Turning It Loose

DJ Shiftee, a.k.a. Harvard senior and math major Sam Zornow, spins practically anything into gold.

Growing up in Scarsdale, New York, how'd you get into the underground hip-hop scene?

From mainstream media, really. The first mainstream artist I was exposed to, that I liked a lot, was Notorious B.I.G. After I heard him, I started looking more into underground hip-hop, which is based more on lyrics and substance.

You recently won the DMC World DJ Championship in London. How big a competition is that?

At this point, I'd say it's really the only respected world DJ competition. If you were to compare it to tennis or golf, the DMC is the only major.

So it's kind of like the Wimbledon of the DJ world?

Exactly.

"DJ-ing" is a slightly mystifying term to some people. How would you describe what you do?

I'm using two turntables and a device in between called a mixer. Through heavy manipulation and activity, the goal is to take whatever records you're using and create new songs or new pieces or beats. It's all about trying to make new music from existing music.

Are you speaking or singing?

Not in a competition. Not in general.

How old were you when you entered your first competition battling other DJs?

I was 15. It was at a car show in Queens.

You've said you take on this alter ego when you're battling.

Outside of battling, I'm pretty mild-mannered and polite. But onstage, I pretty much want to be a jerk. I go into attack mentality. The substance of what I'm doing, there's usually no words. It's usually just focused on music, so the words come in as extra stuff when you're dissing your opponents. I'll use a variety of things to do that. One type of record that's effective are old comedy records.

Which ones?

Some Andrew Dice Clay, some Richard Pryor, some Dave Chappelle.

And when you DJ parties at Harvard, are you usually playing hip-hop?

No. Eighties, pop music, dance music. Whatever the organization that's paying me wants.

I'm going to play Nick Hornby for a second: Who are your top five all-time favorite artists?

Wow. In no particular order: Bob Dylan, Animal Collective, The Books, Nas, and MF Doom.

Any guilty pleasures musically?

Kylie Minogue.

Are you thinking of doing something with your math degree after you graduate?

I'm looking into graduate degrees in music. NYU has a master's in music technology that I'm particularly interested in; they have a track for scoring film and media.

What about a career as a DJ?

It interests me in the short term, but I'm pretty sure I don't want to be some 45-year-old guy who's still doing battle routines.

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