''THE WHOLE CITY KNOWS ABOUT FOOTWORKING.''



Interview with Donja Warren, also known as DJ YB, August 2012

How old are you, Donja?

I'm 19, I'll be 20 in November.

Did you grow up in Chicago?

Yeah, I grew up in Chicago, and then around my fifth grade I ended up moving to Minnesota. Currently, I'm stationed in Iowa.

You were born in '92. Did your parents listen to house music?

Yes, they did. My mom, she had a close friend that was in love with house music. Her friend actually told me a lot about early house music and everything. My mom loves music, one of her favourite tracks is the Percolator.

How long have you been aware of footwork?

Basically, all my life. It was just like a family thing, really. Everybody in my family footworked, all my older cousins footworked and they taught me how to footwork.

How did you end up producing?

Well, I grew up around music. I have an older cousin, DJ Manny. He's one of my favourite cousins. When I was growing up, we kicked it all the time, so wherever he went - I went [laughs]. Manny got me into producing and everything. I always watched him produce music and just fell in love with it.

I heard Manny was footworker first and producer second. You also probably went to footwork events, right?

Yes, I was more of a footworker first and then ended up producing.

Do you also DJ?

Back when I was in Minnesota, we had parties at this thing called The Trap. One of my friends would throw the parties and I'd DJ for them.

What kind of music did you play then?

Footwork tracks, some slow music and just like party music.

What's considered party music?

Basically, anything that's hot on the radio and that everybody's vibing to. If it gets the party going, and everybody likes it... [laughs] This summer, from what I'm hearing, everybody's big on Chief Keef, Future, Maybach Music, Lil Wayne and all that.













Aside from that, what's the footwork scene like in Chicago now?

A lot of people know about footwork. Actually, the whole city knows about footworking. There's a lot of people that can actually do it now, but back then a lot of people couldn't do it, they were still learning. But now, the scene is just getting bigger and bigger.

What are footwork events that you can go to?

Competitions-wise, I'd go to the War Zone or Battle Grounds, but I never entered competitions for money.

What's the basic difference between them?

The War Zone is not just footworking, it's more dancing, hip rolling and bobbing. But the Battle Grounds – the name speaks for itself. It's pure footworking. You come there to battle, get noticed and be seen. It's like, everybody waits the whole week until Sunday for BGz and just go in [laughs].

You've prepared a mix for Radio Student. What was the main vibe you were going for?

I used mostly my tracks, so people can get a feel of my style and see my side of footwork. I hope they will relate to that!





Tracklist:

1. DJ YB - LSD 2k12

2. DJ YB - Ima 2k12

3. DJ YB - Drift 2k12

4. DJ Manny – Hoe

5. DJ YB - Tear Yo Ass Up

6. DJ YB - On Tha Low 2k12

7. DJ YB - Trippy Ride 2k12

8. DJ YB - Fast Eddie 2k12

9. DJ YB - Rub Dat 2k12

10. DJ Kidd – Hornz 2k12

11. DJ YB - Tekz

12. DJ YB - Want 2k12

13. DJ YB - BoB 2k12

14. DJ Manny feat. YB – 854

15. DJ Rolow – Say It

16. DJ YB - Ballin

17. DJ YB - See

18. DJ YB - Lil Hoe 2k12

19. DJ Manny – Move Yo Feet

20. DJ YB - Feeling Inside

21. DJ YB - Party

22. DJ YB - MidNight

23. DJ YB - Tear 2k12

24. DJ YB - Henno







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