DJ Craze (born Arist Delgado; November 19, 1977) is a Nicaraguan American DJ and record producer who plays

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- ...

Miami bass Miami bass (also known as booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexual ...

, trap,

breaks Break or Breaks or The Break may refer to: Time off from duties * Recess (break), time in which a group of people is temporarily dismissed from its duties * Break (work), time off during a shift/recess ** Coffee break, a short mid-morning rest ...

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

, and practices

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 Phonograph, turntables and a cross fader-equipped DJ mixer. The mixer is plugged into ...

. He was, until 2020, the only solo DJ in history to win the

DMC World DJ Championships The DMC World DJ Championships is an annual DJ competition founded by the Disco Mix Club (DMC) which began in 1985. It has been described as a "pre-eminent competitive DJ event". History Competitors are each given 6 minutes to perform, with win ...

trophy three times consecutively (1998–2000).

Biography

DJ Craze was born in

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. At the age of 3, in 1980, he fled the country with his family during the war which lasted throughout the 1980s. Craze and his family moved to

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, where they lived for a short while, before moving to

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, where he currently resides. The style of his music carries many of his past musical influences. Initially influenced by the

Miami Bass Miami bass (also known as booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexual ...

movement when he was younger, Craze has gone on to incorporate elements of hip-hop, drum n bass, and breaks in his turntable routines. Recently, Craze has shifted his emphasis to DJing and producing drum n bass with his own record label "Cartel". Craze released his first album in 1999, ''Crazee Musick'', and a second in 2002, ''Scratch Nerds''. He also released an album called ''D-Day'' in 2002 with his turntable crew, the Allies. Craze has released two of the most popular battle records ever, "Bully Breaks" and "Bully Breaks 2". Craze was

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer and record producer. One of the most prominent figures in hip-hop, he is known for his varying musical style and polarizing cultural and political commentary. After ...

's DJ for his '' Glow in the Dark'' tour in 2008 while

A-Trak Alain Macklovitch (born March 30, 1982), known professionally as A-Trak, is a Canadian DJ, record producer, and record executive. He came to prominence in the late 2000s as an international club DJ and remix artist, known for incorporating highl ...

worked on his

Fool's Gold The mineral pyrite ( ), or iron pyrite, also known as fool's gold, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula Iron, FeSulfur, S2 (iron (II) disulfide). Pyrite is the most abundant sulfide mineral. Pyrite's metallic Lustre (mineralogy), lu ...

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

and tour. Craze was featured on th
Native-Instruments website
demonstrating the Traktor X1 Controller. Recently, Craze created his own record label with fellow DJ and friend

Kill The Noise Jacob Stanczak, known professionally as Kill the Noise, is an American DJ and record producer from Rochester, New York. His collaboration with Skrillex, Fatman Scoop and Michael Angelakos, "Recess (song), Recess", entered the UK Singles Chart at ...

, Slow Roast Records. Slow Roast is distributed by Fool's Gold, the record label shared by

and Nick Catchdubs. Other than Craze and Kill The Noise, Klever, Codes, and Senor Stereo also release material under the Slow Roast label. In February 2011, DJ Craze and

DJ Shiftee Samuel Morris Zornow (born January 27, 1986), better known as DJ Shiftee, is a New York City based DJ and turntablist. Career Zornow is the 2009 DMC World DJ Finals Champion, the only American DJ to date to have won the DMC Battle for World ...

worked together, spinning on-stage with controllerist and

Traktor Traktor is DJ software developed by Native Instruments. It is also used as a sub-brand for Native Instruments' associated DJ hardware products. History Traktor was first released in 2000. The initial versions available were ''Traktor DJ'' ...

S4 consultant Ean Golden at Club EVE in downtown Miami for the Midi Fight Club event. Between the two of them, DJ Craze and DJ Shiftee had 7 DMC world championships behind them. The event highlighted the use of

Native Instruments Native Instruments is a German company that develops, manufactures, and supplies music software and hardware for music production, sound design, performance, and DJing. The company's corporate headquarters and main development facilities are lo ...

controllers, such as the X1, S4 and Maschine. In September 2011, DJ Craze became

Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...

's touring DJ as he was featured on the rapper's "Hard White Tour", along with

Rittz Jonathan Matthew McCollum (born August 16, 1980), better known by his stage name Rittz, is an American rapper. His debut album '' The Life and Times of Jonny Valiant'' was released on April 30, 2013, rising to number 8 on ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hi ...

, however he was replaced in early 2014 by DJ Klever. DJ Craze worked with THUMP and A-Trak in 2017 to bring DJ Battles in the Goldie Awards. He judged the competition along with other famous DJs like

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

Mannie Fresh Byron Otto Thomas (born March 20, 1969), better known by his stage name Mannie Fresh, is an American record producer, DJ and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is best known for his production work for Cash Money Records releases, as well b ...

, The Whooligan, Destructo,

Just Blaze Justin Gregory Smith (born January 8, 1978), known professionally as Just Blaze, is an American record producer and DJ. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, Smith attended Rutgers University for three years before dropping out to pursue a career in mus ...

, and Mija.

Championship titles and recognition

*''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine's "America's Best" DJ - 2001 *World DMC Team Champion - 2001 *World DMC Champion - 2000 *World DMC Champion - 1999 *

Winter Music Conference The Winter Music Conference (WMC) is a week-long electronic music conference, held every March in Miami Beach, Florida, United States since 1985. It is also known as the premiere platform for electronic dance music. The conference brings togethe ...

Scratch Off Champion - 1999 *World DMC Champion - 1998 *USA DMC Champion - 1998 *World ITF Scratch Off Champion - 1998 *ITF Western Hemisphere Scratch Off Champion - 1998 *Winter Music Conference Scratch Off Champion - 1998 *Winter Music Conference Scratch Off Champion - 1997 *East Coast DMC Champion - 1997 *Winter Music Conference Scratch Off Champion - 1996 *East Coast Rap Sheet Champion - 1996 *Zulu National Champion - 1996 *Zulu National Champion - 1995

Discography

Albums

*''Crazee Musick'' (1999) *''United DJs of America, Vol. 16: The Nexxsound'' (2000) *''Scratch Nerds'' (2002) *''D-Day'' (with The Allies) (2002) *''Adam F: Drum and Bass Warfare'' (CD2 mixed by DJ Craze) (2002) *''Live in Puerto Rico: Hip Hop Drum N Bass Turntablism'' (2003) *''Rugged Radio Saturday'' (2003) *''Miami Heat'' (2005) *'' FabricLive.38'' (February 2008)

References

External links

*
Interview with ''DJ Times'', 2000DJ Craze interview with HHC Digital
;Videos
DJ Craze - Murder @ Butterfactory - Kanye West Concert Afterparty ~ Bring it BackDJ Craze - Murder @ Butterfactory - Kanye West Concert Afterparty - That Gal is PoisonDJ Craze - Murder @ Butterfactory - Kanye West Concert Afterparty - Annie LennoxDJ Craze - Murder @ Butterfactory - Kanye West Concert Afterparty ~ Hold It
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craze, Dj American drum and bass musicians Nicaraguan DJs People from Managua Nicaraguan emigrants to the United States Musicians from Miami 1977 births Living people Electronic dance music DJs EDM trap musicians