DJ Rap

She's fallen out - and made up - with most of her drum n' bass peers. She's been blacklisted, bullied
and branded a bitch. Now, with a new album and a new sound, Rap's fighting back... Words: Dorian
Lynskey, Photographs: Angus Mill

A few months into her DJing career, DJ Rap played at a Telepathy rave. Outside someone was
stabbed to death, just as inside Rap dropped a darkcore anthem with the sample, "Mr Kirk, your son
is dead". Ravers came up to her screaming, "How could you do that?" but Rap didn't know what they
were talking about. The next day the police came round to her house and said, "So you're the DJ
everyone hates". Overnight all her bookings disappeared. She left London and sent herself, quite
literally, to Coventry. "I didn't come home for two years because I was not welcome," she remembers
with little affection. "It took a lot of time for people to get over that."

'Mr Kirk's Nightmare' by 4 Hero was the first record that changed DJ Rap's life. There's been two
more since - the second was General Levy's 'Incredible'. In 1994 jungle was going overground.
Levy's chart crossover hit forced all the scene's main players to form a Jungle Committee to keep the
music's integrity intact. For the first time, there were lines to be drawn and rules to be kept. At one
meeting the Committee decided that every major jungle DJ should boycott an upcoming Jungle
Soundclash event because - they claimed - it was too cheesy. Problem was, the promoter had been
good to Rap and she decided to break ranks. At the time everyone, except for Kenny Ken and Fabio,
shouted her down. She later received anonymous phone calls warning her that she'd be stabbed if
she played.

                    Rap went ahead anyway and found that half of the Committee were playing,
                    only they were getting paid more. "So was it about morals or money?" she
                    asks now. "I just thought, 'You fucking hypocrites'." It was the moment DJ
                    Rap decided she wasn't going to follow anyone's rules ever again. The third
                    record to change DJ Rap's life is her own, soon-to-be-released, second
                    album, 'Learning Curve'. Between Reprazent winning the Mercury Prize and
                    Goldie releasing 'Saturnz Return' it looked like drum n' bass might be ready to
fulfil its promise and conquer the mainstream; instead, it's ended up turning in on itself.

But DJ Rap knows a lot about breaking new ground. Four years ago her 'Spiritual Aura' single was
one of the great crossover tunes. Her subsequent mix album for Journeys By DJ showcased
'intelligent' drum n' bass a year before 'Logical Progression', while her 1995 debut album
'Intelligence' was the first drum n' bass album to appear on an independent label. Around the same
time, she gazed down imperiously from billboards across the UK as the face of Caterpillar boots,
over a slogan that read, "DJ Rap, Junglist".
 

Dj Rap

Rap has been out of the limelight ever since, working on 'Learning Curve', an album which takes
drum n' bass as a vehicle, not a destination. There are tearing drum n' bass tunes, true, but tracks
like the single, 'Bad Girl', sound like a big beat answer to Madonna's latest album or an angst-free
Garbage. It's not afraid of being out there on it's own, or of pissing people off. It's a lot like DJ Rap.
Rap comes into the room, ill and exhausted after the 'Bad Girl' video shoot and from mastering her
album. Her voice, ravaged by the air-conditioning at the hotel used for the shoot, is husky. She's
worried she sounds like Donald Duck but with her broad East London accent she's more like a
young Barbara Windsor on 40 a day. She's still wary of the press - the topless shots she did for the
tabloids over a decade ago under her real name, Charissa Saverio, are still reprinted whenever she
puts a record out - so she's charming but there's understandable caution. She warns Mixmag not to
misquote her. We wouldn't dare.

'Learning Curve' is only half drum n' bass and has the ability to cross over, while most
drum n' bass albums appeal only to the fans. So has drum n' bass lost its way? "Oh, I
think it's gone back into itself. I think it's gone through that warp hole. Everyone was expecting that
it'd be huge, weren't they? But
I think it's a lot purer now. It's strictly for the clubbers. I like that personally, but I do think it's
shrinking."

You don't seem to have the jazz, funk and electro influences that every other drum n'
bass producer grew up on. "I'm a fake, ha! The only music I was ever allowed to listen to at
boarding school was classical music so there's no background. The first music I really got into was
when I started raving. I'm a complete fake."

Why did you disappear for so long after JDJ and 'Intelligence'? "I just wanted to be left
alone. You're right, I disappeared. And I loved every minute of it. I have nothing to fear about
disappearing. I was grafting really hard on this album. If you know you've got it, take your time. I'm
not one of those people who's like, 'Ohmahgod! People aren't talking about me!' and freaking out.
Who gives a fuck?"

Did the Jungle Committee incident make you keep your distance from the scene? "I do
keep my distance. Before that I used to rave every week. It made me think, 'Fuck this - from now on
you're on your own'. I'm very into not being involved in the politics and bullshit because I've been
there, I know what it's like and my time is too valuable to get caught up in this shit."

                Have you made up with the people at that meeting now? "Yeah, it's all
                cool. You've got to understand, I'm quite a fiery bird. I had big arguments with all
                the DJs that day. It wasn't pleasant but I stuck to my guns and I got respect for
                that. Yeah, you fall out with people but we're all tight. What I didn't like was being
                harassed and put into a corner. At the end of the day you've got to do what's right
                for you and if it means falling out with the whole world then so be it. I'm not into
                conforming and what I like about this scene is that it was made up of people who
                were a bit weird and couldn't find a niche. It's like a whole dysfunctional family.

Have you always felt in control of your career? "Yeah. I'm incapable of working a nine to five
job. I can't just stick to DJing and doing drum n' bass because after a while even that becomes
routine. That's what kills me - routine. I've worked in Selfridges, I've worked in a garage, I've trained
to be a lawyer, I've sung in clubs. I can't hold a job down but this is different."
 

Dj Rap

Have you always been driven by the need to prove yourself? "I think I used to be. I think I
used to be really quite insecure. It was, 'Ooh, I'm going prove I'm as good as the guys'. I had a really
tough time as a child because of men and I did have the hugest chip on my shoulder about guys,
and it was all about winning. I was very driven by that - hate, anger. I was a nightmare. My goals now
are to be calm and nice. It's not about winning anymore."

So why did you do the topless modelling? "It was something I did when I left home and I was
skint. It was a quick, easy way of making a lot of money. I think I was a mixed up kid and I didn't really
value myself. I was running away from a lot of things. It was also something I did to piss my mum off -
anything to get a bit of attention. That's all it was. I didn't do it for long."

Is it difficult for you to look at those photos now? "Yeah, 'cos my body's excellent now and it
wasn't so good then. It's like, 'Oh no! Look at my eyebrows! They weren't plucked! Look at my big
frizzy hair!'"

Did you ever want to be famous? "I hate all that. That's the weird thing. I've pushed and pushed
to get here and now I'm here I want to go back there. I don't go out... I'm a bit of a hermit. I have
talent, but it doesn't give anyone the right to exploit me or abuse me because of that. People say,
'Oh it's part of the territory isn't it?' No it fuckin' ain't. Excuse me! No it's not part of the territory, love.
That kind of scares me."

Have you ever had a stalker? "I've only had one and he didn't last very long. I used to go out with
someone who used to go out with Kim from Mel & Kim and she used to receive bags of spunk in the
post."

Has being a woman in a male-dominated field been a help or a hindrance? "I think it's
helped actually. I wasn't the first female DJ but I was the first who stood up for myself. I was the first
to say if you're good it shouldn't matter what gender you are. 'Course it's helped. I've got a lot of
attention because I'm a woman. I'd rather have had a lot of attention because I'm good but... you
need all the help you can get."

               Do you act like one of the boys in order to fit in? "I am one of the boys. Don't
               get me wrong, I love being a woman, but I'm also a tomboy. You can't be a fragile
               dollybird to get on in this scene... I'd like to think I'm one of the boys but I'm also not
               stupid enough to think they don't see me as a woman."

               But do you manipulate your position as a woman? "I suppose I'm a bit
               manipulative. If it gets too tough you can always cry, heh heh. Or you can always
               say it's that time of the month - it's still a mystery to men isn't it, PMT? I try to play
               fair. There's a hidden book of rules that you guys have that women aren't brought
up with, and there's a lot of stuff us girls can learn from you guys. How you run your businesses, how
you leave your emotional shit at home and get on with the job - I respect that. Women spend so
much negative energy on shit that's irrelevant."

In 'Bad Girl' you sing "You've gotta be a bad girl to be heard". Do you? "You've just got to
be a bit more like men. It's not about Girl Power for a start. There's a lot of women who don't assert
their wicked ways. Look at me. I've had to stand out a lot of times and speak up for what I want and
people have said I'm a bitch or a control freak. If that's how you want to perceive me, fine, and that's
how I want to be if that's what gets me heard. Look at Madonna, look at Demi Moore. Nobody says
anything nice about these people. I happen to think they're the two most professional women in the
world and they work incredibly hard. Why does that make them bad? But if we're bad, than so be it..."

The album 'Learning Curve' will be released August 3rd on Higher Ground

  Charissa Saverio, also known as DJ Rap, has for the last eight
  years been the undisputed queen of the hardcore and
  drum'n'bass turntables. She's become a prime mover, the prime
  female mover in fact, on the hardcore, jungle and drum'n'bass
  scenes that have shaped the last ten years of her and
  countless other lives. As a producer, she's consistently rolled
  out the tracks that have made the rave scene rock: from 1990's
  Ambience - The Adored to 1993's Spiritual Aura and 1996's
  Roughest Gunark. As a DJ: her intuitive orchestrations between
  incendiary, impacting jump-up percussion and the sheerest,
  sensual, ambient effervescence have made her intensely
  female sets penetrate deep into the hearts of the nations'
  clubbers and ravers. And that's just the beginning. For DJ Rap
  is about to move far beyond the realm of drum'n'bass. This
  extraordinary girl, with her extraordinary story is about to release
  an album that way surpasses the incredible acheivements she's
  already amde. DJ Rap is about to unveil a surprising and
  inspiring long player of songs, live instrumentation, breakbeats,
  guitar band eloquence, trance, ambience and her own vocals,
  that's gonna set the world on fire.

  Listen up. 'Cos this is where the real girl power kicks in.

  Born to an Italian fater and an Irish-Malaysian mother in
  Singapore, DJ Rap was brought up all over the world.
  Indonesia, Malta, Africa were all home for a while. Her
  stepfather managed luxury hotels and she grew up living in the
  palatial surroundings of Raffles in Shangri La. As a child, her
  two loves were playing the piano and horse riding. She'd
  practise the piano six hours a day and spend the rest of her time
  in the stables dreaming of becoming a pianist. When the family
  moved to Southampton, England in her early teens, she
  discovered pop music: until then Charissa had only ever
  listened to classical music. After leaving school she modelled for
  a couple of years and then took time out to travel the world,
  backpacking through Greece, Turkey and Europe. She
  returned to London and joined a legal firm, first as a secretary,
  then training to be a solicitor. Her life, for the first time in years
  seemed to be following a normal, everyday course. Then, one
  evening, everything changed. "I was going out with some guy
  and he was giving me grief. So the flatmates that I had said
  'come with us to this rave, it's wicked'." And it was. She jacked
  in her job, kicked out her difficult boyfriend and raved. "It
  completely saved my life," she recalls, "I was in heaven every
  single day. For three or four years, it was complete bliss and I
  was really happy!"

  And it was from this bliss that Charissa metamorphosised,
  invisibly, into DJ Rap. "I started buying records and thought
  about DJing, but it was just a thought in my head, not serious."
  She met a budding producer called Jeff B and together they laid
  down a track 'Ambience - The Adored.'

  Rap wrote the meloday and the song. With its Papua New
  Guinea-esque combination of floating synths and grinding
  breakbeats, it was an instant hit on the burgeoning rave scene
  and beyond. Dj Rap promoted the record by going on a few
  pirate stations. One of these was East London's Rave FM
  where original junglist bad bwoy "Coolhand Flex" taught her to
  mix. Encouraged, she bought more records and practised her
  mixing. She got good: a few bookings in pubs and smaller clubs
  started coming in. Then one night, DJ Rap was down at a
  hardcore night at the Astoria. Fabio was on the bill, but hadn't
  turned up. The promoter turned to Rap. "He said 'So what d'you
  think of it in here?' and I went 'It's crap!' and he asked 'Why is it
  crap?' and I went 'the decks are Fisher Price, the DJ's crap, I
  should be in there.' He just looked at me; 'You think you're good
  enough?' and I said 'I know I'm good enough', and he said
  'Well you're on, Fabio hasn't turned up.' And suddenly I was on
  the main stage, playing for ?30. I couldn't believe it!"

  It was in one of those optimistic, dawning days of the rave
  scene, when anything seemed possible, Strings Of Life segued
  seamlessly into Bang The Party and Let The Music Use You,
  that DJ Rap made her name. And these, incidentally were a few
  of her favourite tunes. Having co-produced a number of twelve
  inches including "Coda Coma" on Jumpin' and Pumpin' (1990)
  and "Divine Rhythm" on Reverb (1991) she took time off studio
  work to build her DJing career. By 1993 she'd become the first
  female DJ to play at all the major raves: World Dance,
  Dreamscape, Lydd Airport, and Rezerection. She was a regular
  fixture at The Paradise, Quest in Wolverhampton and The
  Eclipse in Coventry. As hardcore evolved into jungle, DJ Rap,
  with her inimitable mix of furious breakbeats and weightless
  melody was there on the vanguard, dropping the new sounds
  everywhere she could.

  "The moment I heard a breakbeat tune I was like 'This is it!!'
  This is me, I could live and die right here in this space. For a
  long time it was a real problem cos most records were
  four-to-the-floor, Euro or whatever, and then you might have
  "Shut Up And Dance" creating this amazing "Ten Pounds To
  Get In" and it was frustrating cos there wasn't enough of it."

  Rap returned to the studio. Two twelves for Suburban Base:
  'Vertigo' and 'Jeopardy' followed, co-produced with Aston. But it
  was 'Spiritual Aura', with its sensual gasps of ambience and
  loose syncopated drums that really established her as a name to
  watch. By the end of '93, it was everywhere. A landmark of the
  ethereal, swooning 'Artcore' golden era of jungle production.
  The success prompted DJ Rap to start her own label, Proper
  Talent. There have been around twenty releases to date, as
  well as a subsidiary, Low Key Recordings, created in 1995 to
  nurture new producers. Over the last five years DJ Rap has
  spun the discs as much globally as nationally: Australia, the
  States, Canada, Europe, Japan. Her "Journeys By DJ" mix is
  undoubtedly one of the best in the series and an excellent
  example, with it's excerpts of trancemeister Peter Lazonby's
  'Sacred Cycles' and Carl Craig's 'The Wonders of Wishing', of
  Rap's impeccable, broad taste and sense of gentle, dreamy
  ambience as well as hard impact, slash'n'burn breakbeats. DJ
  Rap's debut album, 'Intelligence' for her own label Proper Talent
  also illustrated her talents as a producer, songwriter and vocalist
  capable of striking out in a multiplicity of directions.

  Tracks like "Roughest Gunark" were caned by the jump-up
  jungle turntable Mafia, but there were also moments of deep
  contemplation and wistful beauty on it too.

  Having signed a major deal with Higher Ground in July 1997,
  making her label mates with legendary Grooverider and
  Leftfield, DJ Rap is about to come into her own.

  Her first release is 'Bad Girl', taken from her debut album
  'Learning Curve'. This album combines her knowledge and
  instinct for making music, fulfilling every brilliant expectation
  we've grown to have for DJ Rap; optimism, passion and lush
  orchestration that's gonna blow the world away.

  Like I said before, forget Girl Power. You ain't seen nothing yet.