The foundation of what is now known as Elite Productions can be attributed
to a couple of friends who took the adolescent infatuation of music, never
letting it go, and aligned themselves with those with this same credo:
It first started with two friends, Michael Balint and Anthony "Chip" Fernandez.
First meeting in the sixth grade, 1991 to be exact, their friendship was
forged with common interests such as skateboarding and music. Listening to
Hip-Hop, House or whatever reigned over the airwaves in the early nineties,
both young men made it a must to attain these songs. And as true fanaticism
is, knowledge of the craft came to surface.
Mike and "Chip," as many called Anthony, had an ear to what people liked to
hear. With this talent for song selection and the drive to grab whatever
they could get their hands on, many soon after requested their services the
designated dj's of the junior high circuit....this is where the hustle
began.
Today young bucks couldn't fathom the idea of not having cd burners or
mp3's, but making some side cash, the duo would go through the slow process
of "pause tapes," just to have a good mix of songs from party to party.
By late '91, Mike got his first set of Numark turntables with a Gemini
PMX-2000 mixer, and through their good fortune, they would borrow vinyl
records from older family members. Chip's older brother was in the biggest
dj crew at the time, Unlimited Sounds.
As the Asian scene was starting to rise in New York. Mike's cousin was in
another big DJ crew called Alliance. By this time Mike came up with the name
"M-Possible," which represented his skies the limit approach to the craft.
Years later it would be shortened to M-POS, but those who know the deal,
needed not an explanation:
"We would practice hours on end trying to mix the same records over and over
since we only had a few. We didn't learn how to DJ from watching videos or
later on from the internet. We learned by taping Funkmaster Flex, Red Alert,
Kid Capri, DJ Ace, Ron G, Peter Parker and Stormin'Norman, and other guys
like Glenn Friscia and Tony Humphries. We would recorded their mix shows of
the radio and play them over and over to try and figure out how they did
what they did." - DJ MPOS
You can say their first real gig was when they dj'ed their middle school
dance while in the 8th grade with a borrowed sound system that was lent to
them by one of their friends fathers. Coincidentally he was also a dj.This
set the trend of many more nights like to come and by similar to the
turntables rotation, the wheels were in motion.
Where previously as M-Pos' suggested they, "wouldn't go to parties to dance
or meet girls; we would sit their and watch the dj all night," this
discipline developed their skill sooner than others, slowly gaining
recognition, while still finding a name to call their own.
Soon after in high school, Mpos was able to acquire his first set of Technic
1200's. This is when they started really honing the fundamental dj skills of
mixing and blending. Mpos' skill caught the attention of an upper classmen
at Piscataway High School named T.J. White. Mpos and T.J. started rolling as
a crew going under the name Imperial Productions. As one of the premier dj's
in area during the early nineties, White took both Mpos and Chip under his
wing. As maestro, first hand tutelege of turntalist skills and tricks
enticed the wet behind the ears duo, while building a common bond of music
with the veteran of the high school halls. They also made numerous mixed
tapes during this time as Chip early experimented with another element,
emceeing, although short lived.
During the same time Mpos was also dj'ing other gigs on the side with Chip.
In addition Mikes other cousin, Rae Aleman who also was deeply into the art
of dj'ing, was on the come up aspiring to their same goals, eventually doing
more parties together.
Unfortunately, Imperial Productions was short lived because the following
year T.J. left for Atlanta to attend Morehouse College. Because of the
exposure Mike got from dj'ing with Imperial, he continued where T.J. left
off, still being asked to do a lot of parties. Since Mike had no one to help
him, support from his best friends including Chip, Chip's cousin Oneal, Rae,
and their friend Osmund (Oz-Boogie), came in to continue an issuing dynasty
which evolved into something much bigger.
At an early age, Chip possesed a exceptional quality of social interaction.
From this people person persona, "Mr Popularity"as he was jokingly named
expanded their infamy through word of mouth. He knew people from all over
the borders of the Garden State and as a result, requests poured in to
handle more and more parties.
They still didn't have a name for their crew, however. One day in
1994 while hanging out in Chip's garage, they brainstormed a title to last
them until this day: Elite Productions. The overall consensus was that
wanted to be the best of the best. It seemed only right that a title such as
this embodied their "top rung" drive. Once the dust settled on their newly
branded crew, the 5 original members of Elite Productions- Mike, Chip,
Oneal, Rae, and Oz, set off to live up this this name.
Elite soon became very well known in their surrounding area, but
what made them known to a broader audience was when Mike, at the age of 16,
started dj'ing parties in NYC for Unlimited Sounds. By the time they
graduated from High School, Elite was one of most known and respected crews
in NJ.
Also by then, they had enough equipment to dj multiple parties and a
time.They needed another dj so they kept their eyes open for fresh young
talent. Such one case was when Chip attended an atypical basement party of
its heyday. This one night in particular, there was a dj that caught his
attention. This dj was Jay Jung. So after coincidentally seeing him at gigs,
the demand for Jay was nothing short of impressive. Through the foresight of
predicting great potential in the dj, they scooped him up. Now with another
good DJ rolling with them they started taking on more and more gigs.
Eventually looking for another DJ, the attempt now was to try to put
together the best DJ line up around.
Things seemed to fall into place as another member was discovered on
the strength of a house party. This dj was Mike Capio also known as Mike
Intellect, or Intel for short. Like Jay Jung, it was evident that his skills
were superb and immediately he was asked to join, even in the event that
Mike was on a hiatus from dj'ing. Through this newly formed bond, Mike
Intellect rekindled his interest and also coincidentally reached his prime
in his early days with Elite.
He emerged onto the competition scene, battling along side heavy
names including Esquire, IEmerge, Mysterio, and Fraze. 1998 and1999 were big
years for Intellect and Elite, setting off what are now old school NJ venues
like Club Malibu and Velocity. Intellect also did several guest spots in
the city, and released his last mixtape that was available on cassette.
Once Mike Intellect and Jay Jung emerged and started reppin hard,
Chip began emerging as well away from the public relations and promotions
aspect side and decided to step up and dj alot more. People became puzzled
as to why he came back to spin, when it was a momentary thing or a once in a
blue event. But once chip decided to be 100% with the djing, the crew was
more solid than ever.
And so it began: random Dj battles to the DMCs, 2 classic mix cds in
the course of 1 year, holding down a 2 years plus residency,and doing radio
with djayjung and j encite, he came out from behind the scenes to make the
roster a threat to many crews. By this time, Chip's sister had given birth
to a baby boy, making him an uncle. With his sheer pride and the repetitive
new moniker, he decided to make it his dj name- Unkle Chippy.
Coincidentally, this was the time that a friend of their's Francis,
a dj as well came into the picture. Now an element of Elite that was not as
present was the reggae dj. Although all members played it during their sets,
there was no absolute authority on the genre. It seemed to be perfect timing
as they were expanding their resedencies, Francis,Frankie 5 or F5 took
another position of the Elite Productions team in 2001.
Throughout the years, Elite grew bigger and better. J.Encite, an
affiliate of Elite since he was a young buck, was the representative emcee
alongside his brother Junan. In the earlier days, Mpos was their dj and
would spit at various parties for the hell of it. He later linked up with
the boys of Elite and after immediate catching up, he took on Jay Jung and
Chip on his radio show, titled Guerrilla::Words Radio. Although the two were
regulars, everyone from the Elite was invited to spin adding another element
to this history. The expansion team had begun.
Linking up with dj Force, Chip and Jung formed the turntalbist crew
known as Audio Assault. A separate entity from Elite, the main goal was
solely battle routine and sets. With this formation more exposure was added
to the family.
As a result this exposure led to linking up with another dj who went
by the name Naz.Naz has been around for longer than Elite has been around.
Everyone in the crew can say they where blown away by his style and
versatility. Down with other crews such as Secret Society and spinning for
El the Sensei, Naz seemed to symbolize an evolving era of Elite.
Today members have strectched all over the United States, with
representatives in California, Virginia, New York and obviously its founding
state in New Jersey. Many affiliates as well have shown support for the ten
year old band of turntablists which continue its legacy today. If Elite by
definition means, "The best or most skilled members of a group," then it is
a must that they live up to these demands placed upon themselves.
Who knows what the future holds in the next decade of a crew of
humble beginnings. What matters is the love of the music, the bond that
brought them together in the first place.
Aight peoples. For all y'all who don't know, the longest running FREE Hip-Hop monthly is ending the year the right way with our own General Manager Encite as the December showcase. Encite is bringing along Dj Mpos of the infamous Elite Camp as well as emcee extraodinaire Ron Verbal to assist while doing is own thing as well. Guest hosting is the incomprable Naturel as we do a special shortened version of the nights event. So all those interested in the Open Mic portion of the event, come early and sign up and make your presence known…
Guerrilla::Words Open Mic Showcase December's Showcase- GW's own Encite with Dj Mpos & Ron Verbal On the Wheels: KJ Butta
Introduction by Guerrilla::Words founder Brian Buno With Guest Host Naturel
Tuesday December 4th 2007 @Nightingale Lounge- 2nd Ave. & 13th Street, NYC Open Mic list very limited for this shortened special event: 9pm-11:30pm 21 & up only, id required Drink Specials all night
CHECK US OUT THIS WEDNESDAY AS WE POP OFF THANKSGIVING EVE FOR YOU AND YOURS!
with your DJ's for the evening:
UPSTAIRS: UNKLE CHIP & D JAY JUNG (ELITECAMP/EWC/AUDIO ASSAULT)
GOBBLE GOBBLE @STAY NYC 244 E. Houston btwn Ave A and B 21+/NO COVER/DOORS OPEN AT 9PM! ***2 FOR 1 DRINKS from 10-11PM!!!!!!!!!!!!*** www.stay-nyc.com - for more information!
COME JOIN US THIS SUNDAY FOR GOOD MUSIC, INSANE ATMOSPHERE, AND DOPE DJ'S.
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4TH 2007
The Elite Camp and Teknevision present:
VIBES AND STUFF with your DJ's/HOSTS:
UNKLE CHIP + DJAYJUNG (The Elite Camp) Karla Calderon (Teknevision) spinning the best in Soul, Breaks, House, 80s, Classic Hip-Hop
@ 5NINTH (5 Ninth Avenue at Gansevoort in the Meat Packing Dist. NYC) 21 and UP - NO COVER OR DRESS CODE AS USUAL. POPS OFF AT 11PM, BUT DEF WORTH IT. SMOKING PERMITTED INDOORS (thumbs up!)
Naturel "Resurrect" Video Premiere Fuzion Entertainment Launch Party
Please join us for the launch of Fuzion Entertainment and the premiere of solo artist, Naturel. Naturel will debut the video for 'Resurrect', the lead single produced by Illmind from the upcoming EP, 'Somebody Up There Loves Me'. The EP will be released on November 17th.
Tuesday, October 30th Novo Lounge 290 Hudson St. & Spring St. New York, NY 10013
(WE REALLY HOPE YOU DIDNT TAKE THAT SERIOUSLY) ON A SERIOUS NOTE THE HOUSE PARTY WILL BE ILL AND DONT FORGET TO COME TO THE CO. ROOM/KNOWLEDGE GRAND OPENING ON THE 13TH AT 2PM. ITS GONNA BE A SMASHING GOOD TIME:
