DJ Notion
The man behind The Gathering aims to bring Austin's word association together
Victoria Renard
While touring hip-hop acts still get the star treatment, it’s no secret that Austin rappers are the redheaded stepchildren of local music. Even though acts like Bavu Blakes, Boombox ATX, Zeale, Phranchyze, and Crew 54 are going strong—and showcases like Nick D’s The 512 are keeping its coffers full of emerging artists—the scene has arguably never recovered from the loss of Hip-Hop Humpdays at the Mercury (now the Parish), and has lately found itself marginalized for lack of a cohesive center. Austin’s DJ Notion and his partner Anirak plan to change all that with musicNmind, their graphic design shop turned promotions company that has organized a weekly hip-hop showcase called The Gathering since 2004. After losing its most recent venue with the closing of Emo’s Lounge, The Gathering has found a more permanent home at Karma, where every Thursday Notion and Anirak host a night of local performers and occasional cameos from touring artists. Decider spoke with Notion about the problem with promoting hip-hop in a rock ’n’ roll town and why some people need to get over themselves.
Decider: How do you decide which artists to invite to The Gathering?
DJ Notion: I try to work with everybody I respect. There are some that I haven’t done a lot with that I wouldn’t mind doing more with: D-Madness, Bavu Blakes. Grimy Styles, I’ve done one show with them, and I’d definitely like to do more. I really like dub and reggae, not just hip-hop, and they do a lot of instrumentals. I’m definitely looking for local artists I don’t know. So if anybody wants to hook me up…
D: What do you think about the way hip-hop is regarded here, compared to with rock scene?
DJN: A lot of people don’t realize how many talented artists we’ve got. There are a lot of people who have the wrong idea about hip-hop, who just give a shit about what’s on the radio. But what really bothers me more than anything is the lack of support from fellow artists. You won’t see hardly any artists at a show unless they’re performing. In New York and California, the artists are much more unified. Here you don’t see a lot of artists supporting each other.
D: Have you seen a lot of out-and-out negativity?
DJN: I get a lot of artists who’ll talk down on the next artist. They’ll smile in their face, but a lot of artists definitely badmouth each other. Artists all want to headline, and I don’t look at any artist at The Gathering as “the headliner” necessarily. Nobody ever wants to go on first, and people don’t want to go on too late. It’s just a matter of finding out which ones I work best with and want to continue working with. I’ve given a lot of people an opportunity, even if I don’t necessarily like their music. I’ve got to separate myself as a DJ and promoter. I can’t be like, “I’m only gonna book artists I personally like,” because there are a lot of artists other artists may think aren’t that great, but they’ve got twice the fan base. There are a lot of talented artists that really need to get over themselves and understand that it’s not just about who’s better than who.
D: What are your hopes for The Gathering in 2009?
DJN: An accomplishment for me would be to have a lot more regulars. There are some, but not like what you would think. Most people know about a specific group, and they show no interest in others. A lot of times after that group performs the fans will leave. You can’t force people to come, you can’t force people to stay, but I’d like for more people to show interest in Austin hip-hop in general. If I can get the artists and fans to do that, then that would be a huge accomplishment.
D: How can Austin hip-hop find its center again?
DJN: We’ve got to work with each other. I’d rather collaborate with other people on The Gathering than have two or three other shows on the same night. I don’t think Austin’s hip-hop scene is big enough for that. It’s aggravating when the people who are doing that are artists I’ve worked with, and they know that any time they’ve wanted to perform that I’ve always booked them. The Gathering will continue, so don’t be afraid to hit us up.
DJ Notion: I try to work with everybody I respect. There are some that I haven’t done a lot with that I wouldn’t mind doing more with: D-Madness, Bavu Blakes. Grimy Styles, I’ve done one show with them, and I’d definitely like to do more. I really like dub and reggae, not just hip-hop, and they do a lot of instrumentals. I’m definitely looking for local artists I don’t know. So if anybody wants to hook me up…
D: What do you think about the way hip-hop is regarded here, compared to with rock scene?
DJN: A lot of people don’t realize how many talented artists we’ve got. There are a lot of people who have the wrong idea about hip-hop, who just give a shit about what’s on the radio. But what really bothers me more than anything is the lack of support from fellow artists. You won’t see hardly any artists at a show unless they’re performing. In New York and California, the artists are much more unified. Here you don’t see a lot of artists supporting each other.
D: Have you seen a lot of out-and-out negativity?
DJN: I get a lot of artists who’ll talk down on the next artist. They’ll smile in their face, but a lot of artists definitely badmouth each other. Artists all want to headline, and I don’t look at any artist at The Gathering as “the headliner” necessarily. Nobody ever wants to go on first, and people don’t want to go on too late. It’s just a matter of finding out which ones I work best with and want to continue working with. I’ve given a lot of people an opportunity, even if I don’t necessarily like their music. I’ve got to separate myself as a DJ and promoter. I can’t be like, “I’m only gonna book artists I personally like,” because there are a lot of artists other artists may think aren’t that great, but they’ve got twice the fan base. There are a lot of talented artists that really need to get over themselves and understand that it’s not just about who’s better than who.
D: What are your hopes for The Gathering in 2009?
DJN: An accomplishment for me would be to have a lot more regulars. There are some, but not like what you would think. Most people know about a specific group, and they show no interest in others. A lot of times after that group performs the fans will leave. You can’t force people to come, you can’t force people to stay, but I’d like for more people to show interest in Austin hip-hop in general. If I can get the artists and fans to do that, then that would be a huge accomplishment.
D: How can Austin hip-hop find its center again?
DJN: We’ve got to work with each other. I’d rather collaborate with other people on The Gathering than have two or three other shows on the same night. I don’t think Austin’s hip-hop scene is big enough for that. It’s aggravating when the people who are doing that are artists I’ve worked with, and they know that any time they’ve wanted to perform that I’ve always booked them. The Gathering will continue, so don’t be afraid to hit us up.
