Dibiase

A Beat Happening

This week we welcome Dibiase to the podcast, a veteran of the Los Angeles underground, the man responsible for that boombox outside Sketchbook, and one of the nicest people we know. The Watts native cut his teeth alongside Ras G at Project Blowed, eventually becoming an integral part of the producer community that flourished around the night's MC showcases and which took full flight in the mid 2000s with dedicated beat showcases. It's also around this time that his name began to spread outside of LA thanks in no small part to MySpace, where his early video game flips gained him worldwide recognition, and to various beat battles he took part in across the USA and Canada. But what separates Dibi from many of his peers is his love of and dedication to the craft of beat making and the idea that it isn't what you use but how you use it: from traditional samplers to calculators, Dibi has shown many that you can use almost anything to make a dope beat. In recent years this approach has led him to work more closely with manufacturers like Roland as well as take on more of an educator role within online communities through Twitter and Twitch.

This episode was edited and produced by Laurent Fintoni. Intro and outro music by Duke Westlake. Artwork by Kutmah. Design assistance by Paper Resistance and Brandy Flower. This show is a labor of love and if you enjoy what you hear and would like to support us in being able to continue, you can donate via PayPal at https://paypal.me/abeathappening.

In this episode we discuss...

• Early days at Poobah, Sketchbook, and Juju
• The boombox, beat making, and connecting with local heads
• Learning to make beats with Ras G at school
• Early '90s LA rap scene, rhyming at Good Life and Project Blowed
• Beat tapes at the Good Life and Project Blowed
• Meeting Jonwayne and collaborations
• Sketchbook and the LA club beat battle scene in the mid '00s
• Working with dancers
• Working with the producer community

Tracklist:

• Dibiase & devonwho - Flawless victory
• Quelle Chris - LiveAlone.DieAlone
• CVE - The Afterlife
• Sacred - Grow Your Own

Links:

• Bandcamp
• SP 404 Documentary