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DJ Greyboy
As DJ Greyboy, Andreas Stevens will be forever known as the veritable father of American acid jazz, a sound he was exposed to during a trip to London in the late ’80s. On his 1994 debut, Freestylin’, the Long Beach-based DJ fused the sounds of jazz with contemporary hip-hop beats and amassed a fevered following in the process. When acid jazz proved to be a mere flash in the pan, Stevens began collaborating with saxman Karl Denson, which led to the formation of the Greyboy Allstars, a group that featured lauded keyboardist Robert Walter, guitarist Mike Andrews, bassist Chris Stillwell and drummer Zak Najor. At the turn of the decade, the DJ returned to his hip-hop roots. Much like his contemporaries Shadow and Dangermouse, Greyboy takes an innovative approach to manipulating samples, and his most recent work reflects the genre’s evolving potential. His latest effort, Soul Mosaic, offers a smooth blend of live vocals and down-tempo beats and instrumentation.
