WHO Visionary turntablist and producer RJD2 has been touted as one of the most ambitious producers in underground hip-hop. For the past decade, he’s been composing artistic albums and imaginatively mixing beats that are popular with skateboarding videos and films. And once, for a month, he took the stage with an MPC sampler strapped to his chest. He’s appeared on the universally received jazz remix compilation series Verve Remixed and toured the world alongside DJ Shadow, The Roots and Prefuse 73. Getting his start in 1997 in his hometown, Columbus, Ohio as the DJ in the rap group Mhz, RJ kicked off a string of stupefying releases with his first mix CD of obscure funk. But he really turned heads in 2002 with his solo debut Dead Ringer on Definitive Jux. The four-turntable-rocking master followed up with 2004’s Since We Last Spoke and released Things Go Better with RJ and AL in 2006 with fellow homeboy Blueprint under the group name Soul Position. Also that year, RJ flexed his pop tendencies by covering Radiohead’s “Airbag” for Exit Music, a CD tribute to the band. Along with a handful of incredibly deft instrumental albums, RJ has collaborated with inspiring indie rappers like Copywrite, MF DOOM and Aceyalone. After just finishing a DVD titled Live at Webster Hall, RJ is considering recording for an album to follow last year’s pop-oriented The Third Hand.

WHAT Hip-hop, electronic and funk. “[The best DJ experience is] when people have fun and lose their inhibitions,” says RJD2, who’s also inspired by classic rock.

WHERE June 25 at the Mod Club (722 College) as part of the TD Canada Trust Toronto Jazz Festival. 8:00 p.m. $21.
 
FAVOURITE RECORD OF ALL TIME Anything by Stevie Wonder.

FAVOURITE RECORD RIGHT NOW Vangelis, “Earth”

FAVOURITE WEBSITE RIGHT NOW www.craigslist.org

WHAT IS YOUR WEIRDEST DJING EXPERIENCE? “DJing on boats where everything slides around, or DJing outdoors at festivals where bugs crawl up the tone arms.”

DIGITAL OR ANALOG? “The right thing for the right time. Good sound and workflow trumps medium every time.”

WHAT IS VITAL TO YOUR DAILY ROUTINE? Espresso.

WHAT GLOBAL ISSUE CONCERNS YOU MOST RIGHT NOW? “Potential water shortages and my lack of firearms.”

WHAT IS THE LAST GREAT FILM YOU SAW? “New York, a documentary by Ric Burns.”

WHAT ACTOR WOULD PLAY YOU IN A BIOPIC? “Ed Norton maybe?”

WHAT ARE YOU READING RIGHT NOW AND WHY? “Crunch [by Jared Bernstein]; a book about economics ‘cause I need to know more about how and why our economy works.”