DJ Whoo Kid is one of the most versatile and entertaining DJs in the industry. The Queens Disc Jockey, who started his career in the mid-1990s with 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew is now a successful radio host, with a brand extension that includes TV, clothing, his own website and more.
Whoo Kid has worked with 50 Cent and Eminem professionally for more than a decade and also been fired a number of times — both seriously and jokingly (we’re sure you remember this). The entertainer, who very recently won the “Tour DJ of The Year” award at the first annual Global Spin Awards in NYC spoke to us about touring all over the world, his hilarious Whoolywood Shuffle show on Shade 45, brotherly relationship with 50 Cent & getting fired over 20 times, his new album Street King Immortal, 50 Cent-Lloyd Banks tension, cooking up a House track with Wiz Khalifa and much more.
Read our crazy conversation below!
First off, congrats on appearance on The Voice the other night with 50 and Adam Levine. That was a dope performance.
DJ Whoo Kid: Yeah that is a big record man. That was a big moment right there man. We are back.
Definitely. Also want to congratulate you on winning the “Tour DJ of The Year” award at the Global Spin Awards last week. How does it feel?
DJ Whoo Kid: Thanks man. Yeah, I guess because I tour a lot. Every week I’m in a different country so I get all the visuals. A lot of people just respect that fact, like last week I was in Canada somewhere on the west coast side, Regina, what they call it v*gina (laughs). I was in Regina, this week I’m in Lisbon, Portugal. Next week I’m in Brazil. So, I got the visuals, it’s not like I’m talking, I come back with the proof (laughs).
How important do you consider touring for a DJ like yourself?
DJ Whoo Kid: It’s important because not only does it keep me relevant overseas, because it feels like dead when you just hang in America, it also refreshes the foreign fans I have when I keep going back there. I bring back new music, it’s not like I go overseas and play the same sh*t, it’s new music, a new form of swag as they would say. It’s like a new feeling every time I come back, and then I learn more about them, what they listen to, how they upgraded and then I bring that back to New York, or Miami or LA. There’s different people in every different clubs and once I’ve mastered every club, it’s like second nature to me. Because I know if you go to Italy, they like the south. If you go to France, they respect they own music but will hear a little bit of East Coast. Or, if you go to China, it’s just pop music, Top 40. You gotta learn by traveling, you gotta learn by interacting with their culture. Even doing mixtapes with their top artists. I did all the mixtapes in the UK with the big artists from Tinie Tempah to Giggs, and I did mixtapes with Booba in France. It’s not about just going there and DJin, you gotta f**kin find a way to get respect from their culture too. You don’t want to just go there and they be like ‘that’s 50 Cent’s DJ’. Nah, you wanna go there like, ‘oh that’s the guy who did the record with Tinie Tempah’ or ‘oh that’s the guy who the remix with Booba’,’oh that’s the guy who did the mixtape with DJ Cut Killer. You know I was on the radio with Tim Westwood. You gotta give ’em reasons why they should respect you. I’m not getting the easy ticket out here, like ‘oh I’m 50 Cent’s DJ’. What is the easiest ticket? I could go over there and say I’m Eminem’s DJ, I’m 50 Cent’s DJ, and I could get all the props ever, but do you give something back to their community & culture and do you bring their culture to America?
I connected Tinie Tempah to Chris Brown and Wiz Khalifa and they did hits. It’s like a cool way of bridging the gap. You know I became like a liaison, like a UN to Hip-Hop linking all these cultures. Other DJs ain’t thinking like that and I’ve always thought ahead, even when I was young, same sh*t. Touring & going overseas keeps you aware and also you’re like a better man. Better than DJing in Brooklyn all your life, DJing in Miami all your life, like you DJ in one club. Who gives a f**k? You know if you haven’t been around the world and you don’t understand the world, you’ll never be that exclusive guy, you’ll never be the one guy with the crazy stories. Like I’ve DJd for Princes. I know the prince of Bahrain, the prince of France, Nelson Mandela, Gaddafi. I would’ve never did that if I didn’t tour overseas. Every footballer overseas, I know all the top dudes. DJing in Ibiza, doing Techno, doing House, I mean you gotta be open format now if you wanna survive. I’m not trying be the DJ that just DJs in New York, gets that little 800 bucks, 500 bucks and goes home. I never wanted to be that guy.
Your ‘Whoolywood Shuffle’ show is really funny and entertaining. Which artist did you have the maximum fun with on the show?
DJ Whoo Kid: I think one of my favorite artists is T.I. because Tip is the type of guy that’s really tough. He don’t play no games and then I guess like over the years of me f**kin’ with him, it kinda like cooled him down, where he became the cool guy. He jokes now. Before that, he used to be so serious, but now he’s like the jokester. He don’t mind me f**kin with people, I can make fun of people with him, he’ll jump in. Now he makes it a point to come on my show every time he is in New York. I kinda like enjoy. You know, like everyone else I’ve known him from even before he blew up, so it’s kinda cool. But he’s always been a serious guy because of the beef, and all the negativity, and all the haters he had. He was never the kinda guy who didn’t mind joking. And you know I’m an idiot on the radio (laughs). I can make everyone laugh and go crazy and I thought it was very difficult to make him laugh, but the fact that I can make him keel over, I could make anyone just cry. I use him as my medium or I test my skills. If I can make T.I. keel over and pee on himself, then I’m the man, I can anybody laugh, you know what I’m saying.
One of my favorite all time guests is Willie Nelson. It’s kinda cool like to interview a guy like that because it’s hard to integrate a legend with the ignorance of my Hip-Hop show. if I can make him comfortable, and he can give me his stories and we come to an agreement, it kinda like proves my skills is up to par. Because I had him up there wildin’ out, so that was one of my legendary situations.
The third one would be taking over the Howard Stern show (laughs). I was supposed to just do a f**kin’ rap battle, and I wind up taking over the whole show and it looked like he was interviewing me for an hour. So, I became like a mentalist when it comes to interviews. Like I know how to manipulate anything and make everything comfortable. I can make any artist say whatever just by keywords and I learned this from being on radio for almost 20 years.
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