DJ Zinc
Birth name Benjamin Pettit
Origin United Kingdom United Kingdom
Genres Drum and bass, breakstep, crack house
Years active 1993–present
Associated acts Freestyles
The Ganja Kru
Hoodrats
Hype & Zinc
Pure
Swift & Zinc
Website djzinc.com

Benjamin Pettit,[1] better known by his stage name DJ Zinc, is a drum and bass/breakstep DJ from the United Kingdom. Zinc is well known for 1995's "Super Sharp Shooter", a hip hop/jungle fusion.[2]

Contents

Biography [link]

Zinc's career as a DJ and producer stretches the steady evolution of hardcore from its house and rave roots through ragga and hip hop styled hardstep and beyond.[2]

He continued to DJ on a regular basis, and was one of the first drum and bass producers to score with the R&B slanted two step market courtesy of his 1999 single, "138 Trek".[2]

His productions have been relatively popular outside the drum and bass scene, most notably in the breaks genre under the pseudonym Jammin. He reached #27 in the UK chart with "138 Trek" in Nov 2000.

Zinc produces and DJs as part of the Ganja Kru and True Playaz collectives, often in association with friend and mentor DJ Hype. He runs the Bingo Beats record label, which releases both drum and bass and breaks records. He has been known to release many records under the alias of Dope Skillz.

In 2001, Zinc released a remix compilation album of his own productions called Beats By Design. By August 2004, he released his second album, Faster, a concept album of sorts. The album, as the name suggests, ups the tempo little-by-little for each song. The title track and album opener, epitomises this and is a grimey crawl through bass and beat that speeds up from 40bpm into the early 100's by its end.[3]

In 2007, Zinc turned his back on drum and bass, citing "disenchantment with the scene". He started producing again in 2008 with a fusion of deep house, funky house and fidget house, which he believed did not fit into any of these sub-genres. He later named his new sound "crack house".[4]

In October 2009, DJ Zinc released Crack House EP encompassing his new sound of the crack house genre. A follow up to this EP, Crack House Vol. 2 was released in July 2010. In November 2009, DJ Zinc created a 2-hour mix for broadcasting on BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix.

Discography [link]

Singles [link]

  • "138 Trek" (2000) - UK #27
  • "Casino Royale" (DJ Zinc) / "Dead A's" (DJ Hype) (2001) - UK #58 †
  • "Reachout" / "Pranksters" (2002) - UK #73
  • "Fair Fight" / "As We Do" (2002) - UK #72
  • "Ska" / "Fruitella" (2004) - UK #54
  • "Steppin' Sones" / "South Pacific" (DJ Zinc) (2004) - UK #62
  • "Drive By Car" (feat. Eksman) (2004) - UK #66 ‡
  • "Creeper" (feat. Dynamite MC) (2005)
  • "Ghost Train" (with Dave Spoon)(2009)
  • "Wile Out" (feat. Ms. Dynamite) (2010) - UK #38
  • "Juicy Fruit" (2012)

DJ Zinc Ft States Of Emotion - Goin in' (2012) † - credited as 'DJ Zinc / DJ Hype'

‡ - credited as 'DJ Zinc featuring Eksman'[1]

Albums [link]

Title Release Year Label Catalog #
Beats By Design (EP) 2000 True Playaz TPR 12 025 CD
Crack House (EP) 2009 Bingo Beats ZINCEP001
Crack House Vol. 2 (EP) 2010 Bingo Beats East002
Sprung (EP) 2011 Rinse RINSE009A

Compilation albums [link]

Title Release Year Label Catalog #
Bingo Beats Volume 2 2001 Bingo Beats BINGOCD002
Bingo Sessions Volume 1 2004 Bingo Beats BINGOCD004
Drum & Bass Arena 2005 Resist Music RESISTCD51
Watch the Ride 2007 Harmless HURTCD073

References [link]

  1. ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 161. ISBN 1-904994-10-5. 
  2. ^ a b c "Biography by Sean Cooper". Allmusic.com. https://www.allmusic.com/artist/p168787. Retrieved 10 January 2009. 
  3. ^ DJ Zinc Biography [1]], Retrieved on 2 Dec 2011.
  4. ^ McDonnell, John (28 July 2009). "Scene and heard: Crack house". The Guardian (London). https://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/jul/28/scene-and-heard-crack-house. Retrieved 1 May 2010. 

External links [link]


https://wn.com/DJ_Zinc

Podcasts:

DJ Zinc

ALBUMS

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