The Worlds Freshest (DjFresh)

Early life

Dj.Fresh was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. While an adolescent in Baltimore he became immersed in hip hop culture, and he started mixing vinyl on turntables at age nine. Among his early musical influences were soul, hip hop, and jazz artists popular in the 1970s and 1980s, including Anita Baker, Whitney Houston, and The Gap Band.

He moved with his mother and siblings to the Bay Area, California at nine years old. Both his older brothers are DJs as well, going by the monikers DJ Dummy and DJ LS1, and together the three brothers formed a DJ crew called the 12-inch Assassins. The crew battled and performed around the Bay Area.

Early years

Dj.Fresh's first major break was DJing at a show in San Francisco with Common at the age of 18, and shortly afterwards he Deejayed on two tours for the rapper Nas. He began producing his own music as well, creating beats with turntables and a digital audio workstation. In 1999 he was named the 3rd best DJ in the US by ITF (International Turntablist Federation).

While he initially mixed with the moniker DJ Fresh, he now officially goes by The Worlds Freshest (Dj.Fresh). According to Dj.Fresh, he still prefers the DJ Fresh moniker, but adopted the other aliases to avoid confusion with artists such as the English producer of the same name.

The Tonite Show series

In 2006 Fresh started the "The Tonite Show" album series, where he produces albums with guest artists that have since included Freddie Gibbs, The Jacka, The Grouch, J-Stalin, Yukmouth, Mitchy Slick, E-40, and Raekwon. According to Fresh, "I come from the school of DJs when everybody was doing mixtapes on real cassette tapes; just playing songs of the hottest joints out and putting their name on it. That was cool, but I just wanted to make my own music and produce my own stuff, and that’s how I came up with the brand The Tonite Show."

His 2014 Tonite Show EP release with Trae Tha Truth received a positive review from RapReviews.com, who stated the album "shows glimpses of a nice little partnership brewing. Dj.Fresh...provides a dreamlike soundtrack throughout "The Tonite Show", coughing up an 80s vibe on "You Neva Know" and making the single "Wid It" sound like a Disney-fied take on the theme to The Exorcist. Fresh is at his best on "Pain", a mesmeric head-nodder that suits Trae perfectly."

Recent production

In 2006 Dj.Fresh began producing for a number of major artists, starting with the album The Real World: West Oakland by J. Stalin. In the next two years he worked on albums by Shady Nate and Bicasso as well, and that later extended to artists such as Mitchy Slick. He won Best West Coast Producer in 2009–10. As of 2010 he ran The Whole Shabang production team, with producers such as Jamon Dru, Mr Tower, Sneaky Mike, Face The Music, Mike Rimzo and Young Gully.

Miracle & Nightmare On 10th Street is a double disc collaboration album between J. Stalin and Dj.Fresh, released on 16 July 2013. It peaked at #61 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and at #28 on the Heatseekers Albums chart. Miracle & Nightmare on 10th Street was The World's Freshest's first charting album and also one of J. Stalin's most successful. It features a guest appearance from Freddie Gibbs. Music videos have been filmed for "Torta" featuring Lil Retro, "Dopegame" featuring L'Jay and "P.O.L.O. (Players Only Live Once)".

He also released the album Feet Match the Paint with Mitchy Slick in 2013, and in 2014 he released his Boomin System mixtape, which has guest artists such as Scarface and Kendrick Lamar. The mixtape was received positively, and a review by Complex praised the variety and unpredictability of the production styles.

Style, equipment

Dj.Fresh incorporates a variety of styles in his production, including hip hop, EDM, house, jazz, and R&B, though he self-identifies as more of an R&B than a hip hop producer. He uses analog equipment including turntables and vinyl, and a MIDI controller keyboard. He also uses Ableton Live and occasionally brings in live instrumentation.

Personal life

Dj.Fresh is currently based in Los Angeles, California.