Thug Life Army

DJ Hyphen is a hip-hop and R&B DJ from Seattle, Washington, although he first started mixing while attending college outside of Los Angeles. Within a few days of arriving on campus, he quickly sought out the campus radio station and signed up to host his own show.

Started in 2000, “Beats, Rhymes, and Life” aired every Saturday afternoon on KSPC Claremont (CA) from 3-5PM, right before “The Downlow,” one of California’s longest running hip-hop radio broadcasts. During his show, Hyphen provided his listeners with some of the dopest hip-hop from all around the world that wasn’t getting the recognition it deserved. As his show grew in popularity, “BRL” soon had a dedicated following of listeners, both in Southern California and around the globe via online streaming. In 2001, he began to co-host “The Downlow” with the show’s founder, Kevin Sakoda, creating a very popular block of programming where listeners could tune in and hear the best in underground hip-hop every week.

At the same time, Hyphen began to DJ events around campus, specializing in college and house parties. This experience helped land him internships at various commercial stations, including his hometown hip-hop/R&B station, Seattle’s KUBE 93.3FM. He spent his summers working for KUBE and DJ’ing around Seattle, and ran the hip-hop department at KSPC when he returned to campus for the school years. While at school, he also DJ’d for an up and coming group in Los Angeles called Inverse (comprised of two MC’s, Tunji and Dialekt). With production from beatsmiths such as 9th Wonder, M-Phazes, Soul Supreme, and Decap, Inverse has created a nice buzz in underground circles and they’re currently working on their debut album, “Long Day’s Journey.”

After graduating in May 2004, Hyphen left Los Angeles and KSPC to return home and work for KUBE. In order to continue his love for underground hip-hop, he decided to start making mixtapes on top of his other DJ’ing pursuits. Available in local record stores around Seattle and also online, the “Beats, Rhymes, and Life” mixtape series strives to mimic the goals of his old radio show. Consequently, all the tapes are mixed from front to back and without any annoying shouting or talking over the tracks. As with his radio show, the focus is solely on the music and these tapes provide listeners with 80 minutes of new, dope music they probably haven’t heard yet. There’s always a few exclusives, freestyles, and remixes thrown in as well, with some scratching and blending on top to package the music in the best possible way.

With this philosophy driving his tapes, DJ Hyphen will continue to release new installments of "Beats, Rhymes, and Life” every few months, in hopes that more people will be exposed to quality hip-hop that they might miss otherwise.

A year after returning to KUBE, Hyphen was named the co-host of a new show on the station in May of 2005. Airing every Sunday from 11 PM to midnight, “Sunday Night Sound Session” provides listeners with dope underground/alternative hip-hop and R&B that isn’t getting airplay elsewhere on KUBE or other large stations. In effect, Hyphen and his co-host J. Moore approach the show in the same way Hyphen designed “Beats, Rhymes, and Life.” Whether it’s a new 12” single, an album cut, a remix, or even a freestyle, if it’s hot, listeners will hear it first on “Sound Session.” Normally, shows of this variety are broadcast on lower wattage stations, but with KUBE’s expansive signal coverage (100,000 watts), listeners all over Western Washington can tune in to “Sound Session” each week and enjoy the newest and hottest in underground hip-hop. The show can also be streamed online via KUBE’s website, www.kube93.com

You can download DJ Hyphen’s Mix tapes here:

DJ Hyphen Presents – "Beats, Rhymes, and Life Vol. 1:  College Graduate"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/j90o1m

DJ Hyphen Presents – "Beats, Rhymes, and Life Vol. 2:  Daaaamn Homey"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lfu3s5

DJ Hyphen Presents – "Beats, Rhymes, and Life Vol. 3:  I Will Not Lose"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/lkrfxp

DJ Hyphen Presents – "Beats, Rhymes, and Life Vol. 4:  This Ain''t No F*ckin'' Game"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/sh7otq

DJ Hyphen Presents – "Beats, Rhymes, and Life Vol. 5:  Reloaded"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/awu4jv

DJ Hyphen Presents "Beats, Rhymes, and Life Vol. 6: From The Soul"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/duv52a

DJ Hyphen and J. Moore Present – "Hip-Hop 101:  The Mixtape"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/m8fmjw

DJ Hyphen Presents - Amen – "Legend Killer"

http://www.sendspace.com/file/senod2

Also check out DJ Hyphen’s MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/djhyphen

*Thanks to DJ Hyphen for the information supplied.

A DJ with a difference.

John can be contacted by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for feedback.