Masta Hanksta has a new album out called The American DJ, inspired by his experiences as a DJ in his last 20 years in the industry. The American DJNow being distributed digitally through iTunes,Amazon,Napster and E-Music. I heard part of his album and if you’re looking for some dope beats to rap over, you definitely need to download his album. Here is some information about the album from Masta himself,

My inspiration for this album is all music and all types of DJs hip hop ,trance,r&b ,salsa something that can be played in a club and be enjoyed by all people.

American DJ was created to honor all DJs and there craft.

Here’s a video of him a while back sportin our goods:

Here is a Biography of Masta Hanksta:

Masta Hanksta (born 3 March 1969) is the performing name of Henry Rivas a Mexican-American DJ, Composer and Artist of many mediums.

Henry AKA Masta Hanksta was born and raised in Northern California and is one of the most influential DJ’s of his time. A true pioneer in the Dj game with over 27 years of music experience. Hanksta was one of the youngest DJ’s to hit the streets in 1982.

Growing up poor in San Francisco’s Mission district in Early 70’s Hanksta Parents his six brothers and two sisters struggled in in a two bedroom apartment. until his Father Julian Rivas a migrant farm worker saved up enough money to buy a house in Daly City Where Hanksta would spend most of his childhood.

He began his record collection in 1977 when he was just 8 years old. Hanksta would walk to a near by Record Factory outlet with his older brothers and spend his weekly allowances on a 45” records.

In 1982 He heard a Disc Jockey on the radio by the name of Cameron Paul from a local station called KSOL. That is when Hanksta first realized he wanted to be a DJ. He began to experiment with his record collection using his mothers old turntable which was built into the cabinet.

His first gigs where garage parties for a local gangs in his neighborhood. He would use a wooden Sanyo turntable and a dual cassettes deck player attached to a radio shack mixer.

Hanksta and his brother began charging 50.00 a gig they soon saved up for better equipment and in 1985 they purchased there first pair of Technics SL-1200 turntables along with a Numark Mixer which he still uses to this day.

Working under the name MOB productions (Masters of Beats) Such famous DJ names like Dj Qbert and Mix Master Mike DJ Chuey Gomez AKA ChuDog from the California music channel have attended some of Hankstas gigs and have played at some of His wild and outrages house parties.

At the age of 15 Hanksta would become one of the youngest DJ’s in Northern California to perform in some of San Francisco’s premiere bars and nightclubs. Hanksta once dominated the DJ Scene in Northern California with as much as three bookings per day. He refused to join the battle scene but remained on top for most of his career. Hanksta fell a victim to drugs and alcohol and was forced to step away from the Club scene.

Hanksta graduated from Jefferson High in 1987 and obtained his bachelor degree in Computer graphics in 2002 from the Academy of Art in San Francisco.
After taking a 15-year break from being a DJ Hanksta has returned to the DJ scene and is now producing ,writing and creating his own style of music.

Hanksta just released his 3rd CD The American DJ.

Which is now being distributed digitally under his own independent record label Hanksta Records©

Roc Raida, one our favorite DJ’s passed away today — we had the great opportunity to meet, greet and interview him last year. He was hospitalized after an accident but very few details about the accident were provided about the whereabouts and his condition.

Here’s an exceprt from hiphopdx website

At 37 years old, Roc Raida won numerous ITF and DMC championships for his turntable skills. Although he is remembered for his jovial character away from the decks, Raida was an innovator in cut-throat deejay battles that often involved incorporating competitor’s names into his mixes. Raida’s also known for his agile spin-moves, and often making acrobatic cuts on the turntable, through legs, over the shoulder, and using his mouth to cut the fader.

Through his AdiarCor imprint, Roc Raida released over half a dozen CDs and DVDs, that were both mixtapes, documentaries and instructionals for aspiring deejays. His mixtapes, including Crossfaderz, and WHAT! 187 FM are also remembered for their comedic interludes, often making mock commercials for malt liquors, car services and Jamaican nightclubs.

On records, Raida was present for The X-Ecutioners’ 2002 album Built From Scratch [click to read], released on Loud/Sony Records. Previously, the deejay crew was infamously recruited by Rick Rubin for his Def American imprint, but failed to reach an agreement.

With his scratching abilities, Roc Raida worked on dozens of classic albums. Highlights include O.C.’s Word…Life, Big Pun’s Capital Punishment, Buckshot Lefonque’s self-titled debut and Immortal Technique’s two Revolutionary [click to read] volumes. As a producer, Roc Raida worked with numerous members of D.I.T.C. and Smif N’ Wessun.

Family has issued a statement “Anthony Williams p/k to the world as The Legendary Grandmaster Roc Raida has passed away unexpectedly today September 19 2009. He is survived by his wife, three lovely daughters, mother and friends. Raida was recently in an mixed martial arts accident, something that he has been practicing for several years. Although he had under gone two surgeries with great success, was released to an inpatient physical therapy facility and was in great spirits the past few days. This morning he started to have complications and passed. The family asks for privacy at this time.”

RIP

Mista B, recent vice-winner of the 2009 DMC Champs, rocks the decks in SF at the infamous Skratchpad. Rocking the set, and rockin the gear, Mista B puts on a show for the boys and girls.   Check out Mista-B’s behind the scenes at DMC with this video post here…

Kings of LA DJ Scratch Competition is going down!!  Brace yourselves for some of the best dj scratching, mixing, and cutting to hit California this Saturday, August 29th!  All guests who come will get a Kings of LA DVD (I just went to Etronik’s place and the dvd’s are DOPE!) and get to see some amazing performances by the best scratch DJ’s in the world.  It’s a smashing deal and best of all, it’s only $10 bucks to get in.  That’s recession friendly for all yall….

Despite any rumors out there, this event is going down!!! It is NOT cancelled.  The event is at

The Bamboo Club
14304 Telegraph Road
Whittier, CA 90604

GOOGLE MAP LINK. This event will start a 4PM and end at 2AM. Please email us goplay [at] dbmlabs [dot] com or etronik2004 [at] aol [dot] com if you need more information! See you there!

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P-Trix was such a monster this year, and he literally came out of nowhere. Before the ’99 DMC, I’d never heard of him, but he straight destroyed it with his ultra-complex beat juggle techniques. I can’t think of any juggles that were even almost this intricate pre-1999.

In addition to his De La Soul juggles (with “Itsoweezee” & “The Bizness,” aka the two juggles he does in this routine) being incredibly technical, especially for this era, his skratch sets were extraordinarily well composed. He displayed exceptional coordination, too, with the drumming styles that he incorporated into his routines, and his power-off juggle technique is something that other people built upon in years to come.

But here’s the real measure of how great this set is: What turntablist doesn’t have two copies of these De La 12″s that they copped just so they could practice P-Trix patterns? These records are like the new “Rock the Bells” and “It Takes Two.” I almost feel like he laid the foundation for an entirely new school of juggling.

There aren’t many DJs who can lay claim to a timeless routine, but P-Trix can. This is the epitome of classic turntablism.