Rock Steady Drew
Rock Steady Drew is a Toronto based DJ and Remixer. His music syles include hip-hop, old school, grime, baltimore club and electro .
History
Rock Steady Drew was born Andrew Timothy Ralph in Georgetown, Guyana. His family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the mid 1970s. At home, he was exposed musically to his mothers love of the Motown Sound, his father’s enthusiasm for big band and swing music as well as his older brother and sister’s taste in pop and classic rock. It was after hearing Boogie Down Productions Criminal Minded on a CKLN’s radio program The Fantastic Voyage hosted by DJ Ron Nelson, that his love for hip-hop was born.
Drew worked in an HMV record store in the early 1990s where he not only DJ’d, but was also responsible for ordering music for the soul and dance department. That was where he had his first exposure to the DJ culture. While working at HMV, Drew befriended Mark Gagnon, also known as DJ Starting From Scratch. Mark later went on to become a very well known Canadian DJ on Toronto’s Flow 93.5 .
By the early 2000's, Drew’s musical influences included broader extensions of hip-hop such as UK Grime and Dubstep, the baile funk sound of Brazil, Baltimore Club and the Mashup music culture . With the help of some software, Serato Scratch Live and a pair of Technics 1200's he began the process of remixing and mashing up music as a hobby . A former co-worker invited Drew (at that time known as DJ Drew) to do a few guest DJ appearances at a Prince Tribute party at the Drake Hotel in Toronto . Within a year of occasionally guesting at the recurring event, he launched a night called Cross The Trax . The name, a derivative of the song by Maceo & The Macks, signifies not only the location of the hotel in Queen Street West, but also the art of mixing and the mashup culture. At this time Drew began to go by the moniker of Rock Steady Drew. The name gives props to the B-boy’s of the Rock Steady Crew as well as the old school breakdance sound of the Bronx that continue to inspire his mixes. His earliest remixing success included a local underground favorite of two children’s programs from Ontario, Canada, Polka Dot Door vs The Body Works. He garnered modest exposure beyond his Canadian boarders with remixes for more mainstream artists like Run-D.M.C. and Fergie, and a mashup of brazilian favourites Bonde Do Role . It was his remix of M.I.A.’s Boyz from the album Kala that gave him international recognition .
Mashups & Blends
- Beastie Boys vs. Neil Sedaka - Breaking Monkey
- Bedouin Soundclash vs. M.I.A. - When The Night Feels My Fire
- Britney Spears - Gimme Bmore (Bmore Blend)
- Bonde Do Role vs. John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John - Funk Da Summer
- Eminem vs. The Capitols - My Name Is Cool Jerk
- Fergie Ft Will.I.Am vs. Debbie Deb - Fergalicious Music
- Janet Jackson vs. Missy Elliott - (Lose) Control
- Timbaland Ft Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake vs. Man Parrish - Give It To Be Bop
Remixes
- Beastie Boys - Root Down (Down In The Gutter Mix)
- Billy Joel - Just The Way You Are (RUR Right Mix)
- Buddy Rich Ft Cathy Rich - The Beat Goes On (Rock Steady Drew vs. Devro vs. Ayres)
- Cansei de Ser Sexy (CSS) - Alala (Love Puss Remix)
- DJ Blaqstarr Ft. Rye Rye - Shake It To The Ground (The Blip Mix)
- Fergie Ft Ludacris - Glamorous (Ghetto Glam Mix)
- Gwen Stefani - Wind It Up (White It Up Remix)
- Justin Timberlake - SexyBack (SexyBreaks Remix)
- Lil Mama Ft. Kadar - G-Slide (D-Step Mix)
- Madonna - Into The Groove (The Hoe Is Ready Mix)
- Madonna Ft Sean Paul & Zion Y Lennox - Hung Up (Electro Reggaeton Remix)
- M.I.A. - Boyz (Fight Remix)
- M.I.A. - Bucky Done Gun (One Shoe Mix)
- Michael Jackson - Billie Jean (Supersecond Mix)
- Nelly Furtado - Maneater (Crowd Refix)
- Pase Rock Ft. SpankRock & Amanda Blank - Lindsay Lohan’s Revenge (In The Cut Mix)
- Rihanna - Don't Stop The Music (MJ2 Mix)
- Rock Steady Drew - Good Times (Baltimore Club Mix)
- Rock Steady Drew - Hey Ebonettes
- Rock Steady Drew - Polka Dot Door vs. The Body Works
- Run-D.M.C. vs. Rock Steady Drew - My Adidas
- The Jackson 5 - Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town (Happy Hollabass Mix)
- Wham! - I'm Your Man (Man Is King Mix)