1. 48november 2007
music
For international music pioneer DJ Krush, a spontaneous walk on the
wild side led to a ground-breaking career.
Photographed by ERIK SWAIN
Krush
Hour
YOKODEVEREAUXT-shirt.A.P.C.coatandhat.COMPLETETECHNIQUEnecklace.

2. november 200749
music
“After you finish
copying other
people’s music
— find your
own sound, and
show it to the
world.”
ROGANjacket.A.P.C.T-shirt.STUSSYpants.A.P.C.hat.CHRISTIAN
ROTHsunglasses.ROLEXwatch.DJKrush’sownringsandbelt.
ADIDASleatherjacket.GAPT-shirt.STUSSYpants.A.P.C.hat.
CHRISTIANROTHsunglasses.DJKrush’sownringsandbelt.

3. 50november 2007
music
NOM DE GUERRE coat.
Vintage T-shirt available at Screaming
Mimi’s, NYC.
STUSSY pants.
ADIDAS sneakers.
A.P.C. hat.
Vintage BOTTEGA VENETA bracelet
available at Local Clothing, NYC.
DJ Krush’s own rings and necklace.
Stylist: HISSA IGARASHI.
Photographer’s assistants: JUSTIN
TELLIAN and KALINA SKRILL.
Stylist’s assistant: ANN BINLOT.

4. november 200751
music
On a warm afternoon in early September, Tokyo-born sonic purist
DJ Krush, appearing calm and poised, describes the moment that
spawned his illustrious 20-year career as a musical entrepreneur.
“After watching Grandmaster Flash in the movie Wild Style, I knew
that having two turntables was a must,” he explains. “When I finally
got to the store to buy the turntables, the old man behind the counter
looked at me and said, ‘You don’t need two of them. One is good
enough.’” Unbeknownst to the store clerk, the artist who bought those
turntables was about to embark on a genre-defining musical path that
would not only jumpstart Japan’s underground hip-hop scene, but
also cultivate international understanding using sounds that transcend
language barriers.
DJKrush,a.k.a.HideakiIshi,wasborninthelandof therising
sun, a country built on international influence. Evidence of Japan’s
penchant for embracing cultural diversity exists in metropolitan areas
like Tokyo and Osaka, where the popularity of foreign-language music
overshadows that of its domestic counterpart. Go into any karaoke
bar in Tokyo and you will find every single Beatles song available for
your singing pleasure, but such open-mindedness towards music with
Japanese lyrics isn’t reciprocated in English-speaking countries such as
England, the U.S. and Australia. That being said, one can only imagine
the anxiety felt the first time Krush stepped on stage in England to
kick off his very first international tour to promote 1994’s Strictly
Turntablized. “It was pretty nerve-racking,” he recalls. “I was touring
with DJ Shadow, and I remember thinking to myself how no one in
the sea of screaming fans was going to understand what I said. So the
only way to speak to them was through my music.”
Krush’s journey toward international success dates back to
his formidable years as a kid listening to music at home. “My father
liked music,” he says. “He used to play artists like John Coltrane and
James Brown, whereas I was into Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black
Sabbath.” All that changed the instant Wild Style injected a lethal dose
of America’s emergent hip-hop culture into Krush’s bloodstream.After
he purchased two record players, he practiced transforming them into
sound-creating instruments and also discovered that scratching up his
father’s vinyl during the process wasn’t the best way to keep a peaceful
household. As time passed, Krush took his newfound skills to the
streets of Tokyo, where he formed the Krush Posse in 1987. A group
of rappers and DJs, Krush Posse soon developed a reputation as the
best hip-hop act in Japan, but after a short-lived five years of success,
the group disbanded, leaving Krush at the helm of Japan’s hip-hop
revolution. “In Krush Posse, we were looking to make hip hop,” Krush
explains. “Once the Krush Posse broke up and I went solo, there was
no longer a voice rapping over the music. It was then that I knew I
had to develop my own sound, so I used hip hop as a base for me to
grow from.”
Alongside his lush, hip-hop-inspired melodic structures,
Krush began incorporating dub-like baselines, keyboards, turntable
scratching, beat-juggling, jazz fusion, drum & bass and ambient
sounds into his musical repertoire. His sound resonated with Mo’
Wax’s James Lavelle, who gave Krush his shot at making headway in
the international music market by teaming him up with other Mo’
Wax artists. His success on the road fueled collaboration with premier
artists like DJ Shadow, C.L. Smooth (of the Roots), Guru (of Gang
Starr) and Mos Def, among others. Despite the worldwide buzz that
Krush’s philosophical beat synthesis was generating, Japanese crowds
didn’t catch on so quickly. “Nobody understood what I was doing
in the beginning,” he remembers. “It wasn’t until I started spinning
records on the streets of Harajuku with break dancers that people
started paying attention.” And it didn’t take long for Krush’s masterful
technique to inspire Japanese kids to start rocking the underground
parties with their own turntables.
By the time hip hop and turntablism consumed Japanese
popular culture,Krush’s sound had already permutated into entrancing
musical arrangements that existed outside the realm of hip hop. When
asked whether he still considers his music to be hip hop, Krush thinks
for a moment, then answers,“I wouldn’t call it hip hop. Rather, I make
DJ Krush music.” He also offers some advice to the next generation of
DJs: “After you finish copying other people’s music — find your own
sound, and show it to the world.” Sam Frank
“I was touring
with DJ
Shadow and
I remember
thinking to
myself how no
one in the sea
of screaming
fans was going
to understand
what I said. So
the only way to
speak to them
was through
my music.”