DJ Swamp chuckles a little when he tells me about how just six years ago he was driving a street sweeper in Cleveland. In 1996, he made his first appearance at the DMC US Championships [for turntablism], took first place and went back to his trashy job for months and months. His eyes light up and excitement takes over when he explains how he snuck his way backstage, met Beck, gave him a demo and a month later was playing at the Grammys. Beck took him on as DJ for the Odelay tour, kept him on board doing keyboards for the Mutations tour, and then had him DJing the Midnight Vultures tour. Today, he’s doing his own thing.

He started off breakdancing, and got into music soon afterward. His disinterest and lack of enthusiasm with Cleveland DJs led to him making his own mixtapes, eventually doing live college radio shows, driven by love for music. His idea of payment was being able to give shouts out to friends while on the air. If they did a psychiatric evaluation on me and they said this guy is insane, I’d blame it on hip-hop,” he says with a smirk. He goes on to mention his amazement with modern hip-hop/R&B producers like Timbaland then mentions his weak spot for heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, and Spinal Tap. Insanely diverse appreciation of music anyway.

Swamp sits away from his LA home, slumped over in his chair with his long, dyed black hair in his face, hoping that it covers up his insecurities as he nervously glances out the window looking for escape. He’s shy and incredibly modest for a champion DJ, but warms up to me once he finds out I skate, dig music he digs, am familiar with his buddy Mary Jane and know how to chill out and hang tough. I ask him if he skates, to which he replies, “well…no. I mean…I have a skateboard, ride it around and wear skate gear because lots of my friends skate, but I would never consider myself a skater- not like my friends [in LA].” I soon learn he’s been hanging out with Muska, Paulo Diaz, and a bunch of other professionals. I wonder if any of those skaters dare consider themselves DJs, knowing Swamp lives down the street. His masterful scratching techniques and masochistic stage antics have made him an act not to miss. While beat-matching and scratching on stage, he finds time to juggle records; if he fucks up, there’s a good chance he’ll get pissed, break the vinyl and cut himself with the jagged edge.

His new release, Never is Now, is a new direction for Swamp. He’s stepped up to the mic and is taking the world on by himself. His production style is sick, detailed and technical while his lyrics are a bit creepy. His MCing isn’t the best in the world, and he knows it. “I’ve been rhyming for a long time but…I didn’t think I was that great. Now there’s so much bullshit out that, you know…fuck it- I might as well [rhyme]. My main thing is that I didn’t want any…like…everyone’s record now is featuring such and such, featuring blah blah blah, featuring a motherfucker I’ve never heard of. It’s just like, man fuck that- I want to be the one DJ who comes out with his shit and does it all himself.”