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Mixing and grooving

DJ Whoo Kid, master of East coast hip hop, explains the bootlegging business!

VH 1 brings Mobb Deep, DJ Whoo Kid and Scratch to Delhi and Mumbai for the `VH 1 Hip Hop Hustle'. While in India, Whoo Kid (born Yves Mondesire) might still be a stranger, the artists he mixes music for are hip-hop icons. He is the official DJ of 50 cents and G-Unit. In the Capital recently for a gig at Noida's Elevate, he is striking in appearance and amiable in conversation. He announces his celebrity status with his solitaire diamond chain and a diamond dotted watch.

But Why Whoo Kid? When he was young, he explains, on seeing a pretty girl or when "someone was beat up", they'd say, `Who wee.' His mother would exclaim, "Whoo kid," when she entered the bathroom in his smelly wake. What started as a joke strangely became meaningful later. Initially, his CDs were faceless, prompting the "Who is this kid?" question. He stuck with the name.

Bootlegging

He describes his entry into the business. To rate music CDs, journalists would often be the first to receive them. Whoo Kid would pay them for a copy. This way he accessed music, months before the release. But today those dark alley dealings are the past. "While ya (you are) living on the edge, the kids love it. But over the years I've made up with all the rappers who wanted to kill me!" Rightfully arrogant, he quips, "Today, artists want to be on my show (on Sirius Satellite Radio). They want me to help with their sub-artists. Once I drop a CD, it's heard everywhere."

He talks about his music-cum-talk show. "I use it to manipulate Hollywood. It's not informative. My guests just come and hang out with me." Classifying it as "my life story combined with a radio show," he says he tried to get O.J Simpson to confess to murdering his wife. He is mighty pleased that the Prince of Monaco cursed on his show. DJ Whoo Kid says, "I've been raised Catholic. I don't curse." Sensing the disbelief he continues, "There's a white guy inside me."

Distancing himself from his aura he explains, "I don't like jewellery. I am a watch guy. You should have seen my older chains.

They were like a slave's chains!" Trying not to blind with his watch, he adds nonchalantly, "I've my own watch line. The starting price is 60,000 dollars."

Dressed in hip-hop casuals, he asserts, "I might dress like a bum, but I step out of a Lamborghini." His current favourites are his yellow Lamborghini and a Ferrari 360 Modena.

His own designer clothes brand is based in Japan. Why Japan? "My wife and kids are Japanese, I want them to stay there," comes the reply. He continues, "I've always been intrigued by Asian culture. Japanese know hip hop better than hip hop people themselves."

Surveying a salwar kurta, his parting shot is, "What's that? It's kinda sexy."

NANDINI NAIR

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