Interview with Tech-Fu
Concert promoter and djRecorded at the Atmosphere concert in DNA, Aarhus, June 2003, by Ann Noyd
Please introduce yourself?
My name is Dennis Ruiz from the Chicago area. I´ve lived in Denmark for way too many years, but I like it, it´s allright.
I´m 35 years of age, I´ve been in this hip-hop thing a little bit longer than most. Been through ups and downs, lost friends, gained friends. I´ve been a dj for a little over 10 years, 12 years.
Explain your dj-name?
Tech because it´s technique, Fu because of fight, I fight as a dj, and also the fact that I do martial arts.
Thaiboxing?
Yes. I´ve professionally done it for 8 years, but practiced for about 17 years.
And you live in Århus?
Yeah almost 6 years now. It has its ups and downs like any other place.
What are they?
Let´s start with the downside: The lack of knowledge of the creation of the music scene. The overall conduct, the way they act, the way people act toward the music… hiphop, it´s very different here to me, and I´ve never gotten used to it. There´s so many people that have this faze they go through out here . Over here they… an overdramatic way of life, it´s just not the same back home, it just seems they take an extra mile here ..I´m disillusioned, ehmm the way people act towards the music in general, the idea they have of music is based around gangsta, I guess for me, it´s never been an idea: gangsta, or whatever you wanna call it.
The upside of people, for the most part, I´ve had more great experiences than bad. People that have been wonderous or curious about the things that I do, and have asked questions, made their own judgements, formed their own opinions.
There´s a definite distinction from what you see on tv and how you live it.
Are you planning to stay in Denmark?
No. I´ll stay maybe a year or two more and see how things work out. It really depends on my son, but I´m very unattached to any place right now. I don´t know if I wanna live back home (US) either, so…
You arranged this Atmosphere concert?
Yeah, they´re decent friends of mine and Jay-Bird I grew up with, we´ve known each other since we were 8-9 years old, and stayed close.
They were coming through and were wondering if I could do something for them out here, and of course I wanted to. I had tried to bring them out before, but failed 3 different times, to get them out here. But first time I got them out was to Århus Took It (in 2000). It´s a perfect marriage for hip-hop trying to make people understand more of the wisdom in lyrics, more than some bullshit bling and gangsta crap. Myself, I feel so close to the music Atmosphere is about, that I would do anything to bring it out here, if I can keep on bringing out Slug and whatever crew he´s running with at the time, I would be more than honoured to do it. Great music and great lyrics. And a little bit more understanding of the culture, rather than what they see on tv.
Have you brought out any other artists?
Actually I´ve planned quite a few, but it just never really panned out for one reason or another, I´ve tried to bring out Jurassic 5, Alkaholiks for Århus Took It, but they cancelled last minute because of a dispute over the money situation.
Are you planning to bring out somebody else in the near future?
Now we are, before there were too many cancellations and not enough interest, a lack of ability: people wanting to chance, now me and the manager/promoter from DNA; Peter are planning to bring artist out at least every two months or three months, but it´s going to be bigger. We're gonna make something bigger and better than Århus Took It, from here to Copenhagen, you can definitely quote me on that.
Yes because DNA (the venue for the Atmosphere concert) was absolutely packed and could easily have been bigger and still full?
Yes, easily, but it seemed the right thing to do at the moment. We had planned on Voxhall but they had it litterally closed down for the summer. Still, it worked out, also with Static and Nat Ill. And it was hip-hop in its purest form.
We´re gonna do something shortly after Århus Took It, maybe not even a month after. And we have the power to bring really decent, solid crews that people are gonna want to see. Atmosphere together with Static and Nat Ill was an idea that I definitely didn´t wanna let go of.
Now that you work together with Peter from DNA, can we expect a lot of future hip-hop koncerts at DNA?
Not actually, future concerts will be in Voxhall. I´m not sure what we´re gonna do with Copenhagen yet. At this point it´s easier to deal with Århus, where I´m living. We plan to do a weekend, a sort of mini-festival, very similar to Århus Took It, the idea is different though on the fact that we won´t invite too many amateur bands to the event, but stay pretty much on the professional level. Of course amateur bands need a break as well, but I think the way we´re gonna go about it is bring just one amateur band to the stage –but it´s gotta be a hot amateur band- real lyrics, real strength. And Atmosphere is definitely coming back out here.
Is it difficult to persuade rappers to come to Denmark?
It's just a lack of knowledge about the area. They get the wrong idea and think the people don't know about hip-hop. Here the fan base is really intense, people listen to the lyrics a lot, back home it might be the beats that are paid attention to the most.
Is it very important for you to spread the word about hip-hop?
Most definitely, it´s a fun thing, I just want people to enjoy what I´ve been loving for so long. I grew up before hip-hop, and when it came it took me a year or two to embrace. It was a part of the culture where I lived, and that´s the marriage again between the music and the culture. I can honestly say I've grown up to it and lived hip-hop. Hip-hop was my life situation. Almost any hip-hop song from any time reminds me of something in my life at that perticular time.
What is the message you want passed on?
Inner feelings, to believe in yourself. Not what is said in gangsta bullshit lyrics. 80% of what is out there is wanna-be gangsta bullshit. The message is about your inner self, to believe in yourself, I dj so I play bling too, but I also give them a heavy dose of what I want them to hear.
So you´re not bringing out Master P anytime soon?
No (laughs), but who could afford somebody like that regardless?
A lot of danish hip-hop artists rap about the same stuff that he does, do you understand the danish lyrics?
No, but people translate them to me, and you can quote me heavily on this one: it´s all bullshit, they talk about something they don´t fucking know anything about. You´ve never lived it. Don´t pretend to be something you´re not. That´s something I can get pretty upset about, ´cause I´ve been through shit all my life, I´ve been through these things they talk about - mostly - and it´s not fun, it´s not a game, it´s not nice and it just pisses me off that people would glamourize it. Why somebody would pretend to be something they´re not is just beyond me. Lyricism should come from the heart, take situations around you to speak about, but in a country like this you don´t have an idea of being ghetto, it´s just bullshit, there is no ghetto that exists here, your government works for you, not against you, it takes care of people so you tell me about a situation here where anybody needs to sell drugs!
Are there any similarities between practicing Thaiboxing and practicing hip-hop?
Yeah, definitely, both are about strength and abillities and believing in yourself.
The lyricist has to be just as convinced about his own inner self as the thaiboxer who´s one on one in the ring. Or he will lose.