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DJ MK Interview
RnB/Hip Hop | Friday 16th December 2011 | Osh
If you are looking for Mark Kitchen ( MK ) Maybe this is what you want
Best known for being Roots Manuva's live DJ & his show on Kiss FM. DJ MK has been been in the game for years and continues to be smashing big things.
Guestlist Network: So it’s been seven years that you have been playing on Kiss FM, what have been some of your highlights?
DJ MK: Meeting MC’s and DJs that I have grew up listening to like Nas, Ludacris, LL Cool J, Outkast and even Russell Simmons and seeing artists grow and make it, especially in the last two years with artist such as Wretch 32 and Professor Green.
GN: So what is the best thing about being Roots Manuva’s DJ for so long?
DJ MK: Just seeing everything grow musically, the first shows we did were in proper ghetto North London clubs for either £50 or even no money! This was like when we were about 21 or 22 back in 1997. So to see it go from doing shows for £50 in front of 20 people to doing Glastonbury, the main stage at Reading Festival in front of 80,000 people has been great. Also seeing the fan base grow and seeing more people get into the music. One thing that Rodney from Roots Manuva doesn’t get credit for enough is that he really opened the doors for so many people such as The Streets and Dizzee Rascal. He was the first UK rapper to get props in America.
GN: Your one of the first UK DJs to start producing properly packaged, high quality mixtapes, did you realise how big this was gonna be?
DJ MK: Nah, I just did it because I was a kid that was too young to DJ in clubs. I used to get tapes off radio shows in New York, I was listening to what all the New York DJs were playing and I was like wow no one is doing this shit in the UK, no one has caught onto this. Also Westwood was a proper help as he bought one of my mixtapes when I was 17, he called up my house and my mum picked up the phone. I thought it was one of my mates taking the piss because I used to listen to him on Capital Radio before he went to Radio One. He used to play my mixes all the time so I could say he gave me my first break really.
GN: If you were invisible for the day what would you get up to?
DJ MK: I would try and steal as much money as I could spy on the Queen and I would have to check out some famous girls that I would like to see naked! I would go to LA and track down Halle Berry!
GN: If you had a swimming pool filled with anything, what would it be?
DJ MK: Definitely MAC computers, your not really gonna swim in whatever is in there are you?! I always need computers!
GN: Give us an exclusive?
DJ MK: Look out for the DJ MK album that is going to be out in the summer, which is gonna feature beats from myself and other famous producers and talented MC’s. Also me and my homeboy A Side used to do a club night called Gulliver, so we are going to bring that back and have a night that plays good shit! I just wanna keep on doing what were doing supporting artists and playing good music, check out the website www.djmksworld.blogspot.com and twitter http://twitter.com/djmk.
Catch DJ MK at The Big Chill Presents Mixcloud 'History of Hip-Hop' on 26th February.
