Hailing from the historic Orange Mound community, DJ Zirk is a pioneering force in Southern Hip Hop and a foundational figure in the Memphis rap scene.
Known for his gritty beats, hypnotic flows, and innovative production, Zirk is known as “The Architect” of the underground sound that has influenced generations of artists, and his life story served as the inspiration for the plot of the Oscar-winning movie, “Hustle & Flow.”
The Hip Hop Museum caught up with DJ Zirk to talk about the early days of the Memphis Hip Hop scene, his controversial hit regional single “Lock Em In The Trunk”, the Memphis sound, and more.
Adam Aziz: Being part of the early days of the Memphis Hip Hop scene, how did the early days of the culture differ from the scenes that were building in places like New York and Chicago?
DJ Zirk: New York was a big influence on me. I came up breakdancing. In Memphis, you would see guys walking down the street and start breakdancing and battling each other. New York was a big influence on the Memphis scene.
We were battle rapping too. The first time I met MJG, we were battling, and guys were battle-rapping each other on the street.
AA: A lot of people don’t think the other elements of the culture, like breaking, were happening in scenes outside of New York and LA.
DJ Zirk: Nashville used to get a lot of records before Memphis, so I would go to Nashville and buy the records, and I would be rapping New York stuff before Memphis even got it. That’s what helped me start getting my name out there because I would have records in the city before everyone else.
AA: I feel like the Memphis Hip Hop scene is universally appreciated, but most people don’t know the history of it. Why do you think that is?
DJ Zirk: It’s because everyone in Memphis wants to be the king. That’s why you hear people using the term “the king of Memphis.” Everybody wants to be the man. All of us had a part in building the scene. Me and Gangsta Pat were talking about it how he had his time. And I had my time. Yes, some people didn’t get much shine as they should have, but they were all part of building the scene and the sound.
Me and (DJ) Squeeky would be travelling up north, to Chicago and all that. People were hard on the people from the south. They were hard on us, bro. But we were Hip Hop. New York brought Hip Hop to us but me and Squeeky were Hip Hop.
When we found Hip Hop, we educated ourselves on who Afrika Bambaataa was. Who Grandmaster Flash was. We understood the word “biting,” and we didn’t want people to feel like we were biting their styles. That pushed me and Squeeky to go in a different direction.
AA: I always felt like one of the sounds I could compare the sound of Memphis Rap to was Horrorcore Rap. One of my favorite albums of all-time is Gravediggaz ‘ 6 Feet Deep.’ It seems those horrorcore sensibilities infiltrated Memphis Rap. It was almost like horror on wax. Where did that sound come from?
DJ Zirk: Part of it is that I used to find samples that weren’t commercial and that people weren’t familiar with. They would sound dark, like I would use some Grateful Dead. And we would slow the tempo down, which made it even darker. Sometimes it would be too dark, but Squeeky would find a way to make the sounds work in a club. I would take a dark sample, and he would do the drum rhythm.
We would test things in the club, and we found that when we slowed the tempo and put club beats to it, people would get buck off it.
AA: Even with a record like “Lock ‘Em In The Trunk “, were you guys intentionally trying to scare people?
DJ Zirk: It just worked out. It was just dark. It was just something we went with when we saw people liked it. We just kept going, and other people like DJ Paul started picking it up. It was trying to do something different.
AA: What did you make of it when the sounds moved out of the region and started becoming commercially successful, like with 3-6 Mafia’s “Tear Da Club Up?”
DJ Zirk: You’re right, it was regional. Me and Squeeky were the ones out there working the first stuff before it blew up and helping it move to another level. 3-6 took it further than we did, and congratulations to them.
People don’t really know what it took to make this scene unless you were in the studio making the music. Even New Orleans, with the Bounce music, which was really Memphis that New Orleans learned from.
AA: Do you feel that you and Squeeky get the respect you deserve for the foundations you built for the Memphis Hip Hop Scene?
DJ Zirk: I was watching a video on the Memphis Hip Hop scene, and they didn’t name me and Squeeky. They did name Gangsta Pat and Spanish Fly, but they skipped me and Squeeky and went to 1994. Sometimes it is disappointing because people don’t know the work it took to build the sound and formula. But you can’t not mention me and Squeeky. Once people heard us, they had to go figure it out. At the same time, we should tell our own history.
To tell you the truth, me and Squeeky had felt like we had been blackballed once upon a time in the business. My song “Lock Em In The Trunk” was banned from all radio stations at one time. They tried to put charges on me because they said the song was encouraging people to lock others in trunks.
AA: That’s what was so amazing about Memphis as the scene was building. The music stood out so much.
DJ Zirk: And I’m going to tell you why. Memphis is the home of the Blues. The pain came out in our music and beats. Me and Squeeky were enthused by the boom and making your trunk rattle. That’s why every song had so much bass in it.
We came up in a time when New York and LA told us we used too much bass and that it wasn’t music. Squeeky and I went through that.
AA: What modern-day Memphis artists do you see your influence in?
DJ Zirk: You wouldn’t believe it, but GloRilla. I tell people to listen to my style on “Lock Em In The Trunk” and then listen to GloRilla. That’s her flow.
AA: Who is a Memphis artist that doesn’t get enough love or shine for being a key part of the culture?
DJ Zirk: Kilo G. He came up with the tongue twist flow. He’s passed away now, but never got to where he should have. He was very different.
AA: Speaking about The Hip Hop Museum opening next year, why do you think it’s important that Hip Hop has its own physical Museum that people can come to?
DJ Zirk: So people can really educate themselves. I think that’s what’s wrong with the youth, we have to educate them because they don’t really know where Hip Hop came from. When I went to visit the Museum in New York, even though it was still under construction, I felt it. Hip Hop has taken lives, but it has also saved so many lives. It’s good to have that physical space that will last lifetimes.
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