Michael Schwartz (born April 4, 1970), better known by his stage name Mix Master Mike, is an American turntablist best known for his work with

Beastie Boys The Beastie Boys were an American Hip-hop, hip hop and Rap rock, rap rock group formed in New York City in 1979. They were composed of Ad-Rock, Adam "Ad-Rock" Horovitz (vocals, guitar), Adam Yauch, Adam "MCA" Yauch (vocals, bass), and Mike D, ...

Life and career

Born in

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 ...

, Mix Master Mike is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and Filipino descent. Mix Master Mike came to prominence upon winning the 1992 New Music Seminar/Supermen Inc. DJ Battle for World Supremacy in New York City, becoming the first West Coast DJ ever to do so. In the same year Mix Master Mike won the DMC World DJ Championships as a member of the

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 ...

collective Rock Steady DJs with

DJ Qbert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is a Filipino American turntablist and composer who has heavily influenced the History of DJing. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC USA Champio ...

and

DJ Apollo 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 ...

, establishing Mix Master Mike as one of the pre-eminent DJs in the industry. This success was followed by triumph in the 1993 DMC Championships, this time as part of the duo Dream Team with

. Mix Master Mike, DJ Qbert, and DJ Apollo were the founding members of the turntablist group

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 ...

. In 1994 it was rumored that Mix Master Mike and Q-Bert were asked to retire from further competition, so as to avoid monopolizing the title. This claim is disputed by the DMC World Championship Website. After retiring from the world of competitive turntablism, Mix Master Mike and Qbert became judges for the 1995 DMC Championships. Mike has also helped fellow DJs produce their own albums, most notably, ''

Wave Twisters ''Wave Twisters'' is a 2001 American animated film directed by Eric Henry and Syd Garon and based on DJ Q-Bert's album of the same name. It is known as the first turntablism-based musical. It is a mix of live-action, computer graphics, and cel ...

'', by

DJ Q-bert Richard Quitevis (born October 7, 1969) known by his stage name DJ Qbert or Qbert, is a Filipino American turntablism, turntablist and composer who has heavily influenced the History of DJing. He was awarded America's Best DJ in 2010, was DMC W ...

. In 1995, he was honored with The

Grand Wizzard Theodore Theodore Livingston (born March 5, 1963), better known as Grand Wizzard Theodore, is an American musician and DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of the scratching technique. In addition to scratching, he gained credibility for his mastery ...

lifetime achievement award from the International Turntablist Federation. He has collaborated with Ozzy Osbourne, Tommy Lee, Rob Zombie, Fela Kuti and Joss Stone, and a number of other artists. Mix Master Mike's most high-profile work has been with hip hop group the

. Mix Master Mike worked with the band on '' Hello Nasty'' (1998), '' To The 5 Boroughs'' (2004), and '' Hot Sauce Committee Part Two'' (2011). He also appears on the Beastie Boys single "Alive", which was released in 1999 in support of '' The Sounds of Science'' retrospective anthology. From the studio to world tours, Mix Master Mike effectively became the Beastie Boys' resident DJ, having replaced DJ Hurricane, who was preceded by Doctor Dré (not to be confused with

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

) who replaced

Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...

known as DJ Double R. Mix Master Mike is known for his heavy-hitting bass and intricate scratch routines. His solo album ''Eye of the Cyklops'' won best electronic album in 2000 at the California music awards. In 2001 he released the album ''Spin Psycle''. In 2002, Mix Master Mike contributed two tracks to '' Red Hot + Riot'', a compilation CD created by the

Red Hot Organization ''Red Hot Organization'' (RHO) is a non-profit, 501(c) 3, international organization with goals to promote diversity through equal access to healthcare through pop culture. Since its inception in 1989, over 400 artists, producers and directors ...

in tribute to the music and work of Nigerian musician,

Fela Kuti Fela Aníkúlápó Kútì (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997) was a Nigerians, Nigerian musician and political activist. He is regarded as the principal innovator of Afrobeat, a Nigerian music genre t ...

, that raised money for various charities devoted to raising AIDS awareness and fighting the disease and featured many other contemporary hip-hop and R&B artists. He remade classic

songs, "Interlude: Gimme Shit" and "Water No Get Enemy." Mix Master Mike is often credited with inventing the Tweak Scratch. The scratch is performed by moving the record back and forth while the platter motor is stopped. The inertia of the platter causes the sounds to slow and drop in pitch in an unusual manner. He is also well known for the unusual technique of using a

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of effects pedal designed for electric guitar that alters the timbre of the input signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The peda ...

, an effect most commonly used by guitarists, with his turntables. Mix Master Mike is featured as a secret character that can be obtained through a cheat code in the 2002 snowboarding game '' SSX Tricky''. He also contributed the song "Patrol Knob" to the soundtrack of the

NTSC NTSC (from National Television System Committee) is the first American standard for analog television, published and adopted in 1941. In 1961, it was assigned the designation System M. It is also known as EIA standard 170. In 1953, a second ...

and

PAL Phase Alternating Line (PAL) is a color encoding system for analog television. It was one of three major analogue colour television standards, the others being NTSC and SECAM. In most countries it was broadcast at 625 lines, 50 fields (25 ...

versions of the 2000 game Jet Grind Radio. Mix Master Mike is one of 9 artists who participated in thetruth.com's Remix Project, in which he remixed the Sunny Side song "Tough Love". On March 9, 2010, Mix Master Mike was a guest on the Cool Tricks segment of Yo Gabba Gabba. In December, Mix Master Mike provided scratches for a cover of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American guitarist, composer, and bandleader. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa composed Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, jazz fusion, orchestra ...

's " Willie the Pimp", which appeared on the iTunes compilation '' The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAAAA Birthday Bundle 2010'', featuring rappers

Darryl McDaniels Darryl Matthews McDaniels (born May 31, 1964), also commonly known by his stage name DMC (or D.M.C.), is an American rapper and record producer. He is a founding member of the Hip-hop, hip hop group Run-DMC, and is considered one of the pioneers ...

and

Talib Kweli Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He first earned recognition through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def (now known as Yasiin Bey) in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's music ...

and singing by Zappa's son,

Ahmet Zappa Ahmet Emuukha Rodan Zappa (born May 15, 1974) is an American musician, writer, actor and trustee of the Zappa Family Trust. Early life Ahmet Zappa was born in Los Angeles, California, the third of four children born to musician Frank Zappa and ...

. On December 2, 2010, Skullcandy and Mix Master Mike launched the official Mix Master Mike headphones, released in all major marketplaces including Apple stores, worldwide. In 2011, Mix Master Mike joined

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

for a few performances promoting Travis' debut album '' Give the Drummer Some'' - On February 10, 2011, performing "Can a Drummer Get Some?" on

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

with

Game A game is a structured type of play usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or video games) or art ...

and

Swizz Beatz Kasseem Daoud Dean (born September 13, 1978), known professionally as Swizz Beatz, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City, Dean embarked on his musical career as a DJ in 1994. At the age ...

, and On March 7, 2011, performing "Saturday Night" on Conan with

, Transplants and Elvis Cortez. It was then confirmed that Mix Master Mike will be performing with Barker again, joining Barker on the I Am Music Tour supporting

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

, through March–April 2011. In June 2011, it was announced that he was to present a Saturday night show on the alternative radio network Xfm from 6pm-7pm for an initial 13-week period commencing July 9. In May 2012, Beastie Boys, along with Mix Master Mike, were inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

in Cleveland, Ohio. In December 2013, Mix Master Mike became the first turntablist to perform at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for The Kennedy Center Honors in honor of Herbie Hancock, performing "Rockit". In 2018, it was announced by B-Real of

Cypress Hill Cypress Hill is an American Hip hop music, hip hop group formed in South Gate, California in 1988. One of the first Latin groups to gain mainstream recognition in hip hop, they have sold over 20 million albums worldwide, and have obtained multi ...

that Mix Master Mike would be joining Cypress Hill. In 2019, Mix Master Mike performed alongside

at a free concert in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

at Vancouver's 420 Cannabis Festival to a crowd of 60,000 people despite efforts by the Vancouver Parks board to cancel the show. In 2023, Mix Master Mike opened multiple shows for

Staind Staind ( ) is an American rock band from Springfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Aaron Lewis, lead guitarist Mike Mushok, bassist and backing vocalist Johnny April, and ...

and

Godsmack Godsmack is an American Rock music, rock band from Lawrence, Massachusetts, formed in 1995. The band is currently composed of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Sully Erna and bassist Robbie Merrill. Since its formation, Godsmack has released eig ...

on their co-headlining United States tour.

Discography

Albums

*''Juko'' (1991) *''Anti-Theft Device'' (1998) *''Eye of the Cyklops'' (2000) *'' Spin Psycle'' (2001) *''Return of the Cyklops'' (2002) *''Bangzilla'' (2004) *''NaPALM ROCKETS (DubStep)'' (2010) *''The Magma Chamber'' (2015) *''Conquest'' (2019) *''Beat Odyssey 2020'' (2020) *''Ready Slayer One'' (2022)

EPs, singles, and mixtapes

*''Neck Thrust One'' *''Rescue 916'' *''Terrorwrist Delivery Service'' *''Memoirs of a Serial Wax Killer'' *''Mixmasterpiece: Muzik's Worst Nightmare'' (1996) *''Suprize Packidge'' (1999) *''30 Minute Massacre'' (2001) *''Plazma Ryfle'' (2015) *''Live! Beatdown volume 1'' (2006) *''The Bolt-117'' (2012)

Awards and credentials

* DMC World Champion 1992 - Rock Steady DJs (Apollo, Qbert, and MixMaster Mike) * DMC World Champion 1993 - Dreamteam (Mixmaster Mike and Qbert)

References

External links

Mix Master Mike official fanclub and website
* *

Mixmaster Mike featured in HHC Digital's DMC retrospective
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mix Master Mike 1970 births American hip-hop musicians American musicians of Filipino descent American people of German descent American hip-hop DJs West Coast hip-hop musicians Living people Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area Beastie Boys members Musicians from San Francisco Methods of Mayhem members