of the community didn’t have an identity that truly represented everyone. As I was reaching out to all my DJ homies to submit a mix, we kept getting such a crazy feedback and it completely flipped what it initially was. Haha I guess in short we realized how tired we were with a lot of aspects within the industry and rather than be angry about it we had that lightbulb moment of “yo I think we have something here”
lol Nice… That’s cool.. So are there several DJs that participate?
We launched when we held the DMC competition here in April of this year and since then we’ve been able to establish home bases in Austin, LA, San Fransisco, Miami and of course here at the crib. Our whole model is “success through creativity” and there’s so many of us out here living that truth. We just happened to fall under the umbrella of DJs where it made sense to have that as like our type of badge. Lol So we are basically looking to get global with this movement. We understand the importance of this culture. It saved a lot of our lives on some real shit including mine. So it’s a big deal in our world to have something like this We’re also tired of whack ass DJs everywhere
lol Sorry for being so long winded but there’s like mad different parts to trying to explain the whole thing Lol
Lmao no it’s good ! Do it I like it! Tell us everything !
We’re also tired of whack ass DJs everywhere
Lmaooo!! Yes…. Thank you ?????? that’s awesome.. How long have you been djing?
Lol dope dope As of this month I’ve been DJing for 14 yrs now. I played piano and guitar too before that so music is definitely in my life lol.
You do a showed call The Hip Hop Project.. Is hip hop your favorite genre ?
And yea THHP. Man I love Thursdays. The Hip Hop Project is basically like weekly therapy for me lol. I have the blessing of having been able to gather up an amazing squad of homies that help me run the show. It’s crazy how I even got into THHP and it’s been over 3 yrs now since I was given the keys. Times flying yo lol You’re putting in work man! That’s how it goes when you really love some shit. And hip hop. Yea I’d say I love hip hop for sure. My style as a tablist is open format with a hip hop background. I learned about DJing through hip hop so it’s like natural to me lol And hell yea I couldn’t agree more That’s kinda where DANJ (DJs Are Not Jukeboxes) stands. It’s like, you’re a creative just as much as I am. So “success through creativity” applies to all creatives. DJs Are Not Jukeboxes just happens to be the brand name we had lol. All of it ties in
When I first saw “DJs Are Not JukeBoxes” I was like “fuck yeah!”
When you were younger what did you want to be when you grew up?
Lol I wanted to be respected to be honest. I know that’s gonna sound hella stupid, but I was like the some quiet music kid growing up and I was always around it. I saw how much respect my dad got and becoming a musician ended up being a natural progression in my life. My parents didn’t force me to be a DJ. Shit they didn’t understand why I loved it for the longest lol But yea. I just had such a high respect for creative people and I wanted to show whatever possible creativity I had once I saw I could play an instrument
How did you guys come up with “DJs Are Not Jukeboxes?”
It was a mixtape idea that was presented to me. My homie Trew wanted me to do the 1st mix for the series. After we realized how much bigger it was we jumped on getting it all legalized and on paper lol It’s just one of those things that you realize you’re already living and then one day it’s like “yo duh. I’m not a jukebox.” That and you hear enough people say “this needs to be on a shirt” lol But naw we take the whole thing real serious and we want all the dope creatives of the world to get their chance. You don’t have to be a DJ to be a creative. We wanna stand for those without the voice since we are blessed enough to have a few
lol Absolutely.. I’m really about the same thing.
That’s why I mention you or anyone else at POD or even POD itself and what it stands for. At the end of the day it’s all relevant and so are we And we as a whole people not just me and my DJ homies lol! Lemme make that clear for the record ?
Hell yeah!That’s dope what are the next big plans ?
Next big plans are really to build up these home bases we’ve established in these other cities and keep reaching out to more like minded individuals to see if they’re on board for our visions. Once we have these different headquarters all over, we can make a bigger sweep and have bigger shows and all that good shit lol But who knows really. It was a mixtape only like 2 yrs and now I’m a business owner. Didn’t see that coming lol
Dope! I love how you guys got a set up in some other cities too!
Oh yea we have to! It’s all about unity It’s almost like a union without it being a union lol I think we all need to focus on creating unity in any creative industry.
Absolutely that’s all this all is Being a creative in general I’ve always felt like we’re missing something.. One of the best ways to get United is through music !
Exactly It’s a universal language What we sand for is a universal thought We are just trying to bring attention to its identity It’s like Every craft and every industry needs a certain level of skill to be worked correctly. We represent that as well. Not only a unity, but a unity amongst creatives who put in that time and effort. Don’t matter whether rookie or vet, it’s all about way of life. You and I are cool cause we share similar waves That’s what DANJ represents in the DJ culture
Absolutely.. I’ve always said I appreciate anyone that creates.. Anything really.
Exactly! It’s not about what, it’s more like the fact that there’s even a what to begin with lol
Lol we do.. We get it.
You got me on some life shit lol But essentially that’s what this brand represents I think this city is good for that too.. It kinda gives you that view on life.. Oh hell yea It definitely does
Well it’s been dope hearing about “DJs Are Not JukeBoxes” I really did want to learn about it more !
No doubt!
when is the next one ?
We have Cutfest Chicago 2016 happening next week Thursday-Sunday at various locations and then I have my DJs Are Not Jukeboxes night at Harbee Liquors every 3rd Friday of the month
POD is gonna have to stop by! We’re excited to check it out & so happy we got to talk to you today. Thanks for telling us your story! Shout out some of the homies !
Yo thanks so much for letting me ramble on lol. Much love to all the POD homies ??????✌?️ Much love to my DANJ crew Trew, Big Once and RG. My THHP squadron Slot-A, Weekend Gabe, DJ Mykol, Rawzhel and Vice Personas. My whole Scratch Fam. My other half Bae Electronica and of course my parents and fam that always keep me lifted and in high spirits so I can keep making it happen for them.
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