DJ QBert recently played a gig at QBar in Bangkok. Around the year 2000 I conducted an interview with QBert, a DJ who is widely regarded as the most technically adept in the world with a pair of turntables. He is one of my heroes and was once part of the now disbanded Invisibl Skratch Piklz. QBert has won multiple DJ accolades and created an album named Wave Twisters that was made into a full length animation.

The show at QBar was a little disappointing as QBert’s set was rather short and it was difficult to see him in action. It was, however, still memorable to see him live.

This is a portion of the aforementioned interview.

Matt
There is probably no need to introduce you, as you are without doubt the most well known, well respected turntablist on the face of the earth. How have you found the pressures of such a reputation have affected your life? Do you ever wish you could curl up into a ball and everyone would just ignore you?

Qbert
The pressure is something I kind of don’t understand too much yet, but I do know that it sort of motivates me to keep making things for everyone, so I guess it’s a positive, actually I know it’s a positive thing. I’m always curled up in a ball; people just don’t know the side of me when I’m at home alone.

Matt
How do you perceive yourself? You must read and hear about yourself all the time, but when you look in the mirror, who do you see looking back?

QBert
My mother always raised me as someone who is the best in the world. I thought she was crazy, but she insisted on continuously telling myself that I can do anything and achieve whatever I wanted. Now, I look at myself as a person who has a purpose in life to give all that I have to help people. Whatever your talents are, you can use them to make the world a better place. It’s what I discovered when I found the meaning of life.

Matt
You’ve said yourself that you only started making decent living out of turntablism within the last few years, so have there been moments in your life when you’ve seriously thought about whether or not it’s all worth it, and whether perhaps you’ve chosen the wrong path?

QBert
Of course when you’re young, you are always searching to find yourself and yes, I was lost in what life was all about. I too just lived as 90% of the world and was hypnotized into believing that I was to graduate school, get a 9 to 5 and retire at 60 or something. My father was a carpenter and always instilled in me to become something that was in construction because “that’s where the money is at.” I hated construction. I mean it’s wonderful how they do it, but obviously it wasn’t for me, therefore I was lost and sad about what life had to offer, because I was taking classes in school that were aimed towards that, like architecture and stuff, and I was failing badly. I thought of myself as a loser and I even got “most likely to not succeed” in a popularity poll for R.O.T.C.

All I wanted to do was scratch and do turntable tricks, but like I said, my mother told me I could do whatever I wanted and that I was the best in the world, whatever that meant to me at the time. What she was actually doing was subliminally implanting those positive thoughts into my head, and therefore hypnotizing me into believing that, which in turn made me excel unknowingly. So when you have kids, make sure you tell them that they are the greatest things that ever happened to the world. We all are. Every single one of us is a distinctly original, beautiful masterpiece of the universe. Our society here on earth doesn’t teach 90% of us that though, but know it, and you’ll be free Also, I wish there was a system to find one’s talents at a young age and then push them in the direction they were created for. It’s what this world doesn’t have.

Matt
Your style and overall persona have drastically calmed down since the early nineties. Why do you think this is, and do you think you are reaching a point now where there is no need push yourself beyond your own personal limits?

QBert
The energy is still there, only now in efficiency. I’ll always push the boundaries of what I know, because it’s so exciting and fulfilling to find out what’s on the next plateau, what’s in the next door, where’s this new technique lead, understanding the different phases, bringing back the past and mixing it with the future, and all that. With progression comes change and everything changes.

Matt
Where do you find refuge outside of turntablism from the pressures and madness of everyday life?

QBert
At home and in nature. I love a beautiful beach and I could sit there for hours meditating and daydreaming. My homes also have beautiful views and that in itself is a stress reliever. Actually there really are no pressures. I love what I do. I also love to read and find out info on things I’m curious about. I’m very much into fate and no coincidences. If I’m thinking of something or run into something, I always take it as a message from the universe. So when I’m stuck, I listen and keep an open mind to let a sign from an angel inspire me.

Matt
What are you most afraid of, and have your fears in any way made you stronger?

QBert
Nothing, since I’ve learned that anything can be taken away from you and you must learn to be unattached at will and know that what you keep are the lessons in life that will forever be implanted in your soul. The fears I did have made me stronger because that’s how I found out about all this cool spiritual stuff. “Seek and you will find,” “ask and you shall receive”, and so on. There is nothing to fear because God loves us all and we are all a part of God. Pain is a passing storm.

Matt
Ok, thanks very much for doing this interview, it’s been an honour and a privilege. As a way of saying goodbye, could you leave us with one thought provoking sentence, and I’ll let you get back to normality

QBert
“There’s no end to learning.”