djrehab.net

Back in 1990, I began to listen to a very popular Florida DJ by the name of Magic Mike. I was mesmerized by the sounds Mike created with his turntables, and I knew that one day I would be able to create those sounds myself. I was very young at the time, and I lived in an area that wasn’t exactly a hotbed for turntablists or Hip-Hop for that matter. Even so, I fell in love with Hip-Hop and the rhythm is something I just understood. Around the mid 1990’s I began to hear a local DJ named “The Scientist” on the radio in the upstate and my interest again peaked in turntablism. It was almost as if it were meant to be as I met another DJ in Clemson, SC shortly hereafter. 1998 was the year it all started for me, and I used his equipment to spin my first ever party. I was hooked.

Later in 1999, I drove all the way to the big city of Anderson, SC (LOL) where I found a set of cheap turntables and basically a useless mixer. I bought 8 records began to practice every day in a camper that my parents had in the yard to keep from bothering the family. I picked up the craft pretty well and in 2000 I met another DJ who put me on at my very first residency at Overtime in Clemson. I also picked up a residency at Easy’s in Greenwood, SC. It was here that I began my career and also FINALLY began to pick up some of the scratches that I heard Magic Mike and DJ Scientist perform. To be clear, it was a really a fraction of either-but I did have some promise.

In 2005 I entered The Scientist’s DJ Battle in Greenville, SC and I did well, advancing to the finals. But in the end I came in 2nd. I was devastated for weeks and I vowed to take my DJ’ing to levels that I had only previously dreamed of. I drastically changed everything in my life, from my practice time to the way I listened to music. I then packed my bags and moved to Charleston, SC, a place where I felt I could be more successful and meet more like minded individuals. In 2006, I met up with fellow turntablist DJC.Nile and began to practice at even higher levels. I also picked up the name DJ Rehab because of the job I hold at Roper Hospital to this day. I also was bit by the production bug around this time and started a very successful string of remixes and mixtapes that continue as well. As a matter of fact, the mixtape game is one that I take VERY SERIOUS. I’m the only DJ in SC and one of the few in the USA that produces 100% self produced mixtapes. My mixtapes have won several awards, from Mixcrate’s Top 5 to Beezo’s Top 5 and are consistently the most downloaded in SC on Soundcloud.