DJ Devastate is one of the original UK Hip Hop DJ’s, most remembered, and celebrated for being one third of the UK groundbreaking group The Demon Boyz. He was heavily influenced by his older brother Brian B (Twilight Firm) and joined him DJing in various clubs and blues dances in and around North London with Twilight Soul Sound back in the 80’s. Allegedly, Brian B would break into empty properties, change the locks and run an electricity supply to hold dances in!!Brian B taught him the art of beat for beat mixing and Devastate became addicted to SL1200’s! He also introduced Devastate to DJ Fingers (The Sindecut) in the mid 80’s and they became good friends and started hanging out. Devastate was then exposed to breakbeats, beat digging and scratching and even ended up cutting up with one finger like his mentor. Unbeknown to Devastate that period in his life would shape things to come…….After spending years of practicing deck to deck scratching, mixing and studying his idols of that time (DJ Cheese, Jazzy Jeff, Cashmoney, DJ Fingers and DJ Tat Money), Devastate was ready to leave his bedroom in Tottenham and unleash himself!The day before a school exam, he was invited out by childhood friend Spikey Tee (Sindecut), to a Hip Hop jam at Camden Palace. Mike J and Demon D (Demon Boyz) were performing with a huge list of MC’s but for Devastate, they stood out that night and he had never heard UK MC’s sound that tight and clear. There was something about Demon D’s flow, delivery and tone that made him want to be a part of the group. Devastate knew Mike J from childhood days at a drama workshop so feeling confident that he could do a better job than the DJ they had, he stepped to Mike J after the show and brazenly said ‘I can do a better job than that DJ’! They swapped numbers and by the following week, they hooked up and started jamming at Devastates house. It was a match made in heaven because musically Devastate and Brian B were advanced in comparison to many guys around at that time and nobody could MC like Mike J and Demon D.The group spent hours practicing routines, freestyling and writing lyrics. Back then, Devastate would even MC and Mike J would jump on the turntables (something I think they each secretly wanted to do). Brian B took on the role of giving the group musical direction, organising practice sessions and hooking up pieces of equipment. Devastate always had ideas for samples, beats and phrases to cut up and Mike J and Demon delivered the verses. It was a machine that nobody could fuck with…..NOBODY!Because of the Camden Palace gig, Mike J and Demon were given a one off deal with Music of Life Records (Chris France and Simon Harris) to record a song for an LP called Hard as Hell featuring other UK MC’s. The recorded track was called ‘This is a Jam’ and was written before they met Devastate. The preproduction was done in the heads / minds of Devastate and Brian B, as in those days they did not have much equipment (if you had a four track back then you was a don…there was no digital recording). By the time they reached the studio, an up and coming Brian B was running the show despite never recording a record before. Simon Harris was not pleased about this ‘young boy’ with no formal training showing him how to programme beats using 808 drums sounds. Derek B (Music of Life artist) was in the studio at the time and was so impressed he urged Simon to let Brian ‘do his thang’. Because of that track, the group released their first 12†single (Rougher Than An Animal / Northside). It was an instant street hit, announced the group’s arrival and gained them props throughout the UK. They were offered an LP deal and given total creative control, which was rare for that time, after lots of blagging by Brian B.At that time Brian B was also working on beats with long time school friend Stevie G (Twilight Firm) who had been working in a demonstration studio. They had an MPC 60 there and Brian was instantly drawn to it, plus he liked how it looked and decided on that machine instead of the popular ones of that time (Yamaha SP12 and Studio 440). Prior to recording, the LP Brian negotiated for Music of Life to purchase the group some preproduction equipment, this was when the AKAI MPC 60 became an essential part of the overall progression. Brian B taught Devastate how to use the MPC and Devastate began churning out some of the hardest beats of that time (Vibes and Recognition but to name a few). The success with the Demon Boyz LP ‘Recognition’, enabled the group to do shows with the following artist: NWA, Queen Latifah, Salt and Pepper, DJ Mark, The 45 King and The Juice Crew (MC Shan, Roxanne Shante, Cool G Rap and Big Daddy Kane), but to name a few.Devastate quotes: ‘the music business is funny man, we did two shows with NWA while Easy E was still alive and we were on the tour bus on the way to Birmingham. It was us and London Posse all smoking weed and Dr. Dre started complaining about the smoke and the weed smell! Years later, he came out with an LP called The Chronic, chatting about how much weed he smokes, picture that, maybe we converted him!! You can’t take this game too seriously, it’s thickle’ (he laughs).Devastate got more and more into the production side of things and eventually parted ways with Mike J and Demon D but has no regrets about being involved with the group because as he sees it, ‘we were one of the best that did it and one of the first to have such a tight team. Not many groups of that time had their own production team behind them; it was like the London version of Public Enemy and The Bomb Squad’.To date he has worked with the following artists in conjunction with the Twilight Firm: London Posse / Rodney P, MC Einstein, Caron Wheeler, Loose Ends, Nenah Cherry, Junior Giscombe, Mike GLC, Maxi Priest, Mica Paris and many others that he can’ t recall not even to mention an embodiment of remix work. Devastate even toured the USA as Daddy Freddy’s DJ and did shows with Steel Pulse, The Beat, The Specials, Shirley Thunder and Burning Spear. He enjoyed a stint on KISS 100 where he did a live weekly mix.Devastates first love is still music and he has enjoyed time away from the ‘scene’ observing it from a distance and has refused to engage in any forms of ‘reunions’ or anything that represents ‘the Demon Boyz days’. As far as he is concerned, it was good then but today is a new day and things move on. He has never been the type of person to use the Demon Boyz name or reputation as a meal ticket, even during the height of his success.He has learnt how to play the guitar, tinkers with the bass and incorporates this in his productions. He describes himself as a ‘vibezition’ as he is not formally trained but from an early age has always had vibes weather it be musical, to do with his personality and having the ability to remain approachable and down to earth. He has never stopped producing beats but by his own admission, he has not put himself about or exploited himself like many of his contemporaries, as he has often felt you are only as good as your last record. However, he has been DJing using the name CRATES in various spots in London over the last year with long time protégé Terry G. He has also been working with two UK vocalist (Baby and Jackie Bennet).He quotes: ‘I have been fortunate to have grown up with good musical grounding and always have been interested in the ‘guys behind the scene’. My brother Brian was producer mad and could quote you the year a record came out, the producer and the record label. It’s that kind of stuff that kept me up hungry and grounded. When we got into production, we were more interested in the producers. I was and still am a big fan of Marley Marl, he was like the Dilla, Premo and Pete Rock of that time because to me he showed everyone how to chop samples, programme beats and actually create an overall sound. He definitely inspired me to produce and I aspired to his standard of production. If it weren’t for him I would not have been able to create one of the Demon Boyz biggest tunes ‘VIBES’. In addition, with Brian B behind the mixing boards (self taught engineer, wires studios and builds computers) I could not miss! The funny thing is nobody actually knows this, but the production of Vibes was based on an MC Shan track that was produced by Marley Marl called ‘Juice Crew Law’. I wanted to make my own version of it, I wanted to play tennis with Marley and bat it right back at him UK style! Having looked at the UK rap scene overall (nearly 20 years later!), I am extremely proud of what I bought to the table and definitely consider myself a pioneer, after all…… I first got my MPC in 88 man!’
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