Goldmine

Story by Carl Chery | Photography Justin Borucki

Ask Jimi Kendrix and he’ll tell you there’s no science to vinyl digging. While many carefully listen, exploring every inch of a record to find a virgin break, Kendrix’s randomness works for him. “There are no techniques,” Kendrix says. “I just love music. You can give me something from the 1940s or the 1990s and I’ll turn it into something else.”

Shortly after securing gold and platinum plaques with Jay-Z and Murder Inc. releases, Kendrix opted to join forces with budding producer J-Math to form Street Radio. Now more into vinyl, he credits his partner for refining his digging habits. Fresh off working on new records with Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and Ghostface, Kendrix stopped by A-1 Records (often frequented by DJ Premier and Pete Rock) in Manhattan’s L.E.S. to share how he’d put some breaks into his witness protection program.

Max Roach “Debussy” Max Roach with the Boston Percussion Ensemble, 1958 • I’ll take it and turn it into the next theme song for [Nick Jr. series] Blue’s Clues. This is Max Roach and he’s one of the all time best drummers. I’m a drummer... drumming has always been to me one of the biggest foundations of a project record. The beat, the rhythm is what we listen for...