DJ Krush

Hideaki Ishi might just have a more hardcore backstory than most rappers could ever dream of. Born in Tokyo in 1962, the young Ishi dropped out of high school when he was a teenager and got involved with a local street gang. This is already a terrible idea in the first place but it got worse, much worse. As he began to make a name for himself, Ishi found himself joining a Yakuza clan after just a few short years. It took the discovery of his friend’s little finger wrapped in tissue paper placed on his desk to make him leave and cut all ties to the world of organized crime, a wise move, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Fortunately, catching a showing of the 1983 film Wild Style was a much more positive influence on Ishi, inspiring him to take up DJing the same year of its release. Bear in mind that in the early 1980’s Hip-Hop was still in its infancy in its places of origin, and in Tokyo, it was an American phenomenon if it was heard of at all. However, Ishi had already made his own DJ set up, and was teaching himself to mix, making his own sound free from the touchstones that most other DJ’s were adhering to at the time. Soon afterwards he began backing up rappers performing live and through that, started producing records, however, while he’s been acclaimed for his work on other rappers’ records, it’s his solo, instrumental work that made him as influential and respected as he is.

In the early 90’s, his solo work was noticed by a London based alternative hip-hop label called Mo’Wax, who released his records in Europe starting from his second solo effort, 1994’s “Strictly Turntablized”, and his third “Meiso”, which came in 1996. These were so acclaimed that they were released in the U.S by A&M and suddenly, Ishi was a worldwide name in hip-hop, acclaimed by everyone from underground ‘zines like The Bomb, to the almost royal likes of Rolling Stone. He’s an artist that hits the perfect point between critical acclaim and commercial success, who’s won awards and topped charts the world over for his work. He’s truly unique and after three decades in the business, still comes highly recommended.