First off, I think traditional bios suck, they’re boring, self-centered, and egotistical. But seeing that I love to toot my own horn, Fck it!! Here goes, my first memories of music have to start with my continuing fascination with vinyl. I used to sneak to my father’s turntable and mimic the djs I saw on Yo! MTV Raps. When I was able to buy my own decks I used to dj for basement parties, school events, and neighborhood rap groups in my hometown, Detroit. It was on the eastside of Conant Gardens where I fell upon a budding hip hop threesome who became my brothers from another mother. This group would later be named Slum Village. After a couple years of development and countless freestyle battles, Slum signed their first deal to a major label. I was more than excited! The best thing about it was they got luxury cars so that we didn’t have to drive around in Dilla’s busted Ford Escort anymore. After the classic and groundbreaking Fantastic Vol 2 was finished, they immediately started touring, and I was more than happy to take a temporary hiatus from art college to join them. On the road, I learned a lot about my friends, myself, and the music business. It was then that I decided to produce music. When we got back to the states I decided to make a go at it. I tinkered around a little bit until I got my own MPC 2000. The weekend I got it I made three beats and called Dilla to ask him what he thought. His exact words were, “Damn dog, you got some sht! Keep going!” With his golden blessing, I locked myself in my rundown apartment for almost a year straight. I informally started my own production team and label, Bling47, and started on my musical journey.
Since then I formed my own group, PPP, in 2002. With our 2005 release, Triple P, we received critical acclaim from Billboard, Vibe, LA Times, and XLR8R (to name a few) and were voted one of the top live performance groups of ‘05 by Urb Magazine. We toured for a year and a half and played at Coachella, Montreal Jazz Festival, New York Summer Stage and Transmusicales in France. We even performed with Roy Ayers in Brooklyn, NY (My personal highlight). I’ve also realigned myself with my dj roots playing alongside some of the most respected including Theo Parrish, A-Trak, Just Blaze, Mark Ronson, and Questlove. I’ve had the privilege to play the music I love across the globe at events like G.O.O.D Music’s LV Showcase, and in places like Dubai, Tokyo, London, Berlin, Sydney, and Auckland.
I’ve also been honored to be a four-time lecturer at The Red Bull Music Academy (Melbourne, Seattle, Santiago), and last year I received a Heineken Independent Achiever Award for being an artist that has made my own way. Keep an eye on my blogs and bling47.com for upcoming releases, fun treats, and Waajeed and the Bling47 Fam/PPP coming to a city near you.Stay tuned. . .
WAAJEED/PPP BOOKING INQUIRIES:
**US & CANADA: contact@bling47.com**
**INTERNATIONAL: jamesrubin@theagencygroup.com**
