DJ Too Tuff  Back to Wreck Shop

I didn't realise you were already on the comeback trail before Z-Trip got involved. How did your return to the industry get started?

The way that my comeback occurred was I called up a local Philadelphia radio station approximately one and a half years ago and tried to answer a trivia question. While I was on the radio, a few of my friends from High School called the station and said they had went to school with me. The producer of the radio show put them on hold and they got in contact with me. One of them was a booking agent in Philadelphia who also writes for the Philadelphia Inquirer. He created me a MySpace page and about a month after that I got a full page article write-up in the entertainment section of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

From there I had a whole bunch of hits on MySpace wanting me to perform at shows and they beefed up the Too Tuff comeback to be some like incredible stuff. I mean it was crazy because I was getting offers to write a book and a screenplay on my life from people in California. I got shout-outs from DJ Revolution. DJ Z-Trip eventually discovered me on MySpace and started to send me money and equipment and it just put my whole comeback right into motion like instantly. I was working at a pizza place for the last six years - between 1999 and 2005 at the same pizza shop. And out of the clear blue sky, due to MySpace and Z-Trip and the kids that I went to school with, my comeback is now in full throttle. And that's really crazy.

You mentioned the Tuff Crew reunion album. Are you working on any other projects at the moment?

Right now I'm presenting my 'Lost Tapes' to Stones Throw records who are very, very interested. What the 'Lost Tapes' does is bring people up to speed with what we were doing while we were pretty much non-existent to the world. It's a whole bunch of songs where we speak about the internal happenings of Tuff Crew. Like we have songs called 'Conman' and 'Extortion' - all of the everyday occurrences of how the Tuff Crew broke up are in the songs. As we speak they are being remastered and totally cleared up so it sounds like we just made them yesterday. And then we can transition into the new Tuff Crew stuff.

Also I have my mixtape 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'. I was one of the original people that made mixtapes. Not like DJ Clue or DJ Drama where they just play the record [imitates DJ voice-over] "Clue! Clue! Clue! Brand new! Exclusive!" I didn't make mixtapes like that. I made mixtapes where you actually do mixing and you actually cut - not just play some new shit. I have all of my original mixtapes and they will be released sometime soon as a classic mixtape series called 'Too Tuff's Weapons of Mass Destruction'. Hopefully that'll be released by Stones Throw. If not it'll definitely be released on the underground.

Also just recently on my website I released my first mixtape in 15 years which is entitled 'Wreck Shop 07' and is tracked and arranged by Aroe and the Soundmakers from England.

You've done some live performances recently. What has the reaction been like at the shows?

Getting back on the wheels is such an integral part of my life right now. I want to give the fans a taste of what it was like in '89 and at the same time keep them rocking to new artists and new routines. My shows consist of two DJs who open for me - usually locals. Then I perform a set of classic hip hop from the Golden Era topped off with a live cut medley of all Tuff Crew songs past present and future. The reaction has been overwhelming. No matter what I do or play at my shows, the crowd cheers at the slightest motion of my chops. They show more love now than in my prime, really.

I just try to give thanks to God, keep my head focussed and practise up on my cuts. Because a lot of these dudes out here now like Q-Bert and Craze and niggas like that, man, them niggas is off the hook. So I try to give it a bit of a break in between this new school mixologist shit and the old school. I'm not there to do 8-click flares and euroscratches and all that stuff. I just give you what I feel from my heart and I try to give it to you as raw as I can.

Any plans to take the show on the road?

I'm working with Z-Trip on a European tour. His management are putting together some long-awaited tour dates. I have enquiries from Amsterdam, Denmark, Wales, England, Spain. I just did an interview for Serie B magazine from Spain. I did an interview for Juice magazine in Germany. In Paris there is a gentlemen who is very kind and dear to my heart - his name is Le Lorea the street graduate and he has been vital to my comeback. Also DJ Hawkeye from Germany. I mean every place in Europe that I can imagine that up until this point I had never heard of before are so much Too Tuff fans that it's really unbelievable for me.

Any final words for your fans worldwide?

I've received a million e-mails saying that there were only two groups that people really wanted to see make a comeback. One was Ultramagnetic, and the other was Tuff Crew. So I promise right now in this interview not to disappoint any of my fans with the Tuff Crew reunion or the 'Lost Tapes'. I can guarantee you that the new Tuff Crew reunion album will be exactly like the old Tuff Crew stuff was: dope beats, raw cuts, same type of production, original MCs, original members. No new twists, no new turns – just we'll step up our game a little bit so we can compete for the year 2000.

For the latest info on DJ Too Tuff including mixtapes and other releases check out his MySpace page.