FRIDAY 17 | One of rapper 50 Cent’s Shadyville turntablists, Cut Killer – possibly the most emblematic DJ in French hip hop – is back on Cambodian terra firma. More than 20 years have passed since this Morocco-born Paris-raised dude first took to the decks, inspired during the 1980s by Deenasty, Jazzy Jeff and Cash Money. Since then he’s produced myriad mix tapes, launched his own record label and clothing line, scooped a platinum award for his Cut Killer Show series, and appeared in two films – Hang The DJ, and 9: Un Chiffre, Un Homme – as himself. And yet he remains humble, telling Tha Global Cipha: “a lot of people know about me because the Americans say I’m the Funkmaster Flex of France. I say okay, if you want, but I’m just a DJ. That’s it. It’s my work.” And here’s how he remembers the moment he realised he wanted to become ‘just’ a DJ; the moment he first saw Cash Money perform in the flesh: “At that moment, I knew I wanted to be a DJ. When I saw him, I said, ‘No, no, no! That’s impossible!’ See, at that time, Paid In Full was at the top of the charts. And it had that ‘Fresh’ sample in it. But, his record went like, ‘This stuff is really fresh… fresh… fresh… fresh… fresh!’ And then the beat dropped. Ohhhh! Everybody was goin’ crazy. It was like, ‘Awwwwhhh!!!’ That was our breakbeat at that time. So, I was like, ‘Okay, okay, I wanna be a DJ. I don’t really got no other hobbies anyway.’
WHO: DJ Cut Killer
WHAT: French rap and hip hop legend
WHERE: Pontoon, St. 172
WHEN: 11pm January 17
WHY: His stuff is really fresh… fresh… fresh…