- DJ Zinc
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DJ Zinc Birth name Benjamin Pettit Origin 
United KingdomGenres Drum and Bass, Breakstep, Crack House Years active 1993–present Associated acts Freestyles
The Ganja Kru
Hoodrats
Hype & Zinc
Pure
Swift & ZincWebsite djzinc.com Benjamin Pettit,[1] better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass / breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop / jungle fusion.[2]
Contents
Biography
Zinc's career as a DJ and producer, stretches the steady evolution of hardcore from its house and rave roots through ragga and hip hop styled hardstep and beyond.[2]
He continued to DJ on a regular basis, and was one of the first drum and bass producers to score with the R&B slanted two step market courtesy of his 1999 single, "138 Trek".[2]
His productions have been relatively popular outside the drum and bass scene, most notably in the breaks genre under the pseudonym Jammin. He reached 27th in the UK chart with "138 Trek" in Nov 2000.
Zinc produces and DJs as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives, often in association with friend and mentor DJ Hype. He runs the Bingo Beats record label, which releases both drum and bass and breaks records. He has been known to release many records under the alias of Dope Skillz.
In 2001, Zinc released a remix compilation album of his own productions called Beats By Design. By August 2004, he released his second album, Faster a concept album of sorts. The album, as the name suggests, ups the tempo little-by-little for each song. The title track and album opener, epitomises this and is a grimey crawl through bass and beat that speeds up from 40bpm into the early 100's by its end.
Zinc turned his back on drum and bass in 2007. Disenchanted by the lack of originality, DJ Zinc told his agent to stop taking bookings for drum and bass nights and abandoned the sound he once lived for. He took most of 2008 off to spend time with his young son and figure out how he wanted to move forward in his career, before returning in 2008 to play a hybrid of house sounds. From deep house to funky house to fidget house, he ended up producing something that did not fit into any of these sub-genres. He later named his new sound "crack house".[3]
In October 2009, DJ Zinc released "Crack House EP" encompassing his new sound of the Crack House genre. A follow up to this EP, "Crack House Vol. 2" was released in July 2010. In November 2009, DJ Zinc created a 2-hour mix for broadcasting on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix.
Discography
Singles
- "138 Trek" (2000) - UK #27
- "Casino Royale" / "Dead A's" (DJ Zinc & DJ Hype) (2001) - UK #58 †
- "Reachout" (2002) - UK #73
- "Fair Fight" / "As We Do" (2002) - UK #72
- "Ska" (2004) - UK #54
- "Steppin' Sones" / "South Pacific" (DJ Zinc & DJ Friction) (2004) - UK #62
- "Drive By Car" / "Ins" (feat. Eksman) (2005) - UK #66 ‡
- "Wile Out" (feat. Ms. Dynamite) (2010) - UK #38
† - credited as 'DJ Zinc / DJ Hype'
‡ - credited as 'DJ Zinc featuring Eksman'
Albums
Title Release Year Label Catalog # Beats By Design (EP) 2000 True Playaz TPR 12 025 CD Crack House (EP) 2009 Bingo Beats ZINCEP001 Crack House Vol. 2 (EP) 2010 Bingo Beats East002 Sprung (EP) 2011 Rinse TBA Compilation albums
Title Release Year Label Catalog # Bingo Beats Volume 2 2001 Bingo Beats BINGOCD002 Bingo Sessions Volume 1 2004 Bingo Beats BINGOCD004 Drum & Bass Arena 2005 Resist Music RESISTCD51 Watch the Ride 2007 Harmless HURTCD073 References
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 161. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ a b c "Biography by Sean Cooper". Allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p168787. Retrieved 10 January 2009.
- ^ McDonnell, John (28 July 2009). "Scene and heard: Crack house". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/jul/28/scene-and-heard-crack-house. Retrieved 1 May 2010.
External links
- Official website
- DJ Zinc discography at Discogs
- DJ Zinc at rolldabeats
Categories:- Drum and bass musicians
- British DJs
- British record producers
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