The immortal words from Mc Marvellous still ring in my head to this day, “Yo Cash make it sound like R2D2” and that’s what Dj Cash Money did.

A wiz on the wheels of steel, he is known for his exemplary technical ability and his knack of blending carefully selected tunes with an almost seamless prowess. When I caught up with him he was already in the middle of a tour of Europe and had just released his new mix CD “Head Banging Funk” which showcases his most treasured possession, his record collection, all mixed together in his own unique fashion. Here’s what he had to say about the tours, the wheels of steel, and the ever-rising price of wax…

So straight off the bat how does it feel to be back in the UK? 
I love the UK it’s like a second home to me, we just done a show at Nottingham last night it was just straight Hiphop up in there. People were really feeling the vibe.

I noticed that you had an mc up on stage with you as well as the statutory 1200’s, could you take us through the live set and how it compares to back in the day when you first started DJing?
Ah well things have changed Technology wise, I am basically using a programme called Serato, it allows me to bring my beats along with me but they are stored on the computer. Because I travel so much I found that records were being lost and the charges to bring them over by plane and so on were getting too expensive so it’s a great way to keep everything with me without fear of losing classic records. As far as the stage show goes itself I’ve brought an mc with me to hype the crowd up and give them a bit more of a show as opposed to me just spinning tunes.

Would you say that your set has expanded as time goes on and do you feel you have needed to move with the times?
Nah man I have been doing the same stuff that I have been doing for years, but I do keep up with the current records that are being played. I keep my ear to the street and find out what the people are feeling so that when I do a dj set it will get everyone vibing. That’s the main aim of the music I do to get your body moving.

I imagine you’re in transit now so are you heading off to complete the rest of the tour and has it been a success so far?
We are on our way to Manchester at the moment and we have played Estonia, Birmingham and then we are heading for Belgium and Amsterdam.

How has the response been from the European fans?
Man they are off the hook, what’s amazing to me is the fact that I have been in this business for years and now I’m going to countries that I have never been to before and they know so much about me. It’s a crazy feeling you know, I feel it’s a beautiful thing that a genre or type of music can effect so many people from all sides of the globe it really shows the impact that Hip-Hop has made and also gives you a sense of purpose to push things further within the music.

Are you involved in any projects that people should be checking for and could you tell us about your new mix CD (it’s a compilation of rare funk breaks mixed together in true dj Cash Money style) how did that come about?
Yeah…Well a lot of people know of me through my connection with Hip-Hop which is cool, but I am also heavily into the Funk. So I put together this compilation with the idea of it being something a bit different that you can put in your stereo or car and just get lost in the music. It’s a direct link to my influences and me and it features some rare 45’s, which are in my collection. Because I’m such a serious collector of vinyl you should find some gems there so hopefully the people will be feeling it. It’s available soon through Boombox distribution so check for that. Also I am working on a series of mix tapes that will eventually lead me into releasing a full Cash Money album with tracks produced by myself it’s going to take a bit of time to complete but it should be well worth waiting for.

So have you always been involved in production?
I have always been into production since back in the day, but you know in this business sometimes its kind of hard to get your tracks heard, it’s a bit of a case of who you know not what you know, and to be truthful I can’t survive by just doing production so I use my Djing which is my first love as a way of making an income to support myself and studio work its my bread and butter, you know.

You mentioned there that Djing was your first love how did you originally get into it and are there any particular influences that set you up as one of the most respected djs of an era?
I was playing parties at a very young age not necessarily block parties but social things for my parents and relatives you know stuff like that, but when I heard tapes from Grand master Flash and Grand Wizard Theodore I was hooked straight away and what I did was to listen to their style and adapt it to something that was true to me.

How do you feel that Hiphop has changed as a means of expression since you first got into those old mix tapes?
I think that people are still going to the jams and having a good time so that has not changed, though I will say that more folks that are in my age bracket have stepped out of the scene due to the fact of families and other commitments. So it’s the younger generation which are keeping our music alive, I feel that its my responsibility to keep up with what they are feeling on the dance floor and also bring them a taste of the true skool hip-hop which I was a part of, people are coming to see me for the first time and I do not want to disappoint them, and that state of mind keeps me going and able to carry on doing what makes it and that’s rocking the crowds.

Bringing the interview to a close, as I know you’re busy dealing with Englands fine roads is there any place that you would consider gold mines when it comes to crate diggin? 
To be honest most of the 45’s that I have got hold of have been from England it seems that you guys brought all the records from America and now we’re buying them back, and Y’all are making us pay for it too (Laughter).