DJ C-Lo believes in hip-hop. On a nightly basis, the Harlem, N.Y.-bred DJ-producer entertains rap fans both over the airwaves at Hot 97 and X96.3 as well as in hot spots throughout the city that birthed the culture. As the official DJ for the latest edition of XXL Cypher Lab, presented by the must-see boxing event: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, live on Netflix, Friday, November 15, C-Lo lays down a booming beat produced by Smoko Ono and Tommy Parker. With Ferg, Ab-Soul and Sauce Walka on the mic, C-Lo is witnesses the power that true lyricism still holds in the rap game.
DJ C-Lo’s path to becoming a master of the ones and twos is a journey of pure fate. After earning a spot on legendary coach Lou Saban’s football team at the State University of New York at Canton, C-Lo suffered a career-ending injury during his very first game in 2002. He tore his ACL, LCL, MCL and meniscus left him bedridden and depressed. However, a close friend with turntables showed him the ropes, which ultimately led to C-Lo becoming one of the most respected hip-hop DJs in New York City and a decades-long career.
In 2010, industry veteran DJ Enuff introduced C-Lo to the team at New York City’s iconic hip-hop radio station Hot 97. After serving as a station intern for three years, Funkmaster Flex invited DJ C-Lo to spin a set on one fateful Thursday evening and the rest is history. Now, C-Lo is in the mix on Hot 97 every Monday at midnight and brings the club energy to the streets at 11 p.m. on Lit Digital Thursdays with the aforementioned Funk Flex. On the Latin music side of the game, he mixes and heads up the promotions department for X96.3, which is part of Univision’s New York cluster of radio stations.
While on the XXL Cypher Lab set at Brooklyn’s 1896 studios in October, DJ C-Lo speaks on the ways in which the cypher artists are keeping lyricism alive, how the role of the DJ has evolved in the hip-hop space and the responsibility he believes radio personalities must maintain for the good of the culture.
XXL: So what’s your overall takeaway from the XXL Cypher Lab you were just a part of?
DJ C-Lo: Honestly, man, it’s amazing to see three corners of the nation come together and really put together a dope cypher. You have people from the West, the South and New York, and you hear all the different styles. You notice how the people from the West Coast and the Down South, they use New York City punchlines? That’s dope, man, because that means people do their due diligence, their homework, and make it happen.
How do you feel about Ferg as a rapper, now that you’ve seen him in action?
Ferg is Harlem, man. He’s a born New Yorker. He has the culture in his veins. So, it’s amazing because I heard him speak earlier, and he mentioned how we have to be able to provide the community and our listeners, and anybody who’s tuned in with us, an opportunity to have fun. And sometimes, you got to step back and you have to destroy the person that people are not having fun with in order to become somebody else bigger and better. So, yeah, man, a lot of respect for Ferg. He’s on the right track. He’s focused.
You were chopping it up a lot with Ab-Soul, too. What’s your take on his personality and what he delivered in the cypher?
One of the things that I really liked about him was the fact that he’s so in tuned with the East Coast. He’s from the West Side, but even in his verse, he went from mentioning Chuck Taylors to Timberlands. You got to be in tune with the culture. It doesn’t have to be about age or how old you are. You got to be in tune with the culture to know what a Chuck Taylor is in the West and to know what a Timberland is in the East.
What did you think of Sauce Walka and his energy?
Oh, man, Sauce Walka’s crazy. He spends a million on his teeth. A lot of personality, a lot of character. He’s a beast, man, an amazing person. A lot of energy and a great artist.
After seeing a cypher like that, would you say that lyricism is alive and well in hip-hop and is being a lyrical rapper still important?
Oh, absolutely. Lyricism is not dying. We just got to make better music in hip-hop. Being a good, lyrical artist is important depending on what you represent nowadays. We have amazing artists. We have so many dope lyrical artists. I stand by so many beautiful rappers and artists, I can’t really sit down and name just one. Artists that make it their responsibility to give us good lyrics.
What is a DJ’s role in hip-hop in 2024?
Make the hits classics. That’s all it is. The other day I heard a DJ say something real cool, “A good DJ doesn’t just play good music. A good DJ is going to play the music you didn’t think you were going to hear and make you have a good time.” The DJ has evolved to becoming the entertainer. Back in the days, you had the DJ and then you would hire the entertainer. Now, we have the DJ who is the entertainment. They’ll come with the smoke machine and the lights, they’re bringing dancers. Some DJs are wearing LED masks and stuff. The DJ now has to come with a whole different element of entertainment. It’s not just about playing the music anymore.
How do you feel about the current landscape of hip-hop radio?
I think that there’s a community of on-air personalities that have a big responsibility. If we decide to keep this radio thing alive and keep it so it can still be relevant, I think that we definitely need to make it fun again. If you ask me, I think I’m part of that responsibility now that I’m in the forefront and able to mix in the No. 1 market for radio.
What rap songs are covering all the bases this year that are in the club, on the radio and in the streets?
In New York, I don’t think there’s not one because New York is so diverse. Right now, we have this sexy drill movement. To me, you could take an R&B record and just throw it into that element and it’s going to work. Sure. But I don’t think there’s one specific song. Every artist, if you go into the studio, that’s the sound you’re listening to right now in New York. I don’t think there’s a specific… It’s not like back in the days where you had what Jay-Z spit in that era.
Even if we go further down the line, you know what Future spit in there. You know what I mean? Between Drake and Kendrick, which was probably the last… From this interview, that was probably the last showdown, I would say. Me personally, I like Drake. I like the way he composes his projects, whether he’s writing them or not. I don’t know, but that’s why I like to use the word compose because you’re putting it together.
The Latin drill scene is getting increasingly bigger.
But it’s not accepted by the hip-hop world yet.
What needs to happen for it to be accepted?
What needs to happen? I think it has to do with… alright, so I’m going to explain this in a way where you feel me. When I feel like a new sound is coming in, so let’s say right now, again, the sexy drill, not the Latin drill, but the sexy drill, the whole Cash Cobain, Bay Swag and all these guys that are that sound. We’re playing it, and we’re moving it because the kids are adapting to it. If there was an artist that can connect the kids and still be relevant with the industry that’s spending that money, I think that would be the key because you do have the hip-hop artists doing Spanish records, and you do have the Spanish guys doing records with the hip-hop artists.
Cardi B is a big, big influence in that right now. So in a way, it is. It doesn’t live there. That’s all it is. What needs to happen, I just think it has to be a hybrid, most likely a New Yorker. I would say a New Yorker or the U.S. area, because you need to be composed of all the cultures and understand. For example, in the Latin world, your dialect is very important. If your dialect is in the Dominican culture, you’re going to connect more with Dominicans. But if you live in Texas, it’s not going to work for you. But now, if you speak that Dominican dialect, and you’re dead center, Philly, Boston, New York, you’re going to do good for yourself.
Check out DJ-Lo in the XXL Cypher Lab, presented by the must-see boxing event: Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, live on Netflix Friday, November 15 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
