DJ KHALIL

INTERVIEW BY CHIN INJETI

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TIFFANY MAY

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In midtown LA, at the corner of San Vicente and La Brea, nestled just above an auto body shop is a lair that belongs to DJ Khalil. Like all super heroes, he’s mild mannered by day with a passion for basketball and his new nephew Marley. When the sun goes down and the freaks come out, Khalil transforms into what Pete Rock calls, “the best producer of this generation.”  Between gigs as a signed producer to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath Entertainment, a 1/4 of the group The New Royales and a 1/2 of the hip-hop duo Self Scientific, DJ Khalil is living a full-time dream.  If you’ve listened to rap music for the last ten years it’s pretty easy to say that it’s all starting to sound the same. The boundaries, once pushed, have become barriers and everyone’s going for that quick fix. Khalil is about to change all that by taking rap music to a place that it’s never been. All you need to do is listen to one of his countless hit tracks and you’ll know why Dr. Dre calls him “one of the most important producers in the rap game.”

CHIN—Alright, this is Chin for the Lab Magazine and this is my very first interview ever. I got my subject in front of me, let the games begin.  So. What’s your name and where are you from?

KHALIL—My name’s DJ Khalil from Los Angeles, California.

C—What do you do?

K—I’m a music producer and artist. I’m part of a group called Self Scientific and also a group called The New Royales.

C—How long have you been doing music production for?

K—Uh, since… 1991.

C—Were you doing this while you were in college or before?

K—Before. Eleventh grade, I first started DJ-ing in junior high and then, in high school, started producing. Then in college, that’s when I first bought my own equipment.  But I officially started in ‘91.

C—Okay, for a producer in the rap game, which comes first: the record collection or the synth?

K—Well, most of the hip hop producers, especially the legends like Dr. Dre, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, start off DJ-ing. So it’s kind of a natural progression from buying records to mixing, making mix tapes, to getting into production. Eventually you want to take it a step further.

C—You just mentioned some incredible artists that changed the game to this very day. Can you list two of your biggest inspirations?

K—Oh that’s easy. DJ Muggs and Dr. Dre, those are both my mentors, and I’ve been lucky enough to have both of those people in my life to watch my career grow. I met Dr. Dre when I was 13. I met Muggs…

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