The influence of all genres from 60's Rock and Folk, 70's Soul and Jazz to Blues, Hip Hop, Freestyle and 80's Pop, sets the groundwork for the sounds that he creates to represent the many moods of Durojaiye Versatile. Best recognized for his distinct use of drums and melodies, he accredits his creative style to his exposure to music in his early years as a kid growing up in the Bay Area. The background noise in his household growing up was always music. Whether it was his mother playing records or his father listening to Blues, one thing was certain; his ear for music has been trained since a young child.
At the age of twelve he traveled to Los Angeles to visit with his extended family and it was there that he discovered his love of production. Once he started tinkering with a Drumulator he knew this fascination was what he would be doing for the rest of his life. In 1990, at the age of 16, when most kids collected shoes or hats, he collected 45's of jazz, soul, rock. A friend let him borrow a sampling guitar pedal, and along with the two cassette decks, his first track was born.
This awakening to music led to performing in the mid 90's with a hip hop group called Artfully Poor. The group received local acclaim, selling a few hundred cassette singles that they dubbed one by one. After receiving best unsigned group from a national hip hop magazine, they received indie interests from labels like Tommy Boy.
"My style has changed since the days of Artfully Poor, I'm no longer just a Hip Hop producer" says Durojaiye when asked about his production style. "I got into Electronica and House about 10 years ago and that's when it all changed". He also attributes inspiration from the likes of J Dilla, Portishead, and Alana Davis among others.
When not in the studio producing tracks, Durojaiye spends his time with his family in San Bruno, California. His vision is simple: Turn Thoughts into Things
Hey, Thanks for approving my request. So hows everything with you and the family? Well hope all is well. Im doing good with the children. Just want to stop by to say thank you and drop some love on your page. Take care of you and the family. Much love....
its been a long ass time since we was hyped to get cassette singles of the DOC remix of funky enough and man, how pure was hip hop in 1990? damn. much love fam, get at your boy.
