Jeremy Weisfield: Deep Crates Part II

Creating a song is like making a baby where the voice and melody combine to make something greater than that sum of its parts. Often times though, one is more favored than the other. Especially in Hip-Hop, where it seems that within a song the MC, and the beat are equally vying for the attention of the listener. In Deep Crates Part 2, Director Jeremy Weisfield, explores how the men behind the music, DJ’s turned producers, create such amazing backgrounds that often take center stage.

Deep Crates Part 2, is similar to Part 1 where Weisfield documented the DJ culture, but goes a step further with interviews with the likes of Pete Rock, Grand Wizard, and K-1, Marley Mal, DJ Doc, J-Zone. These artists then went back to explain how some of their greatest songs came about, and even the history of DJ’ing and digging for tracks. When asked if there were any commonalities in the interviews with the DJ’s, it was that the people showcased in the film “were all producers that had been DJ’s, DJ’s that listed to music”. This love was not just confined to Hip-Hop, but also to old R&B, songs and music that touched the audience and left an indelible impression. That long lasting impression is what the DJ’s hope to encompass in their songs when they sample the song.

For the Jeremy this second documentary on this often overlooked element of Hip-Hop has been a learning process and a expression of his love for Hip-Hop. Having self financed both the first and the second film, directed, interviewed, edited, and promoted is no small feat, many a documentary has stopped due to the originators being overwhelmed by the responsibilities of doing a film. When asked what kept him motivated while over the process of making part 1 and part 2, Jeremy said “love of the music, love of the art form”.

Deep Crates fills a void in the documentation of Hip-Hop on film. There have been numerous documentaries that have focused on tagging, the early formation of MC, and Break dancing, and in all the documentaries there have been slight references to the DJ and the art form of DJ’ing. But no documentary goes as in depth as solely focusing on DJ’ing, DJ’s digging for beats, and first hand accounts from some of the men who helped formulate what we now know as Hip-Hop. Currently Deep Crates part 2 is being submitted to various independent film festivals, and Hip-Hop festivals as well. To get a complete and updated as to when the film will be screened go to www.beatdawgs.com