Headphone Highlights

DJ Craze

Miami, USA

Craze's life is a legacy of rags to riches, geek to chic, no-name to world fame. He never had it easy, from fleeing battle in Nicaragua at the age of three to a geeky adolescence to Hurricane Andrew hitting Miami in 1992, nor did have ever have any coattails to ride; his is a story that's an uphill battle, but a story that ends right at the top. "My mom always taught me I could do anything I put my mind to. So when she asked what I wanted to do with my turntables, I told her, 'Be the best DJ in the world,'" Craze casually laughs. And that he proved three times at the DMC World Championships, an unprecedented record, and a title that no other solo DJ has yet to match. On top of his untouchable turntablist skills and scratch champion showmanship, the world has also recognised that Craze is a second to none club DJ. He has toured the globe over, from Jamaica to Australia to Japan to Iceland to France to the country he was born, Nicaragua. All DJing aside, Craze is also a world- renowned producer, releasing wildly successful drum 'n' bass records with labels such as Cartel Recordings, Breakbeat Kaos, and C.I.A and other hip hop inspired productions with the likes of DMC Records, Ninja Tune Records, OM Records and !K7 Records. It's the respect from both DJs and audiences alike that has paved Craze's seamless move between hip hop and turntablism to drum 'n' bass and finally to what now sounds like a mix up of straight up rap, ghettotech, raw booty house, old-school electro, Baltimore/Miami bass crossover and sweaty lo-end dancefloor music, making it all but impossible to keep still. This is Craze, the man who arguably defined his hometown Miami turntablism scene, only to return now to reinvent this take on the Miami sound; a neo-genre of his own special blend of every which way club codes from the ghosts of disco's past, present and future.