Interview with Djemba Djemba

Djemba Djemba is one of the most interesting underground producers in Los Angeles right now, and has his hands in many projects and crews including Team Supreme, Mad Decent, and his own label Rabbit Records.  His bass-heavy style is punctuated by moments of pure beauty and utter strangeness, making his music unpredictable but resonant. Despite staying underground, he's also managed to produce music for some of the world's biggest pop stars while keeping his signature futuristic style intact. His live show gets people completely nuts-- see for yourself on Sunday of Hard Day of the Dead coming up in 2 weeks...

L.A. TACO: What's your favorite taco?

DJEMBA DJEMBA: Guisados and Tacos Arizas.

LAT: How does the City of LA inspire you? What are your favorite and least favorite things in LA?

DD: I'm originally from Iowa, so pretty much everything about LA inspires me. Even the traffic. Most of my music is made to play in traffic to get out your aggression, or to play while cruising the strip with your window's down to get weird looks. The worst thing about LA is the air quality. My favorite thing about LA is my access to excellent Mexican, El Salvadorian, Brazilian, Chinese, Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, and Taiwanese foods; the meals that "foodie" restaurants other cities pretend to reinvent and charge 5x the price I can get it at home.

LAT: What is Team Supreme, and how would you describe one of the Team Supreme nights to someone who's never been?

DD: Team Supreme is a collective of producers who are interested in doing music, and less so doing a "brand" that people will think is cool. We built Team Supreme out of a weekly beat cypher and small monthly show's at La Cita, into a record label, large club night, and music discovery platform for upcoming artists.

LAT: Who are your favorite current and all time MCs?

DD: Snoop Dog, Nas and Biggie, and probably Kendrick.

LAT: Which song represents "the 90's" to you?

DD: Hanson - mmmbop

Maharishi School of Management, Fairfield Iowa

LAT: Where did you grow up? What's your favorite neighborhood?

DD: I grew up in Fairfield, IA. My favorite neighborhood is Berkley, CA.

LAT: Do you have a lucky number?

12

LAT: Do you feel bad for pushing the Man U soccer player way down in Google rankings? 

Not really bc if anything people in Europe think he's the one making the music, and I hope this leads to more opportunities for him beyond St. Mirren. Also if you're reading this Eric, I always thought Sir Alex never gave you the shot you deserved to prove yourself, and David Moyes will always hold the record for the worst thing that ever happened to Man U.

LAT: What is the ideal crowd for you to play for?

DD: The ideal crowd to play for would be a bunch of people with money who buy merchandise and music without any forethought on a whim after hearing one song. But the best parties are 18+ with a completely diverse mix of ethnicities, sexual preferences, and music tastes.

LAT: This is where you can put shoutouts, rap magazine interview style.

Shout out Team Supreme, Astronautico, Low End Theory, M|O|D, Wedidit, LuckyMe, OWSLA, PC Music.info, Anklepants, Flying Lotus, Madonna, my girls and everyone that does real shit in the world, and fuck politicians/bosses/ceos/racists/psychopaths we're coming for u.

Djemba Djemba: Twitter // SoundCloud // Live on Nov 2 at Hard Day of the Dead.