Remember DJ JS-1? The turntablist/producer dropped a decent compilation in 2002 called Ground Original. Now he has a new edition called No Sell Out, an all-too-appropriate term for these pop-motivated, auto-tunin’ times.
No Sell Out drops June 23 on Fat Beats Records. Check the press release:
JS-1 has been a recognized name in the DJ circuit since the late 80’s and has since made his mark in the hip-hop industry with numerous production credits, single releases, mixtapes, and television appearances. Throughout his career, JS-1 has gathered an extensive and impressive network of industry names. With his new album No Sell Out, a career’s worth of hard work is on full display, with JS-1 obtaining features from a who’s-who of hip-hop royalty, past, present, and future. For the past three years, JS-1 has been hard at work putting together No Sell Out, and that hard work will finally pay off on June 23rd, when the album is released to the masses via Fat Beats Records.
No Sell Out, a title referencing JS-1’s desire to create records according to personal taste despite current mainstream direction, is most notable for its extensive list of guest artists, including KRS-ONE, Large Pro, Pharoahe Monch, Canibus, Sean Price, Blaq Poet, Killah Priest, Ill Bill, Kool Keith & Ced Gee (Ultramagnetic Mc’s), Aesop Rock, Vast Aire, Chino XL, Sadat X, AG, OC, Craig G, CL Smooth, Edo G, Prince Po, Akrobatik, J-Live, Vinnie Paz of Jedi Mind Tricks, Rakaa of Dilated Peoples, Krondon, C Rayz Walz, Vast Aire, Nutrageous, Copywrite, PMD, Rahzel, EMC (Masta Ace, Strick, Wordsworth, Punchline), Termanology, Torae, Pumpkinhead, Jak D, Big Noyd, Q-Unique, Brother Ali, Slaine, Virtuoso, Pack FM, Supastition. Block McCloud, Trez, Rugged Intellect, and DJ Premier. Having so many talented and respected artists on one album is amazing. Coordinating all these artists at once can prove quite difficult, and was, in fact, one of JS-1’s greatest challenges. JS-1 says, “Doing an album like this with over 40 emcees on it, is not easy,” says JS-1. “Between myself being on tour, the featured artists being on tour, emailing files, meeting people at studios, trying to coordinate what beats to use, making everyone happy, agreeing on the concepts, and then fitting in the hooks, it is not something that gets done quickly. A lot of this album was pieced together over the past 3 years.”
