OH Taxonomy
DJ Rhettmatic entered into the hip-hop world as a dancer (popping) and as a graffiti artist but quickly moved over to the DJ side. As a member of The Beat Junkies he won ITF World Team DJ titles in 1997 and 1998 as well as DMC West Coast champion in 1996. He was featured in the cult classic...
Mark Spring was presented the 2020 Parnelli Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedication and contribution to lighting design. His incredible career began on tour with Def Leppard and continued to include some of the most successful tours of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Mark is always looking...
DJ Arabian Prince had to get creative with his overprotective mother. He figured out that by utilizing his new interest in DJing he could be the first at a party and the last to leave while his mother would drive him around and be able to keep an eye on him. As he DJ’d at dances and skating rinks...
Philip Bynoe was encouraged to play his father’s upright bass, which developed into an amazing career in music. Philip attended Berklee College of Music and would play at night in clubs throughout New England. During the 1980s he helped form the band Flash and recorded with the likes of Steve Perry...
DJ Revolution can still remember the first time he heard Grand Master Flash’s 1981 album Adventures on the Wheels of Steel and being blown away that this music was created with existing songs and with only records and turntables. His grandfather saw his passion and helped him build his own mixer...
Mark Schulman remembers seeing The Beatles perform on The Ed Sullivan Show when he was three. The moment he saw Ringo something resonated within him and he knew what he wanted to do. Mark started playing cello as a kid and slowly started learning how to play drums as well. In high school he played...
DJ D-Styles entered the hip-hop scene B-Boying and popping but soon realized his strength was in DJing. He has pioneered many different scratch styles and techniques over the years and has produced numerous break records. In 2002, he released Phantazmagorea, the first album created entirely from...
Bernard Maillot’s grandfather was a musician and worked at the SAVAREZ String Company, as did his father after him. Bernard’s father saw the potential of a new market for strings and designed a series of packaging aimed to the jazz musicians of the 1930s and 40s. Bernard studied accounting in...
DJ Sir Jinx’s uncle played an important role for him growing up and in inspiring his passion for music. His uncle possessed an eclectic record collection and a DJ equipment set up at his house. Sir Jinx soon developed his own style of DJing and went on to produce most of Ice Cube’s early albums as...
Yuji Tanaka is a Senior Executive Officer for Roland Corporation who has enjoyed a successful career in the music products industry. Yuji provided detail about how and why he came to work in the industry during his NAMM interview. He spoke about the innovations he has witnessed throughout the years...