Rob Swift
Encyclopedia
Rob Swift is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...

 DJ and turntablist. Swift is a former member of the turntablist group The X-Ecutioners as of late 2005 and as of 2006; with Mike Patton
Mike Patton
Michael Allan "Mike" Patton is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and actor, best known as the lead singer of the metal/experimental rock band Faith No More. He has also sung for Mr...

’s project Peeping Tom
Peeping Tom (band)
Peeping Tom is a rock band led by Mike Patton. To date, they have released one eponymous album and two singles. Patton has enough material written for the project to possibly record two more albums.-Artists who have played with Peeping Tom:*Rahzel...

.

Early life

Born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights, Queens
Jackson Heights is a neighborhood in the Northwestern portion of the borough of Queens in New York, New York, United States. The neighborhood is part of Queens Community Board 3...

, Swift (born Robert Aguilar) initially got into DJing by watching his father and brother. “My dad was a salsa
Salsa music
Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music...

 and merengue
Merengue music
Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar...

 DJ. My brother learned how to scratch and do all the hip hop deejaying stuff on my dad’s equipment (without his permission) and I’d sit there and watch him. When I entered the sixth grade, I decided I wanted to learn.” So unlike those who got influenced through hip hop records, DMC
DMC
-Computer Science or IT:*Diffusion Monte Carlo, a method that utilizes a Green function to solve the Schrödinger equation*Dynamic Markov Compression, a general purpose statistical data compression algorithm...

 and NMS
NMS
-Science and technology:*Network Monitoring System*Network management station*Network management system*Neurally mediated syncope*Neuroleptic malignant syndrome*non-maximum suppression -Science and technology:*Network Monitoring System*Network management station*Network management system*Neurally...

 tapes, or movies, Swift educated himself with the classic turntable beats of the early '80s New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 playground pioneers while listening to funk and jazz at home. “My older brother exposed me to all that,” he says. “All the stuff I create as a DJ is rooted in the songs that I heard from Bob James
Bob James (musician)
Robert McElhiney James is a jazz keyboardist, arranger and producer.-Biography:During the 1970s, Bob James played a major role in establishing the smooth jazz genre. "Angela", the instrumental theme from the sitcom Taxi, is probably Bob James' most well-known work to date...

, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...

 and James Brown
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...

 to Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...

 and old DJs like Grandmaster Flash
Grandmaster Flash
Joseph Saddler better known as King Grandmaster Flash, is an American hip hop musician and DJ; one of the pioneers of hip-hop DJing, cutting, and mixing....

 and Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizard Theodore
Grand Wizzard Theodore , is an American hip hop DJ. He is widely credited as the inventor of scratching.Born Theodore Livingston in Bronx, New York, his brother, Mean Gene, was Theodore's mentor, and began teaching him DJing before Theodore was even a teen...

. That’s where my roots are.” In 1990, Swift enrolled as a student at Baruch College
Baruch College
Bernard M. Baruch College, more commonly known as Baruch College, is a constituent college of the City University of New York, located in the Flatiron district of Manhattan, New York City. With an acceptance rate of just 23%, Baruch is among the most competitive and diverse colleges in the nation...

 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and in 1995, graduated with a degree in psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...

. “While I was deejaying I pursued college. Speech class and English serve a purpose, you know?” Some say [who?] that his education also translates into his cerebral style of scratching, juggling and making music.

Albums

  • 1997 Soulful Fruit
    Soulful Fruit
    Soulful Fruit is the debut album by turntablist, Rob Swift. The album was released on May 13, 1997 for Stones Throw Records and was produced by Rob Swift, Mista Sinista and Roc Raida. The album was a huge critical success, gaining many positive reviews...

     (Original Release on Stones Throw Records)
  • 1999 The Ablist
    The Ablist
    The Ablist is the second album by turntablist Rob Swift. The album was released on February 23, 1999 for Asphodel Records and was produced by Rob Swift and Dan The Automator. Like his previous album, The Ablist was met with positive reviews...

  • 2001 Airwave Invasion
    Airwave Invasion
    Airwave Invasion is a compilation album by turntablist Rob Swift featuring his X-Ecutioners bandmates, Roc Raida and Mista Sinista. The album was released on June 8, 2001, for Triple Threat Records and was produced by the X-Ecutioners. The album combined The X-Ecutioners scratches and productions...

  • 2002 Sound Event
    Sound Event
    Sound Event is the third album by turntablist, Rob Swift. The album was released on October 2, 2002 for Tableturns Records and was produced by Rob Swift, D-Styles, DJ Radar and DJ Quest. The album was another critical success for Swift. Two singles were released "Interview With Colored Man" and...

  • 2003 Under the Influence
    Under the Influence (Rob Swift album)
    Under the Influence is the fifth album by turntablist, Rob Swift. The album was released on April 1, 2003 for Six Degrees Records and was produced by Rob Swift and Dr. Butcher...

  • 2003 Who Sampled This?
    Who Sampled This?
    Who Sampled This? is the sixth album by turntablist, Rob Swift. The album was released on November 1, 2003 for Day By Day Entertainment and was produced by Rob Swift, MF Grimm and Dr. Butcher...

  • 2004 OuMuPo 2
    OuMuPo 2
    OuMuPo 2 is the seventh album by turntablist, Rob Swift. The album was released on October 19, 2004 for the French record label Ici, d'ailleurs.....

  • 2005 Wargames
  • 2006 Back to the Beat
    Back to the Beat (Rob Swift album)
    Back to the Beat is the ninth album by turntablist, Rob Swift. The album was released on February 13, 2003 for On the Strength Records and was produced by Rob Swift.-Track listing:#"Going Postal" #"Can't Stop" #"This Is How It Should Be Done"...

  • 2006 Pure Moods
  • 2008 Dust to Dust
  • 2010 The Architect

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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