Representative Albums: "Soulful Fruit," "The Ablist," "War Games"
Representative Songs: "Dope on Plastic," "Turntablist Anthem," "Modern Day Music"
Biography
Turntablist Rob Swift was born Robert Aguilar in Jackson Heights, a neighborhood of Queens. Growing up, he was heavily influenced by cutting-edge jazz artist Herbie Hancock as well as the more typical DJ heroes like Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, and DJ Premier. After graduating from Baruch College with a degree in psychology, Swift joined one of the top scratching groups of the '90s, the X-Men (later known as the X-Ecutioners). In 1992, he won the DMC East Coast Turn Table Championship and DJed with rapper Akinyele on his cross-country tour. A mixtape favorite, after one album with the X-EcutionersSwift released his own widely praised debut, Soulful Fruit, in 1997 on Asphodel, followed by The Ablist in 1999. Thereafter, he released a succession of mixes for Triple Threat (Airwave Invasion), Tableturns (Sound Event), and Six Degrees (Under the Influence). In 2004, Swift left the X-Ecutioners after the release of the album Revolutions and went on to record OuMuPo, Vol. 2, a remix of artists from the Ici d'Ailleurs label, and 2005's War Games, a soundtrack to the world after September 11, on the Coup de Grace label. ~ John Bush & Marisa Brown, All Music Guide
Born and raised in Jackson Heights, Queens, Swift (born Robert Aguilar) initially got into DJing by watching his father and brother.[1] “My dad was a salsa and merengueDJ. My brother learned how to scratch and do all the hip hop deejaying stuff on my dad’s equipment (without his permission) and I’d sit there and watch him. When I entered the sixth grade, I decided I wanted to learn.” So unlike those who got influenced through hip hop records, DMC and NMS tapes, or movies, Swift educated himself with the classic turntable beats of the early '80s New York playground pioneers while listening to funk and jazz at home. “My older brother exposed me to all that,” he says. “All the stuff I create as a DJ is rooted in the songs that I heard from Bob James, Herbie Hancock and James Brown to Quincy Jones and old DJs like Grandmaster Flash and Grand Wizard Theodore. That’s where my roots are.” In 1990, Swift enrolled as a student at Baruch College in New York and in 1995, graduated with a degree in psychology. “While I was deejaying I pursued college. Speech class and English serve a purpose, you know?” Some say that his education also translates into his cerebral style of scratching, juggling and making music.
