World Music Taste Maker. Sound Ambassador. A true renaissance man. Urban Shaman Healer. It seems only fitting that words of such adulation are used to epitomize Drez Selecta otherwise known as DJ Drez. Don’t let the D and the J fool you, he’s a man of many trades.
DJ Drez is one of the highest ranking DJ’s, as well as music producers, in the underground Los Angeles music scene. He has a discography of work as impressive as any out there and is a highly acclaimed yoga instructor as well.
“Total opposites,” Drez says about the world of hip-hop and yoga, “Yoga is going inward, containment and the study of self. Hip-Hop is very outward, boisterous and the study of society. A good balance I think.” The balance is indicative in the wide array of festivals Drez has played over the years. Once upon a time before playing such festivals as Coachella, Rock the Bells, Wanderlust, Esalen World Music Festival there was a b-boy whose music mixes weren’t quite what he wanted to practice to. The young Drez decided to take matters into his own hands. He bought himself a radio shack mixer to accompany his turntable and tape deck and started making his own mix tapes to dance to. Friends quickly caught on to the brilliance of his skills on the one’s and two’s and started requesting mixtapes. Suffice it to say that was the birth of DJ Drez, also known as Dr. EZ.
The Los Angeles underground music scene caught on as well and by the late 90’s Drez was playing opening sets for acts like De La Soul, a gig not soon forgotten by Drez. “The first thing they said when they got on stage was ‘Damn! Give it up for that dope ass DJ.’ That felt good,” he recalls.
Nights like the aforementioned proved to be not only memorable but pivotal in what has become the evolution of a man on a journey of life, love and music. A man held in the highest regard by those that not only have the pleasure of meeting him, experiencing his music and the journey he takes you on, but moreover those that have the pleasure of working with him whether that be in a studio on a stage or on a yoga mat. “A brother so cool you hear his advice before you would ask.” Haiku D’état, Freestyle Fellowship and Magic Heart Genie member Myka Nyne states. “Drez is a solid resolver of conflict and proof that positive enlightenment exists. He showed me a hand mudrah that I use to this day. It’s all love,” says Nyne.
Love, God in all its forms, nature, sex, creation itself and curiosity are what Drez attributes to fueling his passion and creativity most. It has allowed for a transition from the hip-hop world to that of world music almost seamlessly and has deemed itself rewarding in numerous ways. “I’ve played in many sacred spaces where a DJ has never gone before. I’m humbled and grateful to be the first to lay those tracks,” he says. “I love what I do and I know that I am blessed to share this world with all beings upon it.”
While on the subject of collaborations past, present, future and ideal, Drez revels in the thought of working with the likes of Sade, world music leading figure Anouska Sahankar, and the late, great Miles Davis. “That would be full of emotion and magic, don’t you think?” he asks with a smile. Indeed it would. April 17th, 2012 is the release date for Drez’ s fourth installment in the Jahta Beat series available at www.djdrez.com. Jahta Beat – The Lotus Flower Memoirs features Marti Nikko and Dominic Dean Breaux. Coincidentally, these are Drez’ s favorite collaborations to date.
“Drez has an incredible way of holding space while working with an artist. He has a process that allows the artist to freely express their own creativity and truth. This is the ideal circumstance for a positive collaboration. So ideal for me that I married him and we made a baby,” explains Marti Nikko
While we may have to wait a few more weeks for the release of Jahta Beat-The Lotus Flower Memoirs, we only have to wait a few days until Drez returns to El Paso for a night that is sure to gift us all with positivity, wonderful energy and genius blends on the one’s and two’s. A live set by Drez is an experience not to be missed. Saturday, March 31st marks the return of DJ Drez at The Lowbrow Palace 111 Robinson Avenue. El Paso, TX. Door opens at 10pm.
TXT & PHOTO BY: Jenna Martin