Heads for the studio after ups and downs in the club and radio
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
Ten years ago, there wasn’t a teenybopper in town who didn’t know DJ Raymond, the Bomb Don. Whenever teen spots like the Palace, Saints and Limelight opened their doors to music-based leisure, the man in command of sounds was DJ Raymond.
He had ditched his out-dated tape deck for a turntable and moved from house parties to venues that could shine light on a talented 16-year-old deejay.
The scene and its fame-throwing lights gave way to DJ Raymond meeting a smooth, laid-back, slow talking, established deejay named DJ Kut, who later became a popular deejay and producer on 100.3 The Beat and eventually producer of the Majic 104.9’s popular Quiet Storm.
DJ Raymond wanted to get down with Kut’s Mobile DJ Service, but Kut wasn’t feeling the young deejay because of his age.
But another popular deejay from Kut’s crew (Sir Thurl) took DJ Raymond under his wing.
DJ Raymond then deejayed as a member of Kut’s crew, which later became the DJ Connection. When DJ Kut’s talent landed him a gig on a hot New York radio show, the DJ Connection disbanded. But Kut didn’t leave the ambitious DJ Raymond hanging.
“He hooked it up so I could guest deejay on the radio on holidays on a show called Mix-A-Thon,” DJ Raymond said.
One of the first people DJ Raymond met was fellow Jennings native Big Sexy Cool DJ Kaos. Since they claimed the same ‘hood, Kaos “looked out” for him and made him his personal intern.
For about five months, DJ Raymond studied Kaos in the studio. When Kaos’s show was shortened by 60 minutes, the suddenly open 11 p.m. to 12 a.m. slot went to DJ Raymond. Now, he was interviewing bigtimers like JaRule, Benzino and 50 Cent.
With DJ Raymond’s come-up came more local fame – and a big head. DJ Raymond forgot about the cats who helped him get on, but karma didn’t. He got fired for being late to a meeting, and back to the clubs he went.
But, hooked on radio, DJ Raymond was working his way back to the airwaves. He was granted another opportunity to mix music for 1003 The Beat listeners. He, along with Kaos and Silly Ass, became a crew called the Red Zone Riders.
He still rocked clubs and put out a mix CD called Block Party Vol. 1. But he grew tired of club and deejay scene.
“It’s crazy when you start doing stuff at a young age,” he said. “You get burnt out.”
One day, he played a rap song fit for 100.3 The Beat but played simultaneously on two of Clear Channel’s other stations, Majic 104.9 and Z 107.7. Out the studio door he went again, landing in the club.
This time, DJ Raymond tried his hand at rap instead. In 2004 he started spending time in Kaos’s basement studio. Last week, DJ Raymond bumped into the American with a hot, bouncy, crunked-out single called “Where Dem Girls.” St. Louis and the dirty South converge in the sound of this springy single.
The song is right up there with most hit, crunk club songs, and since DJ Raymond still spins in clubs, he jams it every chance he gets. “And when I play it,” he said, “people go crazy.”
