The Hiphop Tip
When talking with local world-class deejay Danny Clavesilla, AKA Mr. Supreme, it sounds as if he's finally making the moves that could earn him the national success he was destined for in the late '90s when his label, Conception Records, was one of the hottest indies in the country. It couldn't hurt, though, that 2003 was already a great year for Sharpshooters--the sample-heavy, downtempo hiphop act he co-helms with DJ Sureshot--as Light in the Attic released their latest, Twice As Nice, to critical acclaim. (Supreme intends on sticking with LITA in the future for his funk compilation with Seattle based-artists such as Ron Buford and the Soul Swingers.)
Lately, though, the deejay with 15 mix CDs to his name has been producing music for television commercials, had a couple tracks on The Sopranos, and has been working with his partner DJ Hijack. Together they released a mix CD, Officials, for the Ballard clothing store of the same name, and just completed another mix, Take a Good Look, featuring talented up-and-coming rapper Young Have Not. Supreme has a high appreciation for all the grassroots help he gets on his mixes, despite some flack from the retail outlets. "I got mad love for the streets. They really support us more than anyone," he says. "All these local stores front, saying mix CDs don't sell, when I make hundreds of dollars a day selling CDs." As for his secret to making the perfect disc, he says, "We stay in the streets and know our market. I know what I would want to buy, throw it on a mix CD, and it sells itself."
Although Supreme has just signed on with a management company in New York City and moved his offices down to Beverly Hills (where he travels monthly), he's keeping his two local weekly residencies: Old School Wednesdays at the Bada Lounge, and his new Sunday-night weekly at Premier, the incredibly cracking new club down by Safeco Field.
All that's on top of producing exclusive mix CDs for Japan--where he's well received--and getting mentioned in a half-dozen different national magazines over the past couple months. The man with a 50,000-plus vinyl library can also be heard on occasion as a guest on Johnny Horn's KEXP show Preachin' the Blues, playing nothing but original funk 45s.
Supreme's always been a vinyl guy, though, and he started buying records back in '82. In a matter of years he had collected so many records, he bought another turntable and a mixer and started DJing. Always freshly draped like a true b-boy, when Supreme was offered a drum machine for his pair of Puma sneakers in '86, he made the trade and took the next step into making his own music.
Supreme's track record speaks for itself, but the man is sure to call out his influences, which include Kool Herc, DJ Premier, Nick Martinelli, Jazzy B, and his old partner Jake One, about whom he says modestly, "I look at my friend doing it and it gives me inspiration to do the same."
