King Britt Interview

It may be hard to believe but the legendary Philadelphia DJ/Producer King Britt has been in the music game for twenty years now. Beginning his career in 1990 as E-Culture on the Strictly Rhythm label, Britt quickly became the DJ for the Grammy winning hip-hop group Digable Planets. Segueing into production work, hes remixed tracks for The OJays, Macy Gray, Bebel Gilberto and Roy Ayers amongst hundreds of others as well as dropping acclaimed albums like Adventures In Lo-Fi while also touring the world with his eclectic and often brilliant DJ sets. The first DJ/producer to win the esteemed Pew Fellowship Grant, hes come full circle of sorts with his latest release The Intricate Beauty which he says will be his last traditional dance music album. Back from a tour of Europe, King Britt took some time to talk to Nu-soul Magazine about his influences, his re-mixing process and his newest album.

Nu-Soul: I wanted to start at the beginning. How did you get into DJing?


King Britt: I always made tapes in high school of all the new hard to find imports but didnt really DJ for a living until 1990.

Nu-Soul:How much of a role did growing up in Philadelphia play in guiding you into a musical career and whats happening musically in Philly these days?
King Britt: Oh yes, growing up in Philly was amazing in the 70s and 80s. It was the peak moment in Philly music history. The disco movement was really influenced by Gamble and Huff and their influential song writing. Radio was mind blowing as well. Stations like WDAS and WHAT played the best soul music you could find. It was a wonderful moment.

Today, the Philly music scene has died down. Things are brewing but since the neo-soul movement (sylk130/Jill Scott/Kindred and the Family Soul) things have kinda quieted down. The hipster scene however has definitely been pretty big at the moment.

Nu-Soul: Who are your biggest DJ and musical influences?
King Britt: I have so many but for DJs its David Morales (Red Zone years), Frankie Knuckles (Sound Factory years), Dave Mancuso (Loft days), Francois K and GiGi (from Philadelphia who now lives in Miami).