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On "ESSENTIAL
DANCE 2000," Atlantic's first joint release with the Warner
Essential label, the one-and-only DJ Skribble spins pop, house,
electronica,
hip hop and progressive trance into a boombastic multi-artist mix
which makes it perfectly clear why MTV's own superstar DJ is tops
both in his field and on the dance floor. Capturing all the vibe
and vitality of a live Skribble club set, " "ESSENTIAL
DANCE 2000" "sees this master dj blending hit tracks -
from an eclectic array of musicians such as Moby, Cher, Filter,
William Orbit, the Vengaboys, Fragma, and even Bob Marley - with
his own idiosyncratic brand of anything-goes mixing. "A DJ
should be able to go into any kind of party and adapt to any kind
of situation," Skribble says. "If
you're not versatile, you just trap yourself into a corner. I pride
myself on trying to play many different styles of music. I can go
to a hardcore hip hop club, play for those kids, then go to a hardcore
rave and play the hardest trance set. What makes a great DJ is the
ability to play for anybody."
The New York-born Skribble - alias Scott Ialacci - began working the decks at the tender age of 11, and soon stepped into the national spotlight as a founding member of the hip hop collective Young Black Teenagers. The group's two Hank Shocklee-produced albums courted controversy in the late 80's/early 90's, but also earned Skribble the esteem of such rockers as Primus and Anthrax, who invited the DJ to tour with them on the wheels of steel. Since then, he has traveled the world numerous times, spinning for the likes of the Notorious B.I.G. and Craig Mack, not to mention opening sets for the Chemical Brothers. An avowed hip hop junkie, Skribble's genre-busting style has led to his contributing remixes to such artists as Olive, Pink, the Jungle Brothers and Faith Evans, along with scratching and spinning on The Fugees' smash "THE SCORE" and Wyclef Jean's "CARNIVAL."
Skribble's
many MTV roles - on such shows as Sisqo's Shakedown, MTV Jams, The
Grind, The Daily Burn, Yo! MTV Raps, the annual Spring Break festivities,
and of course, Global Groove - have made him one of the world's
best-known and most-loved DJs. In addition to his hugely popular
Saturday Night Dance Factory radio show on New York City's famed
WKTU-FM, Skribble also spent two years in the mid-Nineties spinning
for Ed Lover and Doctor Dre's HOT-97 Morning Show, inspiring the
smoking hip hop mixes that have been collected on his two "TRAFFIC
JAMS" compilations (featuring contributions from such Skribble
aficionados as Busta Rhymes, Lauryn Hill,
Wyclef Jean, Gang Starr, Juvenile, and Reverend Run). He has also
teamed up with longtime collaborator Anthony Acid for the acclaimed
two-volume house music series, "MDMA: MUSIC 4 DANCE, MUSIC
4 ATTITUDE."
In 1996, DJ Skribble starred on Broadway as part of Bill Irwin's groundbreaking contemporary musical, Hip Hop Wonderland, and was a featured performer with the long-running off-Broadway hit, Jam On The Groove (where he backed the legendary Rock Steady Crew hip hop dance ensemble). Summer 2000 has already found Skribble taking on yet another high profile gig, pumping his trademark sound as musical director and DJ on CBS' The Cindy Margolis Show. Now, with "ESSENTIAL DANCE 2000," DJ Skribble amply displays the prowess and power that makes him the life of any party. "Being a DJ, the goal is to get people in the palm of your hand," Skribble says. "You have total control of where you're going to take them throughout the night. That's what drove me toward openness, because there are so many different ways you can go. I just figured, 'I want to play everything.'"
