It's a great honor for me to bring to you not only a great DJ, but also a friend, and one of the most hard working woman in the entertainment business.....
NYC Connexion; First of all thank you for giving us the opportunity to have this exclusive interview with you and giving us and the world a better idea of who is this Female DJ creating all this buzz.
DJ Beanz; Well, I appreciate you taking the time to get to know me and for all the support.
NYC Connexion; Dj Beanz, How did it all begin?
DJ Beanz;Well, I grew up utilizing music as my outlet in so many ways, but just to fast forward when I was 19 I moved to Florida and began promoting for a small Drum & Bass label, messing around on the DJ's tables during meetings and social gatherings until they finally just decided to throw me on the tables at a club one night. I say "throw" because I had NO warning (laughs) apparently they felt I was good enough at that point. When I got everyone on their feet dancing, it was a feeling I will never EVER forget, I just knew then that this is what I wanted to do.
NYC Connexion; Where did the name came from?
DJ Beanz; Well, when i first started I went with the name Soldata (meaning Soldier in Italian) but later when I moved to DC people started calling me Beanz because I'm from Boston (you know, the whole Boston Baked Beans thing) and a promoter put my name as DJ Beanz on a flyer one time and the name just stuck.
NYC Connexion; What are the names of some of the coalitions you currently belong to?
DJ Beanz; Fleet DJs, Slip N Slide DJs, 730 Dips DJs, Third Coast DJs, T.R.A.P. Star DJs & BLOK Club DJs
NYC Connexion; Besides you ofcourse, Who is/are you favorite DJ/DJ's?
DJ Beanz; Well, there are alot of DJs I truly look up to, I must say Roc Raida, Grand Master Flash & Tony Touch were reasons I always held an interest in Dee Jaying and my mentor & one of the most amazing DJs out now DJ Ykcor.
NYC Connexion; You have been nominated before for Best Female Dj at the International DJ Awards earlier this year. How does it feel to be nominated again not only for Best Female Dj but also for Best Host on a Mixtape? and Where can we go and vote?
DJ Beanz; I am so honored, especially being up against some great female DJs in that category. It feels amazing and Ive worked so hard so these nominations motivate me to keep grinding and growing. The feeling of being recognized and appreciated is something I can't explain. You can vote at http://www.southernentawards.com/ballot/vote.html
NYC Connexion; Talking about being nominated Best Host on a Mixtape, You have a great series of Mixtapes, Reigning Real... Where did the Reigning Real idea came from?
DJ Beanz; Thank you. Well....i always say "Real Recognize Real" and I have a few supporters that call me "Queen Beanz" (laughs) also I push REAL hip-hop to the fullest so I kind of linked all those concepts together & just came up with Reigning Real. Royality type shit, so nothing but the realest hip hop, reggae & R&B (in my eyes) goes into the series.
NYC Connexion; Reigning Real Vol. 1, Who hosted Vol. 1? (click in the pic below to listen/download for free)
DJ Beanz; Vol 1 was hosted By Money B, from Digital Underground and new hip-hop Duo M*A*S*K (Money B and Scott Knoxx). This was a big deal to me cause Money B happens to be an amazing DJ and back in the day Digital Underground had a major impact on hip-hop & I feel as though M*A*S*K has some refreshing music to bring to the table, also Mon has one of those memorable voices.
NYC Connexion; Who hosted Vol. 2? (click the pic below to listen/download for free)
DJ Beanz; Vol 2 was hosted by an artist I recently came across from Roxbury Massachusetts, Sean Hines. Ever since I heard the track "Check Your Man" I've been ON HIM! (laughs) Sean brings that real life hip hop to the table and his grind is incredible. He's fairly new to the game and my goal right now is to break his records. He's very talented and his music, drive, style and voice is refreshing and an inspiration to me.
NYC Connexion; How can the artist submit music for one of your mixtapes and what are the requirements?
DJ Beanz; Artists can submit music to trax4beanz@gmail.com MP3s MUST be properly labeled with track title and artist name. I also appreciate Main, Clean, Instrumental and Accapella when available (allows for a more creative mix) I run specials for mixtape slots on a regular basis
NYC Connexion; I know you love to break records. Are you doing radio at this time? and What do you look for when you're gonna break a record?
DJ Beanz; I do love breaking Records! I DJ to push that heat in peoples ears. I stick to internet radio because it allows me to be as raw and free with my mix as possible. Right now I have 2 shows on Fleet DJ Radio ( http://www.fleetdjs.com/ ) which registers BDS so artists with publishing get paid and can track their spins. Spill the Beanz Radio airs every Monday at 12(noon) and Friday at 1pm EST. Also starting this Tuesday, Nov. 16 (and this is the exclusive part of the interview) I will be hosting along with E (My manager better known as Ms. NYC Connexion) a radio show called REIGNING REAL at http://www.teamblackradio.com/ on Tuesdays and thursday 10am and Wednesday 4:30pm you will be able to tune in from your phones and anywhere where internet is available. And I also have an all female mixshow on http://www.focusonthedj.com/ called a Female Take Over, its also accessible from Sprint, AT&T, Altell and Worldwide Cellular phones. There's more stations in the works (winks) but I wont talk about them quite yet.
When breaking an artist I look to see what separates them from other artists, something beyond the beat and a catchy hook. Also if the artist has no drive or desire to push their music why should I? So I look for hunger and consistent music from them, not just the "one hit wonder" type.
NYC Connexion; REIGNING REAL RADIO SHOW is gonna be crazy, those who know us are already saying radio will never be the same, so you all gotta check it out. Is there any artist you are working directly with at this time?
DJ Beanz; I have a lot of artists I'm working with right now but honestly my main focus is Sean Hines and Akshan (a reggae artist from the DMV area).
NYC Connexion; Ok changing the subject a lil bit , I know you also model..... How does being a model complement your career as a DJ?
DJ Beanz; Well, it has its ups and downs because sometimes I just want to be recognized for what I do for hip-hop and not my looks but on the plus side it gives people a good visual to put with the music (laughs). I do enjoy a good photo shoot though.
NYC Connexion; What is the biggest misconception about DJ Beanz?
DJ Beanz; Everyone thinks Im Puerto Rican, Im actually Sicilian (laughs). Nah, I don't really know how to answer that because with me what you see is what you get honestly. I don't care too much what people think of me as long as they enjoy my mixes. I keep it 100% real and nothing less. I'm a very humble fun loving free spirit with a some what twisted personality. But any questions or thoughts people have about me, they can ask, I'm not easily offended by any means.
NYC Connexion; What is it about DJ Beanz that is creating all this buzz? and What's next for DJ Beanz?
DJ Beanz; From what I hear it's my grind. I literally don't sleep. I strive to be better and truly master the craft of turntablisim. There's not many female DJs first of all, and I definitely think my flavor is a lot different from the other female DJs. Whats next...hmmm....well I hope a Justos award (laughs) and there's alot of artists I really want to do mixtapes and possibly tour with. Mixtape wise I'd love to do tapes with Jadakiss, Styles P, Grafh, Papoose, Nu JerZey Devil and a few others.
NYC Connexion; I know you have a lot of work to do so we gonna let you go for now, but before we do... Is there any shout outs or anything you would want to add?
DJ Beanz; There's so many people (laughs) first and foremost my fans and supporters (I'm nothing without them) you my manager and one of my best friends, DJ Ykcor, DJ Infamous 804, Sean Hines & the whole Rushin Embassy Ent fam, Certified, DJ J Buttah, every one of my coalitions aaaand my haters (makes me know I'm doin somethin right). I'd keep going but we're running out of time.
NYC Connexion; How can our readers follow your work and get in contact with you?
DJ Beanz; Twitter is definitely the best place, I LOVE Twitter (laughs) @HollaAtBeanZ and my blogspot http://www.hollaatbeanz.blogspot.com/ where I post all of my recent mixtapes and some passed radio shows. The official DJ Beanz website is coming soon.
NYC Connexion; Thank you so much for your time its a pleasure for me to bring to my readers MY (Yes, i said my) DJ (laughs) and we will definitely keep our readers posted on your latest career moves and wish you the best in this recent nominations.....
DJ Beanz; This was a great interview, I enjoyed it. And thank you so much, I hope I win!!!
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