Wu-Tang's DJ Symphony brings DJing workshop to Seoul

DJ Symphony will bring his DJ workshop to Itaewon's Lit Lounge on March 18. / Courtesy of DJ Symphony

By Jamie Finn

Symphony Taylor, aka DJ Symphony, is an icon in the hip-hop world. The radio star-turned-live DJ has worked with everyone from KRS-One and Pete Rock to Busta Rhymes and Nas. He is best known, however, as the touring DJ for Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon and GZA. On March 18, DJ Symphony will return to Seoul to teach his acclaimed DJing workshop at Itaewon's Lit Lounge and spin at an exclusive after-party. First, he talks to us about life on the road, his favorite collaboration and why it's important to nurture future hip-hop stars.

For many, the dream of being a DJ and playing bangers to an excited crowd can be appealing. But learning the basics of the craft can be a tricky first hurdle. This is where New Jersey-born DJ and instructor Symphony steps in. Between his California-based DJ academy and his online training courses, DJ Symphony has developed a reputation for teaching wannabe spinners.

"It's gonna be a whole lot of fun," explains Symphony in an interview with The Korea Times. "We'll be learning a lot of technical skills that you won't be able to learn elsewhere because they're from a curriculum that I wrote. There'll also be some light industry stuff where I give people advice on how to get better bookings and to make sure they get paid properly. I want to teach DJs how to get what they're worth."

A successful DJ in his own right, Symphony has always considered it important to pay his success forward, nurturing the next generation of talent. "I grew up poor, and I was lucky to get so many opportunities to advance my career," he explains. "I worked hard for what I got, but I also got lucky to sometimes be in the right place at the right time. When you come from where I've come from, you have to take opportunities when they come your way! Because of where I come from, I've always said that whenever I can help someone get to that next level, I will. That's part of what teaching is about, as well as working with new rappers."

This mentality led to the creation of his first DJ academy in Fairfield, California, in 2013. "The school came about because I'd been DJing a lot of parties and doing a lot of events," he said. "I realized that, in my early career, I was ignorant to the fact that there's so much more to learn besides 'turntable 1, turntable 2' and 'fader left, fader right.' So in 2013, I decided to write a curriculum that would teach someone how to become a DJ from scratch and get the necessary skills to make it in the industry ― how to be a proper DJ."

Not content with sharing his tips only in his local community, the DJ instructor decided to take his workshop global. "The inspiration behind going international," he explains, "is that sometimes, in education, we get caught up believing that music should be taught in a certain way. But music is universal. You can teach it no matter where you go. Music theory doesn't change. You can teach it in different ways and different languages, but the theory behind it is the same wherever you go."

As well as the workshop, DJ Symphony will be hosting a monumental after-party where he will be spinning the best hip-hop tunes until the early hours of the morning.

He won't just be playing the old-school rap songs he is best associated with. "I'm not going to stay in one genre or one demographic," he says. "I'm gonna start from my era of rap, but I'm gonna spread insanely far. I love to feed off the crowd and see what gets them going because I want everyone to have a good time."

During his career, Symphony has worked with a roster of stars that beggars belief, but there's one collaboration that holds a special place for the DJ. "When I was a little kid, I was a huge Pete Rock and CL Smooth fan. My dad used to play it in the car for me, like, 'you gotta hear this.' Ever since then, I'd wanted to work with Pete Rock. That was on my bucket list. One day, I nervously reached out to Pete, and I was like, 'I am one of your biggest fans,' but then at the same time, I was like, 'yo, I have to work with you,'" he says.

"He couldn't at the time, but I hit him back a few months later, and he said yeah! So with the help of my brother (New York rapper, Reason), I put together a track featuring Pete Rock and Beanie Sigel, who is someone else I'd always wanted to work with. So having them two icons on my track was wild for me."

Despite the elite list of collaborations on his resume, DJ Symphony will always be most closely associated with the Wu-Tang Clan. "I started with Raekwon as their DJ, and I moved on to being Ghostface Killah's DJ. Just as I was transitioning out of that, I was having dinner with GZA, and he just said, 'Yo, I need a DJ. What you doing?' He said, 'You wanna' rock?' At first, I was like, 'I dunno' … because, you know, I had to play it cool. I couldn't just jump out there like, 'Let me get that.' So GZA looks at me, and he says, 'Yo, man, are you sure you gotta' think about that?' I immediately said, 'Nah, I'm in.'"

Symphony has been the official DJ for The Genius ever since, which has led him to another career high: "Me and GZA were playing an event at a festival in Switzerland, and there were people as far as the eye can see. I'm not sure what the final figure was, but it felt like 25,000, maybe more. And I'm a kid coming out of the basement in the projects; I never thought I'd be playing in front of 25,000 people at a festival in Switzerland."

While Switzerland is a special place for Symphony, he has a lot of love for Korea, too. "This is my third time in Korea. I came in 2014 and 2015. I love it here," he says. "It gives me the opportunity to work with Pinnacle."

Pinnacle TheHustler is a Seoul-based promoter who does music and food events in the city. He was responsible for bringing DJ Symphony over the previous two times. "People like Pinnacle don't get enough credit for what they do for artists like myself," explains Symphony. "He's a DJ himself, but he's a promoter and organizer, and it's always great to work with him."

As the interview is ending, he adds, "One thing I love about Korea is its love and appreciation for music. I've never felt a stigma about race or nationality in Seoul. They just appreciate good music."

Visit planethustle.com or Instagram @lit_itaewon for more information about the event, and djsymphony.com or Instagram @djsymphony for more about the artist.

Jamie Finn is chief editor of?Platform Magazine.