DJ Hen Boogie explained

DJ Hen Boogie born Henry Alexander III is an American DJ and producer whose music encompasses and fuses a wide variety of genres including jazz, hip hop, electronic music, and soul. He is arguably best known for being a pioneer of the Bay Area independent hip hop movement of the early 1990s as the production mind behind the group The Dereliks whose release "A Turn on the Wheel is Worth More than a Record Deal" is a highly sought recording over 15 years after its initial release.

Hiatus and return to music

DJ Hen Boogie all but vanished from the musical scene after the Dereliks release. Very limited information exists as to why the musical departure, but sources speculate it being primarily to focus on his new family, which included a marriage and three children.

In 2003, DJ Hen Boogie quietly returned to the musical scene with the release of "Change for the Bus Ride Home" on Sublevel Epidemic Records, which contained a collection of unreleased Dereliks songs as well as remastered outtakes from their "lost" demo tapes.

Solo career

In 2005, he re focused on branding his own identity away from the Dereliks with the release of "Nobody Beats the Boog" on FemaleFun Records. This release solidified him as a major break record collector and force in hip hop documenting the countless rare records that many artists have previously sampled.

In 2006, DJ Hen Boogie returned to production working alongside Jeni Fujita (of Fugees fame) and with Swedish born Kissey Asplund. He also has been credited for remixes with O.U.O. (formerly Zimbabwe Legit) featuring Asheru from Unspoken Heard, CL Smooth (of Pete Rock & CL Smooth fame), and Sadat X (of Brand Nubian fame). He also has completed his debut album, A Happy Present from the Planet Earth, released May 2007 by the Eastern Developments subsidiary Easel Records.

2008 saw DJ Hen Boogie with additional production credits with spoken word artist Karen Gibson-Roc, a remix album titled "Time Off" with Chicago's Infinito 2017 on Nephew of Frank Records, remixes with Vanessa Daou, and production on Jeni Fujita's debut release "This Little Light of Mine..." on Low Self Discipline records.

2009 returned to his roots as a DJ/tastemaker/cratedigger with the highly subscribed and downloaded podcast appropriately titled "Nobody Beats the Boog." Named after his 2005 FemaleFun records sample break CD, the podcast featured exclusives from artists from around the world. Notable appearances included interviews with singer's Czelena, Suzy Duffy, and an impromptu interview and appearance by beat maker B.O.O.K.S. One. The podcast also featured accolades from various industry friends and cohorts most notably Zelma Davis from C&C Music Factory fame, Japanese vocalist Monday Michiru, Norway vocalist Kinny, Joy Jones, Karen Gibson-Roc and YZ. The show ended June 2010.

In 2011, DJ Hen Boogie was hired as a composer for music licensing and supervision company Thwak Music. He has been tasked to compose music for several major brand commercial advertisements and television shows as a result of this partnership.

In 2012, DJ Hen Boogie developed a web series that was the result of an encounter with rapper Biz Markie called #youaintgotnobeats. In the series DJ Hen Boogie, Da Hermit and Biz Markie's DJ, Cutmaster Cool V were interviewed.

In 2013, DJ Hen Boogie was reportedly sued by Beats Music for copyright infringement based on the word "Beats." DJ Hen Boogie subsequently produced a video documenting the litigation. The site youaintgotnobeats.com has since shut down speculating that a settlement occurred between Apple/Beats music and DJ Hen Boogie although no public mention or documentation currently exists.

Discography

Albums

Production credits

Singles

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Sub-Level Epidemic Recordings. Discogs.com. 22 December 2021.

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