Aside from masterfully laying down a track, what do The Bloody Beetroots, Borgore, A-Trak, Diplo, Bassnectar and Redman have in common? Jake Charles Osher, better known as Jayceeoh. With over 10 million streams on Soundcloud alone, the LA producer and turntablist demands the attention of Trap and Electro lovers around the world. Today he has DJed in over 30 counties, is the proud winner of VH1's “Master of The Mix,” and continues to push boundaries, that in a way have redefined what a DJ is capable of, with his Super 7 Mix Series and vivacious live performances.
Tomorrow, July 16th, Jayceeoh will perform an unforgettable show at the Yost Theatre in Santa Ana accompanied by Doctor P. Last week, before he took off to perform at a club in Guatemala and a festival in Haiti, we had the opportunity to hear about his new track “Turn Me Up Some” featuring Redman and Jay Psar, his EP with Redman that's slated for release in 2016, Volume 6 of his Super 7 Mix Series, as well as some amazing collaborations and remixes that he notes will take his career to the next level.
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OC Weekly (Taylor Morgan): When did you begin DJing and producing?
Jayceeoh: I started DJing in 8th grade and [quickly] fell in love with it. I was focused on being a battle, scratching, competitive DJ. I produced a little bit, but DJing was my main focus; it was immediate gratification. As time progressed and I established myself, my focus shifted more to the production side. That's the natural progress to really take things to the next level.
Did someone give you equipment in 8th grade?
My brother and I split a DJ slaughter package from the back of a magazine. It was the worst equipment ever! We ended up using a turn table from our parents and I practicing everyday. I used to skateboard, write graffiti, and do all this other stuff after school but once I got this turntable, all my free time was spent practicing; I became obsessed. I worked my high school job to save for the Technics 1200, which are the industry standard and the best turntable you can get. I bought those my senior year of high school.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in LA but in 8th grade I moved to Pittsburgh. It was a blessing in disguise because I [ended up going] to Taylor Allderdice High School. Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang is based off that high school and Mac Miller went there too. The way they popped off was from my boys who started Rostrum Records. I was one of the first DJ's, if not the first, to play Wiz Khalifa on the radio outside of Pittsburgh. He was still in high school then. We ended up touring together and [as for] Mac Miller, [he] use to come to my house for Jewish holidays and shit.
When did you end up moving back to LA from Pittsburgh?
After Pittsburgh I went to college in Boston at Northeastern before I transferred to Emerson. At the time Emerson had the number one college radio in the country. It was competitive to get on the hip-hop show, but I got right on air and by senior year I was the urban music director. I made a lot of connections in the music industry and started touring with different artists in Europe and around the U.S. Then I hit a point where DJing for other rappers was fun but the money was wack. I switched my focus to being a club DJ, I began putting out mix-tapes, and touring on my own. Next I moved to NYC and lived there for five years where I played anywhere I could get booked. I was paying my rent through gigs and coming up [as an artist]. After that I moved to LA, where I'm based now but I spend a lot of time traveling to DJ.
Tell me about your Super 7 Mixtape
I started it in '06 featuring six other, well known, DJ's. Each [featured] DJ would promote it and when that happened, everyone began to share each other's fans. People that had never heard of me saw 'Jayceeoh present' and I made sure my track on the mix was incredible. Once I did that, DJ's around the world would hit me up and say I'm going to bring you to Vietnam or China. I didn't have a manager so I [began] booking international shows and networking [myself].
When did you start battling?
My first battle was freshman year of college in Boston. [After that] I won second place in the U.S. for team competitions and third place for the head-to-head battle at DMC's which is the top, technical, DJ battle. Years later (after competing in an array of other competitions) I saw they were having auditions for a TV show called “Master of the Mix” on VH1. The grand prize was a quarter million dollars. I battled and I won. Shooting was pretty intense but winning [the competition] allowed me to shift my focus to production. I've also been able to focus on branding myself as an artist.
What has working with Redman been like?
Growing up he was one of my favorite rappers and his movie How High was just hilarious! He's such an icon for me. I [mixed] the song “Turn Me Up Some” and it had a sample from Redman in it. We both ended up getting booked for a festival in Croatia last summer and I thought I've got to meet this guy and try to play him the record. We ended up staying at the same hotel and there was a little pool party so I went up to him and introduced myself. I played [the track] off my iPhone and he said, “This shit is hot!” I asked if he'd like to redo the lyrics and he said, “Hell, yeah.” [Jayceeoh laughed]. From then on we started this [working] relationship. He asked for me to send him some beats and I sent him a folder of a bunch of my production. He was blown away and said let's do an album together. So since then, aside from “Turn Me Up Some” we've recorded four or five songs. We're going to record another four or five, probably, and release that project early next year.
I heard you're a lover of golf and recently played with George Lopez
Yeah! I played in a celebrity golf tournament with Cedrick the Entertainer, George Lopez, Don Cheadle [and several other well known actors and executives]. 10 months ago one of my good friends said come out and hit this par 3 with us. I thought damn this is really relaxing and I started playing all the time. It's one of the only times I can get away from all the crazy stuff I'm thinking about with my career. You're out in nature and you have to focus so hard on hitting that little fucking ball. You can't think about all the other shit you have going on in your life.
What can we expect from your show at The Yost?
It's going to be great. I really work when I'm up there, mixing, scratching, I'm on the mic. I don't let songs just play. My sets are energetic and I keep things moving quickly because I come from a battle background. I have a presence on stage and I go hard! I project that to the crowd and they will feel the energy and get pumped up.
See also:
The Top 10 Rappers in OC
10 More of OC's Best Rappers
Top Five Female Emcees in OC
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