DJ Psycho

DJ Psycho (Dezi Magby) has been repping the streets for the last 25 years of his life, dedicating himself to the art of not only rocking the crowd, but making a mix that is as complex as his interests. Mike Banks (UR) himself said, after seeing him for the first time, “Look at him! Just look at him! He truly doesn’t give a fuck! Records don’t make him. He makes THEM do what he wants them to do!” He’s been referenced as being “the split difference between The Wizard and The Tazmanian Devil”.His live mixes cross boundaries and genres effortlessly, and his mixes on CD go beyond simply beatmatching records – they tell stories. Being a DJ is not so much how he makes a living as it is how he lives. At this stage in the game, he still practices 3-5 hours daily with no breaks.

Psycho took to the turntables after watching Grandmaster Flash on MTV in 1981. He had already been taking up guitar, piano and percussion, so the musical aspect was already there. He also had uncles in Detroit and Pontiac who introduced him to the game, and by 1983, their training paid off when he started DJing junior high and high school dances. He had co-founded a band the same year, Your’z Truly, playing guitar on stage and various instruments in the studio. In 1987, he met Kevin Klida (DJ Max Jerome), who ended up helping him secure his very first club gig at The Mikatam in Genesee, MI. After that first taste of notoriety, he started smashing everything in sight, touring alongside Digital Underground, Ice Cube and Naughty By Nature, getting his own mix show on local radio station WWCK-105 fm, and procuring the Midwest DMC finals championships 3 years running.

Since then, it’s been a rollercoaster ride, with no breaks in his popularity and respect amongst his peers. He’s thrown parties in the Flint area as part of the SPICE crew between ’91 and ’97. As part of Rev. Right Time (’97-’03), he’s been written up in High Times Magazine, appeared on the Jenny Jones show and shared stages with Parliament-Funkadelic, The Time, Roger and Zapp, Fishbone, WAR, Hed P.E., Coal Chamber and Drowning Pool. As a solo DJ, he’s bumped mixers with DJ Clue, Green Lantern, Skribble, Boy George, Gianni, Michael Myers, and Mix Master Mike, as well as Michigan luminaries such as Punisher, MD!, Billebob, Scan 7, and countless others. He’s also a supporter of low-power FM, helping launch RADIO FREE FLINT in 1999. Psyc is currently a member of Funkilinium, a 6-piece R&B/funk outfit that has been nominated twice for Best Funk Band at the Detroit Music Awards. Early this past year, Vert Clothing chose him as a spokesmodel for their new line of street gear and co-sponsored his “Dissident” club tour for the summer of 2006.

Influenced by a wide range of artists (starting with Prince, George Clinton, Nile Rodgers of Chic, Thomas Dolby, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Aerosmith and The Beatles) and DJs (Flash, Jazzy Jeff, Premier, Jeff Mills, Jam Master Jay, Carl Cox), his goal is to bridge the gap between what all of these people have meant to him and the future of music, whether it is manning the turntables, making tracks or stepping on stage with his band. 25 more years? It could happen……