PAULA BRION EP #130 | DJ Flame | From Pioneer to Flame: DJ Flame's Journey from Hip Hop History to Holy Hip Hop - DA TESTIMONY WITH PAULA BRION

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
H m hm.

Speaker 2 (00:06):
M hm.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
M m h m hm m hm h m hmmm
mm hmmm, m m mm hmmm, mm hmmm mm hmmm.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
The testimony, the testimony, the testimony with Paula Fria.

Speaker 4 (00:44):
The Diva for Christ Day.

Speaker 3 (00:47):
Out Wattle tune in every Tuesday and not he's since
then the time you are listening to the testimony with.

Speaker 5 (01:02):
Hosts, Caulabrion akn deeper for Christ. And in case you
don't know what that stands for, it's the finely inspired
vessel appointed and anointed for a time.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Such as this.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Hey, every Tuesday at nine pm Eastern you don't want
to miss you on speaker that.

Speaker 6 (01:25):
How now come on, now, now, come on now.

Speaker 4 (01:40):
Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, God bless you on
this wonderful, wonderful Tuesday evening. And you know who I am.

Speaker 7 (01:50):
I is the Diva for Christ.

Speaker 4 (01:53):
Yes, Caulabrion, known for all the people as the diva
who is divinely inspired, that vessel anointed and appointed for
a time such as this only to edify the Lord
and lift him up higher. And as you know, like
we do every Tuesday at nine pm Eastern Standard time,

(02:16):
we do nothing before we go to the throne of God, Father, God,
I just asked that you would have your way as
you do every Tuesday at nine pm Eastern Standard Town,
for your people, Lord, have your way, allow them to
see you in the guest in myself, see the love
of you, taking out everything that is about you and

(02:41):
giving it to them, bestowing it upon them so that
they could get a closer relationship with you.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
Lord.

Speaker 7 (02:46):
That's what it's about.

Speaker 4 (02:47):
That's what this program and this platform is all about,
to get closer to you, Lord. And I just thank
you again as I do always, to allow me to
be that vessel used to bring this for to your people,
for those that don't know you, so that they can
get a closer walk with you, Lord on today. And
we ask all this in the precious name above all names,

(03:11):
Jesus Christ. Amen, Amen a man a man a Yes,
this is me. And you know what we do. We
bring another uplisting and inspirational show to you the listeners.
This is for you. Tonight will be no different. Tonight

(03:32):
we bring my sister Woman of God, senor Ah. She's
an actress, poet and she is a just a something else.

Speaker 2 (03:43):
I'll tell you.

Speaker 4 (03:44):
She wait to wait for this this is the interview here.
You know, we always bring the best, and we bring
hip hop Royalty on tonight. I love it when I
say hip hop royalty.

Speaker 2 (03:57):
Ah the is the best.

Speaker 4 (04:00):
One of the first DJs, female DJs to be exact
uh formerly known as Lespek, the one of the first
I Gotta get this right. One of the first all
female hip hop groups for Mercedes Ladies. Yes, and she
is known as right now the Holy hip Hop Queen

(04:24):
ha Hai, the first legend DJ Flavors in the building.
Is she in the house yet?

Speaker 2 (04:32):
It praise guy, my sister. I'm so in awe of
the introduction. Thank you so much. I'm here with the
d verse, so I'm I'm you know, you are so funny.

Speaker 4 (04:50):
I love I love her because she makes me laugh.
Since we met, we had just been in Georgie's to
communicate with because it's just wonderful, wonderful to be talking
to people that understand the war that true walk. And
I mean, I don't have a lot of hip hop
hip hop on my stuff, you know, on my show,

(05:10):
you know, so it's like an honor to have you,
you know what I'm saying, I mean, representing hip hop seriously,
because stomping ground.

Speaker 7 (05:19):
That's my stomping grounds right there. Folks don't know. I'm
known for the house thing.

Speaker 4 (05:24):
But hip hop. I was on one of the best labels.

Speaker 8 (05:28):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (05:28):
One of them are Tommy Boy Records, where.

Speaker 7 (05:31):
They all they did was hip hop, you know what
I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (05:34):
So it was a blessing to be around the big
wigs like Digital Underground and Humpty and all those wonderful
other artists that was on that label, Queen Latifa, and
just to say that, the I mean, it just goes
on and on.

Speaker 2 (05:46):
The list goes on.

Speaker 4 (05:47):
But my sister, oh listen, listen, listen, I was in
the mix. I wasn't hip hop, but I was in
the mix, you.

Speaker 7 (05:57):
Know what I'm saying, So.

Speaker 4 (05:58):
I could claim it as I wanted the first I
let me start hip hop. But no, listen, nay, you
know everybody can say that, but no, I bless God
for you.

Speaker 7 (06:08):
We we cracked jokes like that, y'all all day all day.

Speaker 2 (06:11):
Uh.

Speaker 4 (06:11):
We cut up and and and that's what I love
about this.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Woman of God.

Speaker 4 (06:15):
You are a woman of God.

Speaker 2 (06:17):
My sister.

Speaker 4 (06:18):
God has truly delivered you into into greatness, into the Kingdom.
When you get when you're getting into the kingdom business.

Speaker 7 (06:26):
You know, you in some serious.

Speaker 4 (06:27):
Business, you know, so I just blessed God for having you. Well,
the first question I'm to ask you, and you know,
you know I'm gonna call you out on it, and
I just want to know.

Speaker 7 (06:37):
How did it start for you?

Speaker 4 (06:40):
How did this beginnings, your beginnings start? What what made
you want to do what you you ended up doing
in your very beginnings? We all just want to know, like,
how did it begin? There's always that story, is that
that that past that takes you and.

Speaker 2 (07:01):
Event Well, it started for me when I was thirteen.
I used to actually before thirteen, because I was singing
at five and you know, dancing, and you know, I
grew up in Gunhill houses in the Bronx and it
was uptown, kind of away from the South Bronx where

(07:27):
they're the the the inception of hip hop or started,
but it was still it was still a brewer if
you will, you know, there was a powder cake there
ready to explode as far as hip hop was concerned.
So you know, I just I love music. I came up,

(07:51):
you know with the black parties, and I was like
the house DJ because you know, I played all the
play all the music, you know, we know the Moodi's
records on to Nineteenth Street and you know White Plains Road.
And you know, my mother she loved music, so you know,
she would always use me, you know, as the master

(08:12):
of ceremonies, and she'd have her house parties and so forth,
and so you know, I just started, you know, really
getting into music. And my mother she worked at night.
You know, she she raised three kids. I have two
older brothers, and I was the last, you know, left

(08:32):
in the family to raise. And my interests were you know,
it was academic, but it was more music. And she
noticed that and she noticed that the kids were running
kind of crazy and wild, you know, because you know,
I grew up in the pj's. Of course, praised God

(08:56):
that it wasn't as wild as most places as Gunhill.
You know, we still have people who were actual immigrants
from you know, different countries. Italy you know, is real,
you know, So it was a melting pot gun Hill
at that time, and so more middle class. So you know,

(09:18):
I just took a liking to music. And my mother,
you know, had a really good friend and her name
was Emma, and her and her brother they owned a
a after our spot around the corner from where I lived.
So she said, well, I don't know what to do

(09:39):
because I got to leave her at home by herself.
And she said, well, she's into the music. We got
this music going on down here. Let let her come
down here, our Babysit ain't nobody gonna mess with her,
you know. And I kind of grew up in that
after our club called Emma's Place and also affectionally known
as the Spot. And when I was there, you know,

(10:01):
I saw the DJ, and you know, people were dancing
and you know, and I love to dance. I was,
you know, a hustle queen, so you know, I love
to do all of that. And then one day I
was just like I want to I want to do
what he's doing, you know. And he was Kenny and District.
He was the DJ that was there, and we had

(10:22):
this guy come in and MC and I would just
look and say, this guy is amazing. Like he comes in,
everybody gets on the dance floor. It's like he starts
the party when he comes in. And we remember I
remember hearing him, you know, and he get up there
and start rhyming and and I, you know, I'm cool kind,

(10:45):
you know, star child, you know, and I was just like, wow,
who was this guy? You know, so between him and
Kenny Listen, I had to learn how to DJ. And
of course I was like thirteen, fourteen years old, and
you know, they used to tease me all the time,
Oh what are you doing, little girl? Come over here,
little girl, you know, because they didn't think that I

(11:07):
could DJ. You know, they was like, you got pipe dreams,
you know, just go sit down, watch watch the men
do this. So that that made me want of, you know,
DJ even more because you're not going to tell me,
you know, and you know, so that was pretty much,
you know. And then of course I had like I

(11:29):
wanted to have a birthday party there, and so I
was at that time, I was in junior high school.
I was going to junior high school one thirty five
Frankie Wheeling, and I was I was like, I want
I want to get females who could do what Kyle
is doing. And I ran into a female and her

(11:50):
name was Sweet and Sour, and so mc sweet and
Sour happened to be the sister of Kyle's girlfriend, uh Yvonne,
And so I said, well, Kyle did she be down.

Speaker 8 (12:07):
With my crew.

Speaker 2 (12:08):
I want to start a crew. I want to start
a group, you know, I want to do I want
to do something for my birthday. And he was like absolutely,
let's let's see what we can do. And so, you know,
he introduced us and and we wound up and there
was another girl that came. Her name was Jazzy Jean,
and she joined. So I kind of had a group

(12:29):
before I even met the Mercedes ladies. You know, got
pictures and everything, was practicing for my birthday party and
had a really big birthday party. And that was like,
you know, it was crazy because it was it was
a sanctioned birthday party because of course it was in

(12:50):
the after hours club. And now that I right now
that I know, you know, because and by that time,
you know, by that time, I was going to Evanda.
I graduated and you know, started going to Vanda Childs
High School. I was like nineteen ninety six, I started

(13:11):
DJing in nineteen I'm sorry, not nineteen ninety six, nineteen
seventy six, and then seventy seven is when I graduated
and started going to Evander Childs High School. And then
I was like, yeah, I want all my friends to
come to my party, and they was just kind of
looking at me like you do realize that they have

(13:32):
I was born, you know, and so they kind of
stray shited it for me. And it was crazy because
now that I'm older, I realized, you know, you know,
uncle NICKI was Nicky Box, you know what I mean,
you know, the notorious gangster. And so I didn't know.
I was fourteen, you know, I didn't know anything about that,

(13:54):
you know, I just knew that was Uncle Nicky, and
I would see him every you know, every week, you know,
and you know, it's just that that's kind of like
my humble beginnings, you know. And then from there, like
it was right around the corner from Tea Connection, which
was the first venue to ever have hip hop in

(14:19):
their in their establishment, because hip hop was never ever
done indoors, it was always outside in the parks. That's
where it all started. The first party was a was
Cool Hurt, you know, sending his sister. You know, she
was doing a graduate a birthday party, I think was

(14:39):
a birthday party. And that was in their building, in
their community center. But that was not a club, you
know what I mean. That was that was a community
center and and it really was a room that they
had in the building that they would do event you know,
like partying things like that. Yep. So there were no

(15:03):
real venues, uh doing hip hop at that time, and
hip hop this was before the first record even came out,
before there were labels. My journey is the culture you
know of hip hop, because the industry didn't start until

(15:28):
sugar Hill Gangs, you know, and the various records that
came out back then. That's when it was the industry.
But I'm rooted in the culture. I'm actually part of
the formation of hip hop before whap is, if you will.

(15:49):
So that's how it kind of started for me.

Speaker 4 (15:54):
Use the rich, use the rich beginnings and that and
that's what I say. It started somewhere, And you know,
it's such a blessing to hear how it really started.
Like you know, most people like you say they take
it from the sugar Hill days and they and they
claim that as like the beginnings, but there was stuff
that happened before, you know, and I'm just so I'm

(16:17):
just so blessed that you could lay that foundation. And
I know you you pretty much started the first females.

Speaker 7 (16:24):
You know what I'm saying of people that you.

Speaker 4 (16:26):
Are DJs or MC's that want to be a part
of this world. And you know, again, oftentimes, you know,
like we know, you know, people don't don't see those beginnings,
you know, until you're interviewing someone like yourself and it
comes to the to the surface and you realize that, yeah,
there was a lot of history that's not being represented

(16:47):
and not being spoken about. And that's why it's such
an important thing for me to have you on this
platform so that people know where from where you've come
from and how how you can qualify to say one
of the first. Right, it's not first, you know. You know,
people would like to jump on board that thing and say, oh,

(17:09):
she's just trying to claim history of stuff. You know,
she ain't the first. Well you know what what I'm
hearing that sound like the first to me. See people
Sometimes people figure because you if you ain't get a
single out, that's not you're not the first.

Speaker 7 (17:25):
That journey. Yeah, that journey, that journey to make it
for that first record deal.

Speaker 4 (17:31):
You know what I'm saying, That is what people oftentimes
forget about.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
What I will say is when I was in that
club and it was it was weird because I didn't
I didn't see anybody like me. I never ever saw
a female DJ. I was uptown in Gunhill. And when
I say uptown, I was uptown the valley. We used
to go there. We used to see together, brothers, Jimmy Hall,

(17:59):
you know, all of the these great people that were
kind of like doing disco slash block parties, you know,
and maybe playing you know, some music that could be
categorized as hip hop, but hip hop from what I know,

(18:23):
is primarily break beat. Now. We used to play disco,
like when I when I started off, I started playing disco. Okay,
so I started DJing. And even when I had my
party and I had my we we did our performance
at the oh yeah, because we rehearsed. Girl, we rehearse
for a year. We know we gonna we're gonna get

(18:46):
in front of my people and we're gonna perform. And
I was always, you know, geared to performance because my
mom would always make me perform at you know, the holidays.
You know, they would come to people in the projects,
they would come to your house, and you know, my
mom's had the besties and all the kids we get Okay,

(19:08):
what do you do? You sing you rap, let's hear it,
you know, and so we were entertainment, you know, for
real back then, and for me to be able to
do that at Emma's place and she just she loved it.
You know. They were you know, Afro Caribbean and I'm
I'm I'm Afro Latin Caribbean as well, so you know,

(19:33):
it was it was just in awe. I was just
in awe because to see cool Kyle and to see
Kenny Anderson and you know, and he was cute, so
I kind of liked him. You know, he was older,
so I was like, that was that was time that
I could spend with him, you know while he was
you know, DJ here and Kyle used to DJ, but

(19:56):
he said, don't be doing nothing in here, little girl.
You know, he's always teasing.

Speaker 9 (20:02):
And they had a grand reopening of Emma's place and
Kyle had said, I'm going to bring the guy.

Speaker 2 (20:13):
That's gonna you know, DJ, And I'm mad because I'm like,
who's going to DJ? You know, because I'm you know,
I'm I'm on the Kenny Anderson train, So I'm like,
who's going to DJ? You know better than Kiddy Kitty
is the DJ? You know, so I don't know nothing.
I'm a little girl, you know, fourteen, you know, fifteen,

(20:33):
you know. And they got the guy and the guy
got up there and he sat in a chair. He
had the turn tables and he was mixing and rapping,
and I was looking. I just stood there with my

(20:53):
mouth opening, and you know, Kylin would come by me
and say close mouth, close mouth, little girl clote, and
I was just like, he's amazing. Who is he? That
was DJ Hollywood Okay, the legendary DJ Hollywood. I met
him when I was fourteen years old, watch him perform

(21:16):
and he he I was that was it. I was.
I was hooked. I was like, I got a rap
and I got a DJ at the same time. I
don't know how I'm going to do it, but I
gotta do it, you know. And he was playing disco.
He wasn't playing break beats, but he was playing beats
that you can rhyme over. You know, love is the message.
You know different you know, you know, good times and

(21:39):
different things like that, and so you know, you know,
heartbeat and all these things. These were all disco. They
weren't break beats. Okay, I hadn't heard a breakbeat yet
I'm just hearing disco and I'm hearing I'm hearing lyrics
go over disco and I'm like, yeah, yeah, I'm down.
This is what I want to do. And so he

(22:01):
said go over there and say something. I said, I'm
not going over there. That's a grown man. I'm not
going over there. He said, come over here, little girl.
And then he introduced me to DJ Hollywood. And I
tell the story to him all the time. He just
be looking at me, like girl, I alread even remember,
but God is amazing when it comes to me and

(22:25):
DJ Hollywood.

Speaker 10 (22:27):
Every time that I go through a transition.

Speaker 2 (22:30):
In my life, DJ Hollywood pops up in my life.
I won't see him, you know, Like I hadn't seen
him for decades. And then one at this guy that
I was dating, he wound up to be like his
record boy. And I was like, I said, well, who's
your you know, who are you working for? He said,

(22:51):
DJ Hollywood. I was like, get out of here, you know.
So I wind up, you know, reminded him who I was.
He said, you're that little girl when you went that
little girl no more, you know, And it was just
like every time. And then another time I saw him.
I was transitioning in my life and boom he was there.

(23:11):
And so every time now he's in my life all
the time now, you know, because now he comes, he
comes to the hip hop church and we just honored him,
you know, a couple of months ago. But just a
matter of factly that, you know, to me was amazing.
And then you know, I had a friend, you know,

(23:31):
because at that time, you know, it was gay culture.
It was Black Spades and the Peacemakers and Zottle Nation
and you know, the Black space were dominate more where
I lived at Uptown. And one of the brothers, he said,
how do you do that DJ stuff? He said, my

(23:52):
nephew does that, and his name was Dynamite God. You know,
bless him. He's, you know, going on transition. But I
definitely wanted to mention him because I wound up meeting
his nephew and went there. He was so impressed with me,

(24:14):
and I didn't know that he invited somebody else. So
I'm DJing, I'm in his living room DJing, and I
see this girl standing in the middle of the floor
and I'm like, who is this girl? Why is she
standing there looking at me? She had a mouth open,
like what and so you know, he said, oh, this
is baby ded baby g is you know, but speak

(24:39):
and I just said wow. And then he said go
ahead and I said go ahead. Right, I'm looking and
I see her walk up to the turntables. Now I've
never seen another female DJ, so this was like what.
And then she got up there she started scratching and
cutting and I was like, oh, wait a minute. I said,

(25:00):
wait a minute, wait a minute. And I'm like, h
standing in the middle floor with my mouth woven life.
And then she said you are amazing. She said, I
want you to be down with my crew. I said,
your crew, Wait a minute, there's other people. Indeed, he
said yeah, it's all female group and we want I want,

(25:22):
I want you to come and I want you to
be down And I was like what is I said
this female mcs? Now, mind you, my group had broken
up because that was just for my birthday party. Now
they didn't take that serious, you know what I mean.
So I'm I'm I'm you know, alone, you know, a

(25:42):
free agent at this point, you know what I mean. So,
and I was kind of stretched out from being a
leader of a group. So it was great to know
that there was somebody else leading the group, you know,
And so I said, well, it's there's females and day
DJ like you and MC. I'm with it. I'm down, Yes,
I go. So she brought me the rehearsal. I walked

(26:06):
into rehearsal space and it was a Mercedes Ladies and
the l Brothers, and so I'm looking, I'm going to help.
I don't know who they are. I don't know hip hop,
you know. So I'm walking into this place not knowing
anything because I'm from Uptown playing disco, you know. And

(26:28):
and I get there and it's Grand Wizard Theater, me Jean,
which is his brother, Oh God help me, Cordio, h,
Busy Bee, Starsky, the Master Rob and what they have

(26:50):
and I'm look and Kevin I used to argue all
the time. So I was like, oh my god, why
did I join this group? Why I gotta deal with guys?
I thought it was all girl group, you know. But
we had the same manager and we rehearsed on the
same equipment. And so this was my introduction into the

(27:10):
Mercedes Ladies and being mentored by the creator of the
scratch Grand Wizard Theatre. So that right there was you know,
and most people they kind of know the story, but
they they always they only think that I started with

(27:30):
Mercedes Ladies. But I started way before Mercedes Ladies, you know,
I started DJing and and and and Baby d would
mentor me in a sense because she she cut and I,
you know, I was a mixer, and Theodore was like,
well she makes that good. I'm a teacher how to scratch,
you know, and so but but she was the premier

(27:54):
DJ of the group because she was the first and
tea of Graham Wizard Theodore, you know, And so she
mentored me in the sense of when Theodore wasn't there,
and you know, I would get nervous as we all do,
you know, as far as performances or concerned, you know,

(28:17):
you know, she would be there, like you could do this,
let's let's let's rehearse. So she was kind of like
that person I would rehearse with. You know, we would
try out different techniques and you know, things like that.
You know. But Theodore was, you know, the primary person
that taught me how to scratch, you know, which I

(28:38):
you know, I just scratched my head down.

Speaker 4 (28:41):
Yeah, you know, that's listening right there, you know, you
talk about the first is the first, and that's a
beautiful thing. You know that you was around that that beginning.
But you know, and they're rich because we believed in rehearsing.
Like you you know these kids these days that we
used to put hours in the basement. You know when

(29:04):
the basement, you know, staying with the bands and stuff,
and we been for hours.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
You could always go.

Speaker 4 (29:09):
Where to find, you know, musicians, no offense.

Speaker 7 (29:12):
You knew where they would be at. You know what
I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (29:15):
It was this beautiful thing. You know, the house parties,
you know, going back to what I remember, you know
the house party house, the house party where your mama
would give an event at the home, just so that
she would know where her child was or the community
of people would know where.

Speaker 2 (29:30):
Their kids was.

Speaker 4 (29:31):
We ain't have to put on that show, you know
that commercial do you know where your child at? No,
they knew where that child was.

Speaker 2 (29:37):
Children. Yeah, my mom was. She used to seed the neighborhood.
She would make me feed my enemies. She was like,
I haven't given them a plate. I was like, ma,
she I'm speeding that lady, that girl, I know. She said,
if you're gonna bring that plate downstairs, and you're better

(29:58):
than not giving to nobody else, because I'm gonna ask
my mother. I'll say, oh god, you know, but this
is you know, this is the culture you know that
we came up. You know, there was a there was
a camaraderie, there was a family essence. The morality was there,

(30:20):
and it was big mama, you know, like I'm gonna
tell you, listen, don't hit my child, but you better
tell me. And then when you get home, she believe
me by you telling me. That's that's gonna get her
enough because she know I'm gonna tell her up when
she gets home, you know. And you know, being home
before the light term like in the street, you know

(30:44):
all of that. Yeah, you know, And I came I
was in the project. So if if you know, if
I was out there longer than when I was supposed
to be. My mother would go in the hall and
the hallway by the by the elevators, there were nothing windows,
and she would yell my name and one thing about
a project. He carries your voice and it was like, yo,

(31:06):
your mom is calling you. I was waiting, Oh my god,
don't get a whooping way.

Speaker 7 (31:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (31:13):
We My mom used to my aunt and a maiden
come out the window, will come to the door and
yell for you. And you heard her miles away, and
you hear us responding form my we need no phone,
we need.

Speaker 2 (31:26):
No that's right. Get about the beepers in the falls,
that's right, there's no texting you. You better and you
better answer, and you better be understanding not five minutes before.
And if you wasn't up five minutes old, you better
stay where you at because you gonna get it good.
And you better have a call your mother so to

(31:48):
make sure that it won't be so bad when you
get us. That's right, that's right. You know the day
you know all you're.

Speaker 4 (31:59):
In that heroine where where where the neighbors would beat you,
it ain't beat you.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
And then when you got.

Speaker 4 (32:06):
True, we knew what it wanted to be their old time.

Speaker 2 (32:12):
That yeah, let's see. And and that's the era that
we come from, you know, and even you know connecting,
you know on that level, because I was in the
South Bronx and I'd never been in the South Bronx
and at that time, oh my god, I forgot the
name of the Apache. I think Apache the Bronx or something.

(32:35):
That movie that came out and it was the fifty
year Preestay where they was rolling up people and and
and it was you know dealers and they they people
were dying off of Odino for Heroldin and you know
all of that. I never seen any of that, so,

(32:55):
you know, and then before that, I went to you know,
before I even you know, started DJ and I went
to private school. I was over where you live. I
went to Bravian Academy. So I didn't see any of that,
you know, because my mother didn't want me, you know,
she want me in the hood, but not of the hood,
you know, and she was nervous that when I would

(33:19):
come down to uh, you know, one one sixty eighth
at Franklin Avenue, she was like, you know and that
was you know, not far from the nine. And that
was Boston Rod. That was that was a hotspot boy
whoa you know, games and everything. And nobody touched me,

(33:39):
nobody bothered me. And you know, she she wanted to
meet the manager. She you know, Trevoring came up to
my mother and he met her and he was like,
she'll be fine. You know, she's gonna be here two
or three times a week, and you know she's rehearsing,
and you know there are other young ladies like her,
and you know, and my mother she didn't play that.
She was like you have to you know, like they

(34:01):
cam because my daughter, you know, we've we've invested a
lot of money in. She got two brothers. They're not little,
they not little.

Speaker 10 (34:08):
So if something happened to my daughter, just no, the
only job, I mean job.

Speaker 7 (34:16):
But my mama was like that too.

Speaker 4 (34:18):
She was not no joke. Men were scared of my mother.

Speaker 7 (34:20):
They did not.

Speaker 4 (34:21):
Oh yeah, you're.

Speaker 7 (34:23):
Gonna give her respect, you know.

Speaker 4 (34:24):
And she, like I said, she let me be in
these bands and stuff. And I was in all male
band and she did That's okay, because I'm telling you
anything happened true, I'm holding Yes, that's mama, Mama history.

Speaker 2 (34:40):
Big Mama. Yes, Mama did not play, you know. But
she she supported me because she said, I think she
she's got something here. I don't know what it is.
I don't know nothing about it, but I know that
that's all she does, you know, because I said, because
she buy me turntables and a mixer. And I still

(35:01):
have that mixer, baby Newmark. I still have that mixer
to day in the original packaging, you know. And I
I and she brought me to BSR belt. Now anybody's
listening to this this DJ. Those were you had to
go by the belt with snap it. You had to
go by the belts to put back on the turnel table.

(35:25):
There were no direct turntables back then, and if there were,
they were so expensive. I didn't get techniques until I
was like much much older, you know, but I definitely
rehearsed on them. But my mother was like three hundred
dollars for one, just for one of those. And you

(35:45):
need to well you need a job and a prayer,
that's what you need. You gonna get these belt things
and you're gonna make it work, you know. And that's
what I did, you know, And it was it was amazing,
you know, to be able to be amongst young ladies
that you know, were talented. And it was a whole

(36:09):
new world for me. You know, I knew nothing. I
walked everywhere. I met so many people. You know, shah Rock,
you know, we all used to go to Evander together.
You know, Sharrock is the mother of the mic, the
little bit every icon, who is the first female EMC

(36:29):
of hip hop culture and she she we used to
be in a vander Childs high school and She'd be
working out her rhymes and I'd be banging beats on
the on the lunch table, you know, like sis, we
were kids. We were kids, you know, we were kids,
and we still you know, acted accordingly. But you know,

(36:52):
when the when the stage lights came on, that's what
you saw, you know, you saw, you know, the phenomenon
of what you know, God, you know instilled in us.
You know that's right, and so you know, and so
that's right, Mono e mino.

Speaker 8 (37:11):
You know.

Speaker 2 (37:12):
But once Mercedes Ladies, at some point I had to leave.
We actually the group disbanded because you know, our manager man,
it's just some legal issues and our equipment was confiscated
or whatever. And then we you know kind of you know,

(37:35):
went our own ways, and I think the Mercedes Ladies
started they became a singing group, you know, after that,
and I was recruited by another group in Queens called
Inner City Disco and at that time that was Quinny
Quinn and Lady Sweet.

Speaker 10 (37:52):
They were like, listen, you know, we we need.

Speaker 2 (37:54):
You to come a DJ. When I said, well, the
only way I'll come DJ for you is if you
let me see that's the only way I'll join your group,
because they wouldn't let me see them to save ladies,
because they had three m cs, you know. So I
was able, you know, to now go into another facet
of a gift that God gave me. And so from

(38:15):
there we went from being a group and I got
a shout out high C as well MC high Ce
from gram Graad Mixer DXT the Infinity Machine Fame Uptown,
and I asked her to be a part of Inner
City Disco as well, and so we did that and

(38:39):
then Lady Sweeten and I we kind of went off
and became a duo and we started doing oh wait,
first we we we joined the chapter three m c's,
which made us the Chapter five m cs. And one
of the Chapter five m cs was Catch the Beat.
I guess his name. I can't remember his name right now, but.

Speaker 10 (39:02):
He did that catch to be you know is to
be e A A well whatever. I can't even remember
his name right now.

Speaker 2 (39:12):
It's like I'm going blank. But because I know we
don't have that much time, and I do want to
get to you know, how God delivered me. So you know,
we but I don't want to forget the people that
I was dealing.

Speaker 10 (39:26):
With, you know, because they're so there's so much going
on right now with.

Speaker 2 (39:33):
The culture and museums, and people are being erased, you know,
from these or not acknowledged for their contribution into hip hop,
and I never ever want to be a part of that,
you know, that that that group of people who are

(39:53):
doing that. So that's why I'm like making sure that
I say people's names, and you know, if I can,
you know, remember uh, you know, charge it to my head,
not my heart, because I you know, I love these people,
and each one of them made a contribution to my

(40:14):
to where I'm at now. God used each and every
one of them to develop.

Speaker 10 (40:19):
My gifts and my call, you know.

Speaker 2 (40:23):
And so so from there, you know, we we we
became a duo and we started doing New York City
Housing Authority. They used to have talent shows, so we
started doing talent shows and we were we were the
only female duo to rap, so they you know, we

(40:44):
was luth Evangel's cousin and all these people Luci Evangels
used to come and watch us and and you know,
we was like I had dreams of we're gonna be
the whole Luclevangels, you know, and that not happening. But
we were. We were that spectacle that some that people

(41:05):
and I hate to say spectacle, but it was because
nobody ever seen anything like us before, you know, And
so people would go and tell people Jony's Girl they
rapped just like the records, you know, and by then
the records had came out, and so you know, this
is a span you know, of the eighties. I was

(41:25):
with them, Sadie Lays for about a year, about a
year and two three months, and then you know, and
then I was going into other journeys. You know.

Speaker 10 (41:38):
People would like to think that I wasn't there at all,
but yes, I was very much there.

Speaker 4 (41:45):
But that's the reason for the interview, you know what
I'm saying. We just want to let people know that
there was a beginning before the record, before the hip
hop quote unquote uh where they say it established and
it begins, but that there's much more story before that,
and it's just that people know that it's important that

(42:06):
people know that it didn't it didn't start with sugar Hill.
It didn't start with Sugar Hills, you know.

Speaker 7 (42:12):
And I'm saying I mean it really didn't.

Speaker 2 (42:15):
It was in the street, you know, it didn't doing
that thing. Oh yeah, you had Gray Master of Cash,
you had the you know, the serious I mean you
had that Curtis blown Like I knew all of them
before before even Russell. Russell used to come and watch
us at the p Ao on one hundred and eighty
third Street and West An before he even be thought

(42:39):
about death jam. There was never a listen it is
we are before that listen.

Speaker 4 (42:46):
That's why it's it's essential that you be here. And
I'm definitely gonna have to bring you back because you
got you come with a lot of knowledge and and no,
it ain't nothing wrong with that, you know what I'm saying.

Speaker 7 (42:57):
Uh, but I definitely want to touch.

Speaker 4 (43:00):
One with the time that we have or where you
are at this time. It says, holy hip hop?

Speaker 2 (43:08):
How did that come about?

Speaker 8 (43:10):
You know?

Speaker 7 (43:11):
Short and sweet?

Speaker 4 (43:12):
I definitely got a hippo with that one, so that
you want from that rich, that rich beginning, and then
you end up holy hip hop.

Speaker 2 (43:21):
Oh yeah. Well, you know it's funny because you know,
I got married twice, is my second marriage, and I'm
you know, I'm I'm attending a church with a gentleman
who was a uh he was actually a he wanted
the ministers there. But I knew him from when I

(43:46):
met my first husband and he used to actually write
from the save Bady, So it was it was so
crazy to see him. And he was like wow, you know,
and then he said, well, what are you doing now?
And he said, did you know you're coming into the Lord?
And I was, I hadn't you know, dedicated my life,

(44:07):
you know, or rededicated my life yet. And my one
of my dear friends had me come to the church
and I just kept going and then you know, I
have my my my expos ex Now he wound up
going at the time he was my boyfriend, so we
wound up going together. And then he just stopped and

(44:28):
he looked at me and he said, you're gonna be
DJing for the Lord. And at that time I was
had Zula Queen for the Zulu Nation and I was
over the entertainment chapter, so I was responsible for screening,
you know, artists for the universal Zule Nation anniversaries that

(44:49):
they would have every year, people from all over the world.
We would you know, screen tapes and you know, have
artist cares won everybody who was anybody in the hip
hop would come and be a part of that. And
so I was just like and I was also managing
my husband, my boyfriend at the time, who was on

(45:09):
hot in ninety seven here in New York City, True
School at New DJ Africa Bambarda. And so when he
said I was going to DJ for the LAWD I
had in DJed in decades. So I looked at him
and I said, nah, not me. You talk about him
because he's doing that. I don't do that, you know,

(45:30):
I'm the manager. He was like, no, you're about to
be managed. He'd said you're gonna be huge and holy
hip hop. And I just looked at him, saying holy
hip vib. I was like, this guy is crazy, you know,
I said, but I don't want to say anything because
I won't be respectful because again I wasn't saved. I

(45:53):
was saving, but I wasn't saved, you know. And you know,
and I was like, I can't use me. I'm gonna
I'm gonna curt, you know. And so what happened was, yeah,
I was I was not a happy camp but when
I heard that one but what happened was just one
day it happened. I was in Great Faith Temple Church

(46:14):
to Live in God, and two weeks before that, I
heard God saying I need you to DJ for me.
And I was like, you talk about damn, you're not
talking about me. I'm not doing that. So I was
in service and Pastor Michelle White, she was on the
pool bit and she just started saying, God been telling
somebody for at least two weeks to do something, and

(46:37):
you keep arguing with him. And I'm sitting here like
I know, she not, Yes, I'm talking about you. And
I was like, everything that I'm saying in my head,
she's you know, she's reprying to what I'm staying in
my head. On the pool base, I'm just sitting there
on Oh my God, I don't this camping me. He said,

(46:59):
it's you. You keep thinking it's not you, but it's you.
He watched you, and I was just like okay. And
so what convinced me This little boy walked up to
me and he was a prophet in the church. He
walked up to me. He grabbed my hand and he
looked at me. His name is James then James Stewart,

(47:22):
and he looked at my hand. He looked at me
and he said, aren't you tired? Aren't you tired of running?
And that was it. I was done.

Speaker 8 (47:32):
It was done out of the man I made right
and so. And I had been looking for a job
for a week.

Speaker 2 (47:44):
And as soon as I said, I'll be okay, I'll
be a DJ, I'll do it, I'll try it. I
don't know what I'm doing, but I'll do it. I
wanted to get two weeks later, I wound up getting
a job with WWRL as a DJ, as a board doctor.
Look at it, you know what I mean. And I
was making it was only for the weekend, but I

(48:06):
was making you know, I was making you and your scale.
So I was making money, you know, hand over fists
for just two nights a week. I mean, it was
just God. It was just God. So everything that kind
of fell into that. And then you know, I just started,
you know, I just heard him say, I need you
to mix. You know, Jesus is why I want you

(48:27):
to do this, because You're the only one that can
do this right now. And that's how I started doing remixes.
I started using mainstream music. I was going to say secular.
I hate that word. It's like a clinic. I hate
that word. Secular, mainstream and music with gospel lyrics. So

(48:51):
that's how we started, and we started making mix tapes.
Everything that we was doing in the world, we flipped
it for christ you know, gorilla marketing, more emotions, you know,
doing events with with sponsors. I have Fooble, I had McDonald's,

(49:12):
I had Burger King. You know, it was just crazy.
And my pastor looked at me and was like, how
the heck did you get McDonald's and Burger King? And
they right off the block from each other.

Speaker 4 (49:23):
I was like, it was gone, you know, God, nothing
but God.

Speaker 10 (49:30):
Then in two thousand, because I know we are a
number of time. In two thousand, that's when he changed
my name because I was little.

Speaker 2 (49:38):
Spank at the time and I had just got a
Source magazine article. You know, I was still getting Source
magazine rap pages. You know, I still had the world
coming at me, you know, just opening. You know, the
devil knows how to do it. He started because I
was like not even noticed at that time, you know.
Leaving in between I went and and did singing. I

(50:03):
was opening my host singing career, and that's a whole
nother you know, we're gonna talk about that or another,
you know, but but that was a that was a
whole nother genre. Then when I came back, I came
back because Bam asked me to come back and sit
on the World Council for the Women. So I did
that and I but God, God was like, yeah, I

(50:24):
need you to do that, but I need you to
flip that for the Lord. And the devil knows exactly
how they get you. Because nobody was saying any mind.
And all of a sudden, I started getting raped pages
and and Source magazine all these articles. Everybody wanted, you know,
interview me.

Speaker 4 (50:42):
And I was like, and God knows how to flip
that thing. Though, He knows how to flip that thing
and take your full circle for him, you know. And
that and that's the blessing about everything that we're speaking
on on today.

Speaker 3 (50:58):
You know.

Speaker 2 (50:58):
It's just and that's why he that's when he pluiped
my name because he said, no more of a spank,
you are flamed. I was like, how I'm gonna change
my name to flame? He said, Hebrews one.

Speaker 10 (51:12):
And seven, you will be spanking no more.

Speaker 2 (51:16):
You will be the flame. Hebrews one and seven. Our
angels are fire, but our ministers are flamed. You are
a minister of God. Now take your position. And that
was that was, that was when my name got changed,
you know, so I didn't and and that and you.

Speaker 4 (51:34):
Know, you know, God will change your name now. He
and he feels like you gotta be elevated. He's gonna
change that name.

Speaker 2 (51:43):
You know what.

Speaker 4 (51:43):
I just thank you, thank you just for being on
this platform. You are heavy order and we definitely bring
in a back yard.

Speaker 7 (51:51):
Don't don't feel no way.

Speaker 4 (51:52):
You know, there's just so much that we need to
just so that the listeners get a gift of just
all that you are because you do so much. And
I don't want to water this down by not giving
you the opportunity to come back as an open door
policy always and share what you're doing and different things

(52:13):
aspects of what you are doing in the present time,
you know, with your holy hip hop you know, think
I need to give them leave them with your information
as how they can reach out to you, my sister.

Speaker 2 (52:25):
Okay, so I'm I'm again DJ Flame and I'm one
w A c R ninety point three FM, The International
Voice or Forum ninety point three FM. You can go
to the website at www dot w h C R
dot O r G. You can also email me at

(52:50):
one the number one DJ Flame at gmail dot com.
So you know, I'm I'm gonna leave it there, you know,
and because there's so many other things that are that
are coming. But if you want to reach me, that
is that direct way to reach me, either through the
radio station or the.

Speaker 4 (53:09):
Email as I will you know, definitely be sharing your
stuff as well. And I so appreciate you sins, you know,
but we don't do anything. We start with prayer and
we end with prayer. Or if you just want to
leave a spirit filled word for the listeners, I'd appreciate
it if you would just render that right now before

(53:32):
we go off this platform. And again, thank you.

Speaker 2 (53:37):
Oh you want me to pray, you.

Speaker 4 (53:40):
Should give a word, because we're tight, so you know,
I definitely just want to Yeah.

Speaker 7 (53:43):
Yeah, we do nothing without ending.

Speaker 2 (53:45):
Yeah yeah.

Speaker 8 (53:46):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (53:47):
So so I would say to you that in this season,
God is flipping. He's he's he's switching. Uh, he's switching
up the atmosphere. He's he's he's turning up the ground.
And so I would I would hear that him. He
would say to you to be ready, you know, don't

(54:08):
get ready, be ready because the way the state is
of emergency right now, Uh, we may not see it
and we may feel some of it, but we don't
understand how deep it is. And so this in this season,
we need to be ready.

Speaker 10 (54:28):
And that is in every aspect of your life, as
far as healing is, you know, as far as a ministry,
I mean, every aspect of your life. You need to
get ready, be ready, not get ready, but be ready.

Speaker 2 (54:46):
And so that that that's the only thing I would
I would say, because God is He's definitely changing your
position and those things that you know that that were
a problem for you before, uh, that that is going
to be no longer. You know, you will be going
into elevation. And so I just thank God for him

(55:10):
and for that, and and I thank God for you,
my sister once again. You you you blow my mind
and and I'm so grateful and and.

Speaker 10 (55:22):
And so humble to be here on your platform because
you are amazing.

Speaker 2 (55:26):
Thank you so much, Amen.

Speaker 4 (55:29):
And God bless you, thank you, Thank you. Listeners, you
have just been blessed by this wonderful, wonderfully anointed woman
of God. DJ of Oh please hip hop my girl,
DJ Plain, I love you, God bless you, and I'm
just so glad that God has brought us together, you know,

(55:50):
bigger and bigger and Him always Uh positive power twenty one.
Uh Jerry, thank you so much. Jerry Royce is behind
you making this whole thing happen. And thank you so
much everybody for coming to another amazing The Testimony moment
filled with uplifting and inspirational of platform shows just for you,

(56:13):
for the listeners to get a closer walk with God.
God bless you, God bless you, God bless you.

Speaker 3 (56:53):
The Testimony, The Testimony, The testimony with Paul are Ye,
the diva for Christday, Little your tuning. Every Tuesday at

(57:15):
nine he sends down.

Speaker 1 (57:17):
To time.

Speaker 2 (57:20):
You are listening to the Testimony with.

Speaker 5 (57:23):
Hostels all Orion aka a Deep four christ An In
case you don't know what that stands for, it's the
finely inspired vessel appointed and anointed for a time such
as this. Hey, every Tuesday at nine pm Eastern, you
don't want to miss you on speaker.

Speaker 6 (57:46):
Come now, come on now, come now, come on now, now, now,

(58:13):
even now

Speaker 2 (58:19):
I will start to ship my podcast

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PAULA BRION EP #130 | DJ Flame | From Pioneer to Flame: DJ Flame's Journey from Hip Hop History to Holy Hip Hop

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}PAULA BRION EP #130 | DJ Flame | From Pioneer to Flame: DJ Flame's Journey from Hip Hop History to Holy Hip Hop