Well I had the privilege of catching up with Psychopathic’s very own DJ Clay the other night at his release party for the ‘A World Upside Down’ Mixtape. Unfortunately our plans to video the interview at the end of the night fell through, however we spoke and decided to do it via email. So here you are Juggalos, there’s some pretty fresh wig-splitting news in there!

Polmar: ‘A World Upside Down’ drops June 4th – how hype are you for this record?

DJ Clay: Not sayin’ that the mixtapes I put out before were better or not as good as A World Upside Down but this is what I’d call a more “Epic” project that I’ve done out of my entire discography so yea man I’m Hype on a whole different level , I’m on the moon wit this one .!!!

P: Now you played the entire mixtape, from beginning to end, at the release party. How do you feel the crowd’s reaction to it was?

DJC: When I played it , as soon as the intro started I could already feel it in me that they were gonna love it from top to bottom, and it was mad overwhelming as it got deeper into the tape when I seen how everyone genuinely liked it and were wilin’ out like it was a concert and it was to songs that they were hearing for the 1st time !!!

P: You had a pretty decent turnout at the release party, do you feel the night was a success? Are you happy with how everything turned out?

DJC: 100% it was a success, the club was sold out over capacity, sold some records, partied with the fam, and everybody was turned up . If that ain’t a successful night than I don’t know what is .

P: When you finished playing the mixtape, you surprised us all by performing a set of your solo stuff (which was fresh, by the way). What gave you the inspiration to bust that out?

DJC: I had to man, that bitch was so packed and all the energy I was feeling from the crowd made me be like “fuck it” even though it was like 110 degrees in there.

P: Are you going to start performing solo sets like that more often?

DJC: Definitely, it’s been requested by fans for a couple years now so I’m gonna give the fans what they want .

P: One of our readers at Faygoluvers Heaven wanted me to ask you if you ever plan on putting out a solo CD?

DJC: If you notice on “A WORLD UPSIDE DOWN” I don’t have any solo Clay songs but that’s cause I’m writing and putting those aside so when I feel I have enough great tracks to make a full record then that’s when I’ll release that beast .

P: Now back to the mixtape, what would you say is your favorite track on the record?

DJC: You can’t ask me a question like that cause Imma say “ALL OF EM” but I will say “Goblin” is up top on my list and then behind that is the “Skreeem Remix”

P: You have some great features on this – Insane Clown Posse and the Hatchet family, of course, but you also have Myzery, Whitney Peyton, Kottonmouth Kings.. Tell me a little about that process: hitting these artists up, what was involved, etc.

DJC: I’ve never had KMK on a DJ Clay record and were homies so I had to reach out to Brad X and see if they would be down to collab , he responded like “Anything Fam”, respect to the kings all day !!
Now Whitney Peyton and MYZERY was a different story , and its compliments of Jumpsteady for their hook up , Rob had asked if I ever heard of this chick named Whitney Peyton and I didn’t at the time so he showed me a track of hers and I instantly was like “yo I gotta get her” and cool enough she did and she came thru hard . Now Myz and I met before at gatherings and other PSY events but don’t get it twisted cause I bought “Para la Isla” when it came out so I know what skill that dude has . He’s part of the PSY legacy and rob was able to put me in contact with Myz so from then on we just hit the studio n made a banger .

P: Was there any added difficulty working with Kottonmouth Kings due to the SubNoize conflict, or was this track done before things got to their current situation over there?

DJC: Not at all, we already started lining that track up way before all that went down with them , I’m sure that they’ll be straight.

P: Do you plan on releasing ‘A World Upside Down 2’ in the future? Will this be a new mixtape series? And does this mean you’ve closed the lid on ‘Book of the Wicked?’

DJC: I don’t know if I’ll do a part two of a world upside down but don’t rule it out because it all depends on what’s going on around me and what’s going on at the time of making the mixtape . and as far as closing the doors on anything like let em bleed or book of the wicked , they’re not closed , when it feels right maybe I’ll drop a let em bleed volume 5 or a book of the wicked chapter 3 , that’s the fun behind all of this shit , the mystery.

P: You have a busy summer coming up, touring this month with ABK, and your own headlining tour next month with Mars.. Are you pumped for these road trips?

DJC: Always , especially when your With homies , me and Killa have had great touring times, that’s why we’re out here doin’ the Underground Summer Jam 2 tour right now , the main goal is to stay busy and stay hungry and I know I’m like a skinny kid that needs food asap so make sure u don’t miss these tours and just wait for the Scratch The Surface Tour cause I got some shiiittt lined up for my set on that one !!!

P: Can you give the Juggalos a little hint of what you may have in store for these tours?

DJC: Versatility, mad versatility I’m trying to not have every night be the same show, I wanna stay on top of my toes , and I am going to show the Juggalos everything that DJ clay is capable of .

P: What are your plans after touring? Are you heading right back into the studio, or taking a break to relax a little?

DJC: No breaks !! its straight back into the studio I can’t take a break, last time I took a break, 2 years flew by and I didn’t have a new mixtape out yet , so fuck that, but for those two years its not like I was sitting around doing nothing I was still making beats and I was in the studio with the Insane Clown Posse for a year helping them work on the mighty death pop .

P: You just had a son I hear, congrats! How does that make you feel? Turntables for his 3rd birthday, right? Haha.

DJC: It feels great, that’s my new little homie , he’s the absolute shit !! He’s already got hoes knockin’ at my door , I gotta chase them sack chasers away and on top of that he’s already better than me on the tables , were constantly having scratch battles.

P: Do you ever find it difficult at all to juggle work and family? It must be tough heading out on the road sometimes knowing you got a little guy at home.

DJC: It has its tough moments but the family knows and respects that that’s what I do for a living and that’s how we eat, that’s how we get all the shit we want, that’s how we survive so I really don’t catch no shizz from the fam

P: Well there’s no argument in saying DJ Clay’s got some grind! Do you have any little tidbits of advice to pass along to any of our aspiring young artists/DJs out there?

DJC: Man just go out there and do what you wanna do, no matter what it is if it’s something that you dream of than pursue that shit otherwise it’s never going to happen.

P: Thank you again for taking your time to talk to us, it’s very much appreciated as always. And thanks for the “Faygoluvers” shout out on stage last night! Do you have any closing thoughts to leave our readers with?

DJC: Go get the new record !!! There will not be one single disappointed person that hears this monster and on top of that……… I’m just getting started.

Interviewer: Polmar

Interview Date:05/31/13

Websites:

• DJ Clay on Facebook
• DJ Clay on Twitter