Dork Interview

I told you folks! As you can see I kept my word and produced the best interview of my blogging career:) Its also my first, but whos asking. Anything worth having is worth waiting for. It took a minute but it was well worth it. Im such a fan of the Dork Crew. I believe alot people on earth are. Their site is dope and the content is actually stuff you wanna know about but dont see on the news or your favorite zine. The Dork Crew has it on point at every level. From life, art, travel, and music. Its all quality stuff. I was in the lab when I saw that I had recieved the interview. I was listening to John Legends "Save Room" and actually began singing at the top of my lungs with a huge smile............Im such a damb fan at times. But I think I have bs'ed enough so here it is folks. Drink Up!

Let the folks know who you are.

James Oyedijo, co-founder of Dork Magazine. I live in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn. I love vegetables!

What do you think the hip-hop music is missing these days? I mean my
Grandmother told me something a while ago. She was listening to something on the radio and said “Why do you like this junk, It will never last.” I thought about it and it made sense, because kids my age still like Marvin
Gaye and Stevie Wonder...even Prince.

Hip-Hop is like the nerdy kid that sat at the loser table during lunch. When the cool kids finally noticed him, he abandoned his loser friends and pretended the cool kids never made fun of him. Think about it. It was a street movement. A way for marginalized people to have a good time. Cats in the Bronx and Brooklyn couldn’t get into Studio 54, so they did their own thing. When rich people started to notice hip-hop they brought it into the Manhattan clubs and signed rap acts to major labels. To me that was the end of hip-hop and this happened way back in the late 80’s. I say this because all the control was taken from the creators and it became too expensive for it’s original audience to consume.

That’s not to say that good music didn’t come out after it was co-opted. I grew up in the early nineties and believe that was hip-hop’s most creative era. But the music was good because the corporations hadn’t discovered the best means for exploiting it. They weren’t interfering with the creative process. Once groups like NWA sold and Bad Boy took over in 95’, they had their formula: beef, violence, ignorance, and decadence. When a business finds a formula it’s hard to get them to change.

Again, there’s plenty of great hip-hop still being made. We try to highlight hip-hop artists who are still making good music. Heck, I’m sure there’s a kid Ghana or Omaha working on the next Illmatic. But are corporations going to back something that goes against the formula?

What started the whole dork movement?

I met Taj in law school. He had this website (www.soul-session.com). It was 1999 and Taj was way ahead of his time. He knew that user-friendliness and a clean design should be paramount for anyone with a web-based business. Some people still don’t get that. I remember calling him after I checked his site saying “Dude, your going to be a friggin’ billionaire. I mean, Master P is paid and he’s an idiot.”

I got down with soul-session and I’d hang at his crib talking for hours about content and design. He had a sick set of Technics 1210’s. I always wanted to DJ but I never knew anyone with a set of tables - that solidified the bond. Soon after I got my own set and he’d give me pointers about the art of turntablism. Unfortunately, law school is not the best time to start a business or become a DJ. We never get the ball rolling for real because of that. After we graduated he got at me, we regrouped and Dork was born. I believe I came up with the name randomly at work. Honestly, I wasn’t trying to be ironic. I just liked the hard “k” sound of Dork (you know like Starbucks). It was fun to say.

Who was the last person(s) that inspired you?

My family in general is very inspirational. They came to the US from Nigeria almost 40 years ago and they didn’t make any excuses. They just worked hard and they gave their children every opportunity imaginable. I’m not into excuses. Anyone that is responsible is an inspiration for me.

What’s on ya play list these days?

Artists:
Bloc Party, The Roots, Feist, Zero 7, Nas, Dip Set (sad but true), Ted Leo and The Pharmacists, Hugh Masekela, Five Deez, Count BassD, Kon & Amir, Kanye, N.E.R.D, Digable Planets, Black Moon, Jay Dee, ATCQ, Slum Village, Wu-Tang, MF DOOM, Madlib, De La Soul, TV on The Raido, etc, etc.

Songs:
-Spirits in Transit: 4 Hero
-I wrote this for the girl Paris Hilton: Vincent Gallo
-Put the Book Back On The Shelf: Belle and Sebastian
-Supa Star: Group Home
-Crooklyn Dodgers 3: 9th f. Mos Def, Jean Grae, and Memphis Bleek
-Purple: Nas
-Blue Light: Bloc Party
-Bomb Yourself: TV On The Radio
-Supermarket Blues: Eugene McDaniels
-Walking Under Green Leaves: Spymob
-Internationally Known: Count BassD

How do you feel about the death of the " Croc Hunter?(It really was a serious question)

Sad. He had a family.

Top 5 Artist of all time (Music, visual etc)

Keith Haring
Dave Chappelle
Woody Allen
Spike Lee
Nas

Any advice to the young dorks running around?

No advice. They know themselves better than I do.

Shout outs-

Shouts to you, fam! Thanks for checking us out. I really appreciate it. Shouts to the entire dorkset! Dorkset!