The Wild Styles – What up Damian we been watching & listening to your underground movement, consistently mixing it up with legends, we love the wild style that you bring, it seems like your not locked into a particular type of music from HardCore to HipHop can you share with us some of your history & your vision going forward?
Damian Burnz – Thanks. I’m good. I’ve been in my studio making beats. Back on some more traditional HipHop flavors. As far as my history goes the first music I’ve made and first love is HipHop. I bought my first pair of turntables in 1985 and used a drum machine for the first time soon after. In 88 I went to my first hardcore show. During this time I wasn’t making music & DJing. Pretty much just being a menace.
Did you hit Raves back then?
Ya in early 90’s I went to a rave for the first time. The complete opposite of hardcore shows for the most part. Raves in the beginning were thrown in spots that weren’t clubs. Warehouses, armories, soccer/ tennis domes and just about anywhere big enough and secluded enough to let the party people do their thing. I was going to these party’s on the regular till about 96 when it seemed to lose its appeal. & for the next few years I started getting into production.
Was that when you started working with Slaine?
Slaine was living with me in Astoria and we were hanging with a bunch of emcees from the NYC area. We were making as much music as we could. Recording was not as easy as it is today. Back then we had to go to a studio and pay to lay down vocals.
Slaine & Damian Burnz
When did you start touring with the notorious Skarhead band?
Around 99 I started DJing for Skarhead. We toured a lot and had our way with every city we played in. Since then I’ve just been making music that feels good to me. Some I throw up on the internet. Most of it I don’t.
We’ve seen you in Skam Dust’s Corona Drug Bust music video, what a classic track & video. What made you want to do that “Eye Of The Tiger” remix from the band Survivor? I heard Skam didn’t want to do it, I bet he regrets that now.
Ok. Well I always loved that sample even before MOP did it. When Skam started doing some solo stuff I immediately thought he would be perfect over it so I went to work even after he said he wasn’t sure. I told him to trust me and he did. The track took on a whole other life then I expected and the video just pushed it out the box. It was fun working on the whole thing.
Glad you did that track with Skam, another favorite one of ours is the Shotblocker’s track & video “satanic Shamrocks” with Danny Diablo, Big Left, Slaine & Danny Boy. In brief what’s the story behind that ill track?
It’s a track I was working on a long time before you’s got to see it. I basically put it on the shelf and then Ezec asked me if he can use it on his mix tape. I definitely didn’t expect it to take off like it did. Fun times. Great memories.
That “Crazy Angel” video is pure wild style, you’re in a jam packed show, looked like a fun crowd, you were crowd surfing with a old school boom box. Just by looking at that video I can tell you guys were having a great time, can you briefly tell us a little about the making of that video?
The making of that video had a lot of chemicals involved. We shot 3 or 4 different nights. Each time I was on another planet. We had to sneak the shots on the roof of the Standard hotel. They don’t allow filming. Lots of fun, off the wall shit, too much.
But you did it again, cause your new music video “Finger On The Trigger” had all of us at The Wild Styles laughing out loud, it looked like one guy broke his nose in this video & you had the legendary Pop Master Fable from the Rock Steady Crew, Skam Dust, Lars from Rancid & many others appear in this. Tell us something about this crazy video?
Thanks again. It was definitely nuts. The director Jeff showed up smashed on whiskey and thought he was gonna be the star of the video. We had to edit him out of most of the clips. Half way through filming Skam tells me he’s tripping out on acid. I was sober filming this but definitely not when I made the actual track.
Thanks for interviewing with us, it was a pleasure kicking it with you, is there anything say or a shout out in closing?
I like to give a shout to every mother fucker on the planet. And all the other planets too.
We are all born artists. Support your favorites. God Bless.
Thanks for having me. Thank you for reading. enjoy!
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