Name:
DJ A-Trak
Birth Name: Alain Macklovitch
Birth Date: February 17 1972
Birth Place: Montreal, Canada
Alain Macklovitch was 13 when he scratched his first record. The
year was 1995, the turntable was his father's, and the mixer...well, he
didn't have a mixer yet. But that problem was remedied soon enough, when
he used his freshly earned Bar Mitzvah money to buy himself a used Technics
1200 turntable and, you guessed it, a mixer. In the months that followed,
while the other kids were busy playing sports and watching Full House,
he spent most of his after-school time locked up in his basement, practicing,
listening to Pete Rock, DJ Premier and Jazzy Jeff records, studying videotapes
and showing his new scratches to his big brother Dave.
Two years later, with nary an armpit hair in sight, the Montreal native
was crowned DMC World Champion and invited to be an honorary member of
the Invisibl Skratch Piklz, the celebrated Bay Area crew led by DJ Q-Bert
and Mixmaster Mike. When that crew disbanded, he and Miami's DJ Craze
joined forces as the front men of a new collective, the Allies. In the
years that followed, A-Trak went on to win the 1999 & 2000 ITF World
Championships, the 1999 Vestax World Extravaganza and the 2000 DMC Team
Championships (with Craze). On top of being the youngest world champion,
this made him the first DJ ever to win all three major titles (DMC, ITF
and Vestax) and the first DJ to win five world championships. At the age
of 18, Young Trizzle decided it was time to retire from battling.
A-Trak was now ready to focus more attention on Audio Research, the record
label that he and Dave started in 1997. He was also ready to tour more
intensely -- that is, as much as his school schedule allowed. The fresh-faced
Canadian was at the forefront of a worldwide DJ movement, inspiring legions
of young lads to pick up scratching, appearing on the cover of URB Magazine
and in various documentaries. He performed across the world in hip hop
clubs and eclectic music festivals from the New York to Norway, from Austin
to Australia. While still recording with Montreal rap outfit Obscure Disorder,
he collaborated with New York underground icons Non Phixion as well as
indie hip hop tastemaker Peanut Butter Wolf.
In the turntablist scene, A-Trak established himself as "the DJ's
DJ", building groundbreaking routines that managed to push the envelope
technically while remaining appealing to the untrained ear. He developed
a revolutionary notation system, which allowed him to write scores of
scratch patterns and solos. And his DJ battle records quickly became cult
favorites, used and abused in DJ competitions around the globe.
DJ A-TRAK has been making headlines as superstar producer/performer Kanye
West’s live DJ. While performing at a London record store, West overheard
A-TRAK’s set, quickly bringing him out on his 2 month-tour and making
him his DJ, where they performed in front of millions.
Sunglasses Is a Must DVD
This DVD is the long-awaited tell-all biopic about turntablism's
boy wonder. Sunglasses Is A Must takes you from A-Trak's first purchase
of turntables with bar-mitzvah money, up to all the battles he entered,
all the continents he discovered, all the zoos he visited and all
the wonderful people he met along the way.
DVD highlights include A-Trak coming up as a 13 year-old DJ, World
DMC, ITF and Vestax Championship highlights, practicing and recording
with DJ Q-Bert, Mixmaster Mike playing host on tour with the Beastie
Boys, Behind-the-scenes pranks with The Allies, A-Trak in the lab
with Roc Raida (X-Ecutioners) and KLC (Beats By The Pound), making
DIY music with Money Mark and Peanut Butter Wolf, shoe shopping
and private jet flying with Kanye West, and Globetrotting across
China, Italy, South Africa, Japan and Australia.
It's funny, impressive, cute and inspired. Through the birds-eye
view of a handy cam, Sunglasses Is A Must follows A-Trak's humble
induction into hip hop royalty.
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