Dj rob swift biography

Biography

On Rob Swift’s 2009 DVD release As The Techincs Spin, your looking at a master Turntablist, a walking encyclopedia of the craft. He describes in precise detail how some of his most intricate routines work. But when he puts his hands on the wheels of steel, all the talk in no way prepares you for what you’re about to witness and the only way to truly understand the years of stellar experience he has in his pocket is to sit back, put on your best headphones, and listen to the magic Rob makes.

Always challenging the idea of what Hip Hop is and testing that notion any chance he can get, on his new album The Architect, Rob takes Hip Hop and effortlessly blends it with the genre of Classical music to create an album that acts as the soundtrack to his vision of where Hip Hop can head rather than where it is right now. The Architect also marks Rob Swift’s debut release on Mike Patton’s Ipecac Recordings label, a perfect fit as both men have been challenging the notion of music for years. They have previously toured together promoting Patton’s Peeping Tom project and their collaborative effort General Patton Vs. The X-excutioners. With a history that grabs heavily from jazz, Rob now pushes the boundaries of music even further, championing its limitless possibilities. “Anyone who’s followed my career since my first mix tape in 1995 “Soulful Fruit,” knows that I’ve historically turned to jazz as a way to help convey my ideas as a DJ in the realm of Hip Hop. However, in June of 2008, I was introduced to the genre of classical music and that was a pivotal moment for me as an artist.” His introduction to composers like Mozart, Bach, and Chopin, opened up a whole new musical vocabulary for Rob. He became an eager student of the genre, soaking up as much knowledge as he could and while recording The Architect, he saw parallels between building his own compositions and those of classical composers. So he began thinking in terms of “what woul

What’s your first memory of Rob Swift? Mine is probably different from yours- I met Dr. Butcher, a guy you could say is Rob’s mentor, at the local barber shop. It was actually pretty famous back in the day- it was the spot where Anthony Mason (Ex Knick) used to get all those crazy designs in his hair done. Anyway- I met Butcher at this barbershop, I was about 14 or 15, didn’t know much about anything, but I knew of the X-Men. Butcher and I stayed in touch, but he wasn’t into DJing that much anymore, so he told me to call Rob Swift. Now if I was only slightly familiar with Butcher, mostly recognizing him from work with Kool G Rap, Rob Swift was significantly more recognizable to me. In fact, when Butch gave me Rob’s #, assuring me it’d be cool if I called, the first thing that came to my mind was the hypnotic rhythm of his famous juggle, one you should all be familiar with, “nobody beats the biz”. I started singing it to myself- “to get to get to get funky, to get to get to get dowwwwwn”. It was funny cuz as I was calling him; I didn’t expect much of a response. Instead, what I found was one of the coolest, easiest to talk to dudes, who in a lot of ways became a mentor to me. Now, 10 years later, Rob is asking me to run down his life in an easily digestible form. It was either roll with the usual PR written bullshit, or let you guys know the real. So here I am- a fan like the rest of you, to give you an inside perspective on Rob.

Born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, Swift (born Robert Aguilar) initially got into DJing in a pretty unique way- his pops. “My dad was a salsa and meringue DJ. My brother learned how to scratch and do all the hip hop deejaying stuff on my dad’s equipment (without his permission) and I’d sit there and watch him. When I entered the sixth grade, I decided I wanted to learn.” So unlike some of us who got influenced through hip hop records, DMC a

For other people named Robert Swift, see Robert Swift (disambiguation).

"Who Sampled This?" redirects here. Not to be confused with WhoSampled.

Musical artist

Rob Swift (born Robert Aguilar; May 14, 1972) is an American hip hopDJ and turntablist. He was an original member of the turntablist group The X-Ecutioners until 2004. Over his career, he has released numerous solo albums and collaborated with various artists, including Mike Patton, Patton's project Peeping Tom, Dan the Automator and Handsome Boy Modeling School, Lords of Acid, Portugal. The Man, and Herbie Hancock.

From January 2010 through May 2015, Swift hosted the online hip-hop radio show Dope on Plastic on Scion A/V Streaming Radio 17.

In August 2012, Swift became the resident DJ for a new late night college sports TV talk show on ESPNU called UNITE.

Early life

Swift was born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, by Colombian heritage. He started being an DJ at the age of 12 by watching his father and brother.

Swift educated himself with the classic turntable beats of the early 1980s New York City playground pioneers while listening to funk and jazz at home with his brother. He draws inspiration from Bob James, Herbie Hancock, James Brown, Quincy Jones, Grandmaster Flash and Grand Wizard Theodore.

In 1990, Swift enrolled as a student at Baruch College in New York City and graduated in 1995 with a degree in psychology.

Career

In 1991, Swift joined the groundbreaking turntablist crew the X-Men aka X-ecutioners (Roc Raida, Total Eclipse, and Mista Sinista). Also in 1991, he won the DMC East Coast title.

In 1997, the X-Ecutioners debut their album 'X-Pressions' (Ashpodel), marked the ascent of Swift as a recording artist, evident in the dirt-funky tracks like "Word Play." Five years later, their major-label debut 'Built From Scratch' (Loud/Columbia) propelled the group to stardom with the massive hit "It's Goin’ D

The Underscore: Behind the custom music of ESPN

This month, in celebration of Latinx Heritage Month, we interviewed College GameDay studio DJ, Rob Swift. Rob Swift is the child of Colombian immigrants, second generation DJ, and long-time musical partner of ESPN. Read on to learn more about Rob’s journey.

Tell us a bit about where you are from, your heritage/musical background, and what kind of music you make?

Well, I was born in Jackson Heights, Queens (NY) but my parents are Colombian immigrants. So I consider myself American and also strongly identify with my Afro-Colombian heritage. I'm known for my work as a Hip Hop DJ.

Has your upbringing influenced your music in any way? If so, how?

For sure! My father (Jose M. Aguilar) emigrated to NYC in the late 1960s from a small section of Colombia called "Choco.” Located in western Colombia, Choco is known for its large Black population. That specific region is the second largest gold producer and so my Dad's family were all miners. After settling in NYC, my Pop decided to DJ to supplement his 9 to 5 income. So by the time I was 8 years old, Dad was DJing weddings, birthdays, New Year's Eve parties, etc., and he would bring my Mom (Clara), older brother (John) and I along to help him transport his equipment. It was a family affair so to speak. Being that my Dad's friends were other South American immigrants, he would mostly spin Salsa, Merengue, and Cumbia. I'm talking about the late 1970s and by then, Hip Hop was thriving in NYC and my older brother was immersed in the culture of breaking, rapping and graffiti. Being that my Dad owned all the gear you needed to DJ the way Hip Hop pioneers like Kool Herc and Grandmaster Flash did in the famous park jams that took place throughout the city, my big brother would invite his school friends over to our house on holidays to jam like his hip hop idols while my parents were at work. So my Dad an