Christopher E. Oroc,

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Melvin Babu (born September 17, 1974), better known as DJ Babu or DJ Babu the Dilated Junkie, is a Filipino-American DJ and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

. He is a member of DJ crew the

Beat Junkies The Beat Junkies is an American hip hop crew of DJs specializing in turntablism. Established in 1992 in Cerritos, California by J. Rocc. As of 2014, The Beat Junkie Crew also host their own record pool, clothing line and radio station. The B ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

trio

Dilated Peoples Dilated Peoples is an American Los Angeles-based Hip hop music, hip hop trio, composed of rapper and record producer Evidence (musician), Evidence, rapper Rakaa, and Beat Junkies deejay and record producer DJ Babu. The group is better known in t ...

together with

Evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

and Rakaa Iriscience, and a member of the Likwit Junkies along with rapper Defari. He served as the curator and host of ''Soundcheck'' for Beat Junkie Radio on

Dash Radio Litt Live (stylized as LITT Live, formerly Dash Radio) is a digital radio broadcasting platform with 44 radio stations. These stations are curated by DJs, radio personalities, musicians, etc. The platform includes partner stations curated by Sn ...

. As of 2017, DJ Babu is the Program Director and a lead instructor alongside fellow crew members Mr. Choc, Melo-D, DJ Rhettmatic, D-Styles and J.Rocc at the Beat Junkie Institute of Sound.

Career

In his early years, Babu lived in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

for one year, and later moved to the neighboring city of

Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...

; he currently resides in

Los Angeles County Los Angeles County, officially the County of Los Angeles and sometimes abbreviated as LA County, is the most populous county in the United States, with 9,663,345 residents estimated in 2023. Its population is greater than that of 40 individua ...

. He has appeared in and hosted numerable videos. Babu is famous for redefining the art of

Beat juggling Beat juggling is a deejaying and turntablism technique in which two records are used to prolong an existing beat, or to create a new one. It is associated with the context of hip hop, but not necessarily limited to this genre. Definition Beat ...

during the 1997 ITF/Beat juggling category competition, when he first performed his "Blind Alley" routine. Under the name "The Turntablist", produced perhaps the genre's most popular battle record, 1996's Super Duck Breaks, which sold over 10,000 copies. Along with rapper and record producer

and rapper Rakaa, he released the debut

' single "Third Degree" in 1997 for ABB Records. The trio's dropped their first studio album, '' The Platform'', in 2000. Babu, Evidence and

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhyme schemes.Edwards, Paul, 2009, ''How to Rap: ...

are featured in the song "H! Vltg3" from

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

's remix album '' Reanimation''. DJ Babu has also featured on numerous acts alongside groups such as

Jurassic 5 Jurassic 5 (stylized JuraSsic 5) is an American alternative hip hop group formed by rappers Charles Stewart (Chali 2na), Dante Givens (Akil), Courtenay Henderson (Soup (Jurassic 5), Soup, Zaakir), and Marc Stuart (Marc 7); and disc jockeys Mar ...

, Swollen Members and the Visionaries. Individually Babu has been featured in many other groups, including his affiliation with the

Likwit Crew The Likwit Crew is an American hip hop collective from California, founded by Compton-based rapper King Tee. Considered to have been originated in 1992 when King Tee introduced Tha Alkaholiks trio, composed of members E-Swift, J-Ro and Tas ...

, which led to form the Likwit Junkies duo with Defari. The duo's debut studio album, '' The L.J.'s'', was released in March 2005 to generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. Babu's latest endeavors include Dilated Peoples' 2014 release of their fifth studio album, '' Directors of Photography'' via

Rhymesayers Entertainment Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis. History Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley (Slug), Anthony Davis (Ant), Musab Saad ( Sab th ...

label, which features tracks that were primarily produced by Evidence and Babu, with guest appearances from

Vince Staples Vincent Jamal Staples (born July 2, 1993) is an American rapper. Born in Compton, California and raised in Long Beach, California, he first became known for his appearances on projects by Odd Future members—''Earl (mixtape), Earl'' by Earl Sw ...

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

Action Bronson Ariyan Arslani (born December 2, 1983), professionally known as Action Bronson, is an American rapper and television presenter. Born and raised in Queens, he released his debut mixtape ''Bon Appetit ..... Bitch!!!!!'' in January 2011 and indepe ...

, Sick Jacken and Rapsody to name a few. In 2014, the

crew launched their own membership based record pool curated by the members of the crew, including Babu. At the top of 2015, "Beat Junkie Radio" began airing on

, the station stars all members of the crew, but led by Babu, Mr. Choc, and Rhettmatic. Their live show "Soundcheck' which aires live every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month has been ranked as one of the top 5 shows on Dash Radio. ''Duck Season Vol. 4'' is set to be released in 2018. Aside Babu's musical accomplishments, his hobbies also include photography, with Babu being noted for his "behind the decks" shots of his turntables with Evidence and Rakaa during live shows, as well as landscape shots of his travels around the world with Dilated Peoples. On January 18, 2017, The

formally announced plans to open their own DJ school (The Beat Junkie Institute of Sound) and Professional training facility. Babu leads in the introductory classes, intermediate/advanced level scratching, creative mixing and beat juggling classes.

Discography

Albums

*''Super Duck Breaks'' (1996) *''Super Duper Duck Breaks'' (2000) *''Duck Season Vol. 1'' (2002) *''Duck Season Vol. 2'' (2003) *'' The L.J.'s'' (with Defari, as the Likwit Junkies) (2005) *''The Beat Tape Vol. 1'' (2007) *''Duck Season Vol. 3'' (2008) *''The Beat Tape Vol. 2'' (2010) * ''No Apologies'' (with LMNO) (2010)

Featured

* "Wild Stylus" (1997) cratches – tracks: A2 to A4, B1 to B2

Singles

* "Pay Attention" (2001) * "Duck Season" (2002) * "Fan Mail" (2007)

Production

* "Funky Duck" Wild Stylus (1997) * "Service" Dilated Peoples (2000) * "Phil Da Agony Interlude"; "proper Propaganda"; "Pay Attention"; "Dilated Junkies"; "Hard Hitters" Dilated Peoples (2001) * "Behold My Life (Remix)" Defari (2003) * "International" Chali 2na (2005) * "The L.J.'s" Likwit Junkies (2005) * "Alarm Clock Music" Dilated Peoples (2006) * "Vultures"; "Burn Big" Defari (2006) * "Things You Do"; "A Moment in Time" Evidence (2007) * "Rain or Shine" Evidence (2008) * "C.T.D."; "Eyes Wide" Rakaa Iriscience (2010) * "Same Folks" Evidence (2011) * "BBQ Sauce" Sean Price (2012) * "No Gunz Come Out"; "Lip Service"; "Curveball" Defari (2013) * "Progressive 3" Vince Staples (2014) * "Reversal"; "Figure It Out"; "Options May Vary" Dilated Peoples (2014) * "Weather or Not" Evidence (2018)

References

External links

DJ Babu interviewBeat Junkie Institute of SoundBeat Junkie Record Pool
*
DJ Babu Interview
at NAMM Oral History Collection (2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Babu, DJ 1974 births Living people American musicians of Filipino descent American hip-hop DJs Filipino hip-hop DJs Musicians from Oxnard, California Musicians from Washington, D.C. Stones Throw Records artists American hip-hop record producers East Coast hip-hop musicians Record producers from California