DJ Precision was born and raised in Queens NYC- during the golden age of the Hip Hop Era. Always an avid music fan and sneaker collector, he always wanted to get into DJ-ing and got his opportunity when he traded a pair of Nike Air Jordans to his friend, in exchange for the right to borrow "2 Sanyo Belt Drive turntables and a busted dj mixer w/ no cue switch" . He started practicing, on this primitive set up, w/ the 4 records that he owned - Mad Lion's "Take It EZ", Da Brat's "Funkdafied" ("that was not my record!" he insists) and a pair of "Unbelievable" 12"s by The Notorious BIG. He practiced, in his bedroom, while listening to Pete Rock, DJ Premier, DJ Rizz and Stretch Armstrong cut it up on NY radio; it was here that he learned and taught himself the rudimentary techniques of backspinning. He eventually started doing local house and block parties around the hood in the Corona area of Queens NYC; home of Hip Hop legends: Kool G Rap, The Beatnuts, Akinyele and Jazz Giant - Louis Armstrong.
In 1996, he met Rob Swift of the DJ super group, the X-ecutioners, during an exhibition that Rob was holding at his High School. This was a turning point for Precision as he was shown a whole different side of djing, known today as turntablism. Rob rocked the high school crowd while demonstrating beat juggling, advanced scratching techniques and the legendary battle routines which gave him an international following. Precision bravely went up to Rob, in front of the entire audience, and challenged Rob to a DJ Battle. Rob accepted the challenge and easily vanquished his young opponent; but came away impressed w/ Precision’s heart and determination. Rob Swift returned the following year to teach DJ classes at the same high school where he found an eager Precision willing to become an apprentice and a future master of the turntable arts. Precision, learned quickly; absorbing the information like a sponge, as he began to pick up the techniques of beat juggling and scratching. He was even able to master the difficult "flair scratch" by the end of the semester. Rob was impressed w/ Precision's dedication and invited him to come over to his home studio to practice. Precision was then introduced to the other crew members of The X-ecutioners; the newly inducted ITF World Champion Total Eclipse (DJ for Pharoah Monche), DMC World Champion Roc Raida (DJ for Lord Finesse), and Mista Sinista (DJ for Common).
Precision's skills really became honed while practicing, in this accelerated environment, with some of the greatest DJ's on the planet. On top of that, because he was going home to practice on an inferior DJ set up, it gave him even more discipline and control over the advanced techniques that he was learning. At this point, he felt that he was ready for the big time and he entered the 1998 DMC NY Regional DJ Battle Competition. The event turned out to be a disastrous affair as he did not even place and was roundly booed by the audience. Although he had good command of the techniques, he was thoroughly unprepared to translate it to a stage setting, where he was being judged by his peers, and in front of a large audience, with short a time limit to do what normally came naturally to him. The defeat was both humiliating and crushing, he naturally considered even giving it all up; but he came away learning valuable lessons about DJing and about life; when you fall, you come back harder and more prepared in order to do the job at hand. He went back into training, sparring w/ members of The X-ecutioners to sharpen his skills and increasing his performance savvy. He re-emerged at the Guitar Center Battle in 1999. Judged by Pete Rock, one of his early idols, he placed 2nd and the momentum began to turn in his favor. As his confidence began to return he gathered up a nice cache of DJ routines that would serve as his artillery at DJ Battles from then on and, brimming with confidence, entered The Kool Mixx NYC Regional DJ Battle. He came in 1st Place - winning a cash prize of $2,000! Not only had he taken his 1st Championship, but he now had the means to purchase an official and authentic DJ set up of 2 Technics 1200 Turntables and a Vestax 05 Pro Mixer - the standard in DJ equipment at the time. Precision went on to win a slew of prestigious DJ Battles and as a result, got the opportunity to perform on the same stage with The Black Eyed Peas, The Roots, culminating in a European Tour w/ his mentors, The X-ecutioners.As an ironic prologue to this incredible success story, DJ Precision returned to the scene of the battle that put him on the map, and became the "Guitar Center 2006 National Champion" winning a Custom Scion Automobile, a chance to design his own Nike shoe and an assortment of high end DJ equipment. The days of the belt driven turntables and cueless mixer set up never seemed more distant!
DJ Precision's National Championship Winning Routine
The Precision Air Force One's
