Magazine: FARANG
Title: OUT & ABOUT
Words & Photo: Daniel Cooper
Issue Date: 07.05


Although she's promoted as Playboy Magazine's tour DJ, DJ Shortee has a whole lot more tricks up her sleeve. She's also the only female DJ to be featured in the classic documentary, SCRATCH, and has been a pioneer of the turntablist movement. Daniel Cooper caught up with the diminutive artist on a stack of milk crates behind the decks of Q-Bar last month.

FARANG: How did you make a start in the DJ business and how long have you been performing?
SHORTEE: I've been a DJ for 10 years. I'm originally a drummer and I met my husband (DJ Faust) in 1995 who taught me how to scratch & mix records. I started playing college house parties and then began to play clubs after about a year. I won the Fever Buzz Battle of the DJs mixing & scratching house records in 1997. At the same time we started this turntablist Dj crew "Third World Citizenz" (Craze, Faust, Shortee, Shotgun, Klever, King James, T-Rock) which is where I really worked on my scratching & beatjuggling skills. My first appearance on vinyl was on DJ Faust's debut album "Man or Myth" (feat Craze, Shortee & Shotgun) which was the 1st turntablist album ever to be released. Shortly after I did a turntablist EP "Fathomeless" (Faust, Shortee & Craze) and went on my first tour With Faust, Craze & Develop spinning hip hop & doing turntablist showcases. I released my first solo album "The Dreamer" in 1999.

FARANG: What kind of music do you play?
SHORTEE: It all depends on the event & what the promoter requests. I play everything from Hip Hop (mainstream, old school &/or underground), Funk, Soul, Breaks, Drum & Bass and House.

FARANG: You were the official DJ for the Playboy 50th anniversary club tour. How did you get that job?
SHORTEE: I had played a few Superbowl parties for them (2003 & 2004) and they asked me to submit a demo because they were looking for a tour DJ who played multiple styles. I competed against a ton of other female DJs for that job.

FARANG: What was it like being on the road with Playboy and performing at the parties?
SHORTEE: It was a lot of hard work but a lot of fun too. It was super mainstream. I was originally booked to play multiple styles of music but all of the crowds wanted to hear mainstream hip hop with the occasional Brittany Spears song. (Playmates liked to hear "Toxic"...not quite my taste but they got what they wanted.) I played five hours a night in 50 cites, except one club which was 9 hours at a casino in Lake Tahoe. That was the longest set I ever played. I was also the MC for the entire tour, introducing all the playmates & the burlesque shows etc. We traveled on 3 tour busses & my husband traveled with my as my road manager helping me with set up and break down of all my gear in each city. I dressed in Playboy's leather skirts and some of their sexy tops which was not quite my style (I'm a b-girl at heart;o) but I was grateful for the free duds. The mansion parties are dope too. Lots of celebrities and I've gotten to meet a few. My favorites so far was meeting Big Daddy Kane, Jimmy Falon & Alfonso Ribiero (Carlton from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air).The first time I played there was on the tour and I've played a few since then. It's beautiful there and Hef has his own zoo with all these exotic animals. I like the little monkeys the best.

FARANG: You were the only female DJ to appear in the movie Scratch. What's that all about?
SHORTEE: Scratch is a documentary by Doug Pray about the turntablist movement. Around the time when I was coming up as a turntablist, there were very few females scratching & beatjuggling. I am honored to be recognized in the movie as a contributor to the scratch movement alongside innovators such as Afrika Bambaataa, Z-Trip, Q-Bert, Craze, Faust, Cut Chemist, Grand Wizard Theodore, Grandmaster Flash, X-ecutioners, Jazzy Jay etc. This movie was picked up by Palm Pictures and has been seen in theaters across the globe as well as HBO, Sundance, Cinemax, Showtime, VH1, Independent Film Channel etc.

FARANG: There are so few women DJing on the world scene, why is this and do you find your gender an advantage?
SHORTEE: There are actually tons of women DJs in the world now. When I first started it was very different, there were still some female DJs but it wasn't as common as it is now. Back then, it was harder to be taken seriously in a male dominated culture, but now it's much easier for women to get recognized. It's actually an asset to be a female DJ but you gotta have skills to back it up if you want to be remembered & respected. It is still very rare to find female DJs that scratch & beat juggle on a technical level but there are a few up & coming girls to look out for.
Originally I created my instructional DVD series to pass on what I've learned to the next generation of DJs, male or female. I'm often told that my DVDs are a source of inspiration for many up & coming female turntablists, because it's the 1st instructional DVD where you can see a female scratching & juggling.

FARANG: You're on the road a lot. What makes traveling as a DJ different to traveling as a tourist?
SHORTEE: You don't get to see anything and sleep is rare.
I usually fly in, sound check, perform and then fly out the next morning. All I really see is the airport, the hotel & the venue.
Every once in a while I get the privilege to stay a little longer and see a bit of the city I'm in but that's pretty rare because I'm usually on my way to the next city. Regardless, DJing has taken me all over the world and I am very grateful for the opportunities & doors that it's opened for me.

FARANG: What projects are you working on at the moment?
SHORTEE: Urban Assault: Drum & Bass production catalog with my partner DJ Faust (www.urbanassaultdnb.com ) Turntable Tune-Up DVD: supplement DVD in the series that teaches how to tune & fix your turntables. (www.how2dj.com ) Shortee's DJ 303 DVD: next installment in my DVD series which ranges from advanced DJ skills to production & remix techniques. (www.how2dj.com ) Twice as Nice: 4 turntable Breaks & Drum n Bass show with my female partner Dj Annalyze (www.twiceasnicedjs.com ) Next solo Album: I've been working on this for a while. No set deadline just takin' my time with it.

FARANG: Finally, what kind of music are you listening to at the moment?
SHORTEE: Drum n Bass: Total Science, Pendulum, Baron, Subfocus, Mampi Swift, Blame, Shock One (too many to mention)
Also plenty of Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, Breaks, Rock, House ...lots of mix CDs that people give me.

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