"I want to be remembered as a DJ, not a turntablist, not a B-boy, not a world champ, but a DJ — an all–around dope DJ."

Being recognized as an all-around dope DJ is tough to pull off if you’re Vincent Punsalan. Better known as Vinroc, the 22-year-old is a two-time International Turntablist Federation world champion, and a member of the elite 5th Platoon DJ squad who could probably juggle beats in his sleep.

Despite his reputation as a first-class battle jock, Vinroc has always considered himself a DJ first, one who can rock a party, read a crowd and keep the floor packed. It just so happens that his hand-eye dexterity behind the decks allows him to juggle beats and riffs so flawlessly that a listen to his mix tape, Recon-Struction, doesn’t provide an adequate peek at his skills behind the decks. For that, you must see Vinroc.

Originally from Jersey City, New Jersey, Vinroc came up in the early 90’s New York hip-hop scene before leaving for the West Coast in 1997 to compete in the International Turntablist Federation World Championship. There, as he prepared for the ITF battle, Vinroc squatted in various friends’ dorm rooms – not the first DJ to do so, and not the last. Not worrying about rent payments seemed to do the trick, because Vinroc won the ITF that year and the following year.

Shortly after releasing Recon-Struction last year, Vinroc joined forces with DJs Shortkut and Apollo to form the Triple Threat Tour, a club tour that combines turntablism with party rockin’ that expects to continue into the Spring.

Vin also has plans in his near future to start working on producing solo acts. DJ Times recently sequestered Vinroc for five hours in a photo studio, where, exhausted, he was almost set on fire from some sparks that were flying around. The smell stayed with him for awhile, but we got the skinny on how one of the best turntablists going can transform himself into a "DJ."

DJ Times: What first got you interested in DJing?

Vinroc: I was at a 5th grade birthday party when I was 10, and there was this DJ there. I was completely taken away by him. I didn’t even pay any attention to the party. I just stood over there and hung out with the DJ.

DJ Times: What were some the first scratches you learned?

Vinroc: I basically learned from the ground up. I started off with the basic baby scratch. Then I moved on to things like transforming, cutting and chirp scratches. These were what helped build the foundation for what I have today.

DJ Times: What is your favorite scratch today?

Vinroc: I really like the Aladdin scratch. I like the way it sounds. When I first heard DJ Aladdin doing it, I was like "Dope. What the hell was that." I immediately began to go home and try to figure it out. I really like doing it in my routines. I like it because it really fits me. That just happens to be my style of scratching.

DJ Times: Can you describe the Aladdin scratch?

Vinroc: It’s kind of hard to explain the scratch, but it is like a really fast tear-chirp. I got the scratch dialed in and I liked it a lot. It fits my style. I just like the way it flows, it’s funky. First time I heard DJ Aladdin, he was crazy funky, and I like to put a lot of funk in the bottom. If you listen to James Brown, I get the same feeling from listening to Aladdin.

DJ Times: As for battle jocks, who gave you the most inspiration and help?

Vinroc: I would probably have to say Roli Rho. He was the one who helped me out, if anybody. I found most things out on my own. I would just sit at home and hang with my friends. We would break out the turntables and have a session. It was just dope. We would just screw around for most of the afternoon. So I would have to say Roli Rho and all my boys I used to hang with back in the day.

DJ Times: Tell me a little about New York? Who do you remember to be the best all-around party rockin’ DJ?

Vinroc: New York is dope. They had a nice scene while I was growing up in that area. As far as DJs that can party rock, there is always the big names like Kid Capri and such, but in a local level there were people like Roli, Ed Swift and a lot of less known DJs from the New York area that could all work a crowd.

DJ Times: Who is the best scratch DJ today, in your opinion?

Vinroc: That kind of depends. I think Q-Bert has the best skills, he is like so frantic. He does things so fast and he has some really dope techniques, finding new ways to cut the record. I also like DJ Premier a lot. He has style that I can more relate to, he’s finding lyrics off of break records and cuts them where it’ll fit the production he’s doing, the song he’s doing, which is something that I appreciate too. He is more smooth and flowing where Q-Bert cuts it up with wicked style. I like to try to kind of combine a little of both their styles when I am scratching. If I am working on a new scratch, I will listen to how Premier does it and then I will see how Q-Bert does it and try to be in the middle of them.

DJ Times: To you, how does beat juggling differ from mixing?

Vinroc: When you’re mixing at a party, you’re mixing for the folks. When you’re beat juggling, you’re doing it for the folks, too, but they’re going to stop and look at what you’re doing. They both have the same aspect to it, but with beat juggling you’re re-creating a new song out of those songs, instead of just playing it. But I do use aspects of mixing in beat juggling.

DJ Times: Would you say beat juggling is a good way for a young DJ to get started on a path to battling?

Vinroc: If you’re talking about the bare bones, start mixing. I know it’ll seem tedious for all the young kids, but believe me, it helps.

DJ Times: What DJ inspires you today?

Vinroc: Apollo and Shortkut. We can sit down together and just listen to music for hours and start to vibe off each other. We all think a lot alike but we have all very different styles. When we are performing together it’s like we just flow. We are able to know what the other ones are thinking. We don’t need to plan anything — we just start mixing and we have little hand signals and such that we use on stage to let each other know what we are doing and for how long we are doing it. It’s just a vibe we have.

DJ Times: How long do you practice each day?

Vinroc: Right now my practice time is minimal. When you are trying to pay the rent and bills it sometimes gets hard to practice new shit. I will sit down for about 20 or 30 minutes a day.

DJ Times: When you do practice, is there any one area of DJing that you really like to focus on?

Vinroc: No, not really. When I practice I just go in there and do a little of everything. I like to do some juggling, scratching and whatever else just happens to be on my mind. I like to just go take a couple of copies of a new song and mix it up the way I want to hear it. That is how routines and shit are born. I don’t sit down and say, "I wanna think up a routine." The shit just happens. I may be mixing and Shirt or someone will say that something was dope and I should work on it some more. That is basically how a routine is born. Just practice and fuck around with things ‘till I find something I like – that, or sometimes Shortkut or Apollo will come over and have a new song or something and we will just screw around with for a few hours together.

DJ Times: Who, today, would be your favorite person to battle with?

Vinroc: It would probably have to be Joey Sinista. He is dope and when we get together we always have this whole vibe thing going. He is really fun when he battles. We don’t take all that battle shit too seriously. We just like to have fun. It doesn’t matter who wins or loses. If you aren’t out there to have fun, then you don’t need to be out there at all. Too many DJs are too concerned with winning. We just like to get out there and kick it with each other.

DJ Times: What is your home set-up like?

Vinroc: I have two Technics 1200’s hooked up to a Numark Pro SM1 and I also use a Vestax PMC 05. That all runs to my track board and I also run an old ARS 10 keyboard. I have a reverb pedal from a guitar that is mainly used to help improve the sound. All of this is then run into my computer, which is a little Macintosh. It’s a little echo here and there in case I need it. Eventually I’ll invest in a rackmount effects system, but the pedal is real cheap, works real good and if you do it right, it sounds like you have an entire effects system. Besides, I’ve been using it since I was in high school, so I just kind of rock with it. A lot of my music comes straight from the turntables, so instead of programming an effects box I’ll just put it in on the fly.

DJ Times: Why do you have two mixers?

Vinroc: I like to use the two mixers because the Numark has more controls and I can fine-tune my sound more if I am recording. I like to use the Vestax to practice with because it has a little better feel. The only thing that I don’t like about it is that it only has two sound controls where as the Numark has three.

DJ Times: What is your favorite mixer and turntables?

Vinroc: I am not really that choosy about mixers. They are pretty much all the same to me. They do need to have a certain few qualities before I will get one. I like them to have a quick fader that is easy to move and operate. They also have to have a good set-up. I like to be able to move around my mixer and adjust things on the fly so I don’t want to have to be searching for different buttons and shit. They also have to last a long time. Mixers are expensive and I don’t want to keep having to replace parts every week on my mixer. As far as turntables are concerned, Technics are the only way to go. I still have one of my original Technics turntables that I bought used off of a guy 10 years ago. He had already been using them for about seven or so years. I mean you can’t beat that shit — 17 years and I can still kick it on that same old turntable. The Numarks and Gemini’s aren’t bad, but if you can afford it, get the Technics. It is well worth the money.

DJ Times: What made you decide to make the move to the Bay Area?

Vinroc: I like the scene out here plus there is a lot of drama that goes on in the New York area. I wanted out of that stuff, so I packed my bags and headed out here.

DJ Times: Rumor has it that you were basically homeless for about a year when you first moved out to the Bay area. What was that like?

Vinroc: I was just basically bumming a sofa off of a few of my friends. I stayed in the dorms at [University of San Francisco]. I had a friend who lived there and his roommate was never around because he was always staying at his girlfriend’s place so my friend let me move in with him. It was kind of crowded living in there. He let me bring my turntables and stuff so that I would be able to practice my routine for the ’97 ITF Worlds.

DJ Times: 1997 was a good year for you, winning the ITF worlds. Did this change your perspective of yourself as a DJ at all?

Vinroc: No, not really. I still feel like I am learning the ropes. I learned a lot from the contests, though.

DJ Times: Describe what goes through your mind while you’re doing a routine.

Vinroc: Basically, I take two records, manipulate them into another beat that’s hyper than the first beat that you heard, then take another record, that’s more hyper and juggle that one. That’s basically what I do.

DJ Times: Going into the contest in ’97, did you feel you had a chance to win?

Vinroc: No, I was very much in shock. I was excited about the win but I felt like maybe I just got lucky because I had so little time to prepare for the show.

DJ Times: When you go to a contest or a battle, how is your routine set-up?

Vinroc: As far as practicing my routine, I get set down pretty much what I am going to do where I don’t have anything set in stone though. I like to be able to make changes on the fly. I may be looping or scratching and decide that I would like to hold this short eight bar loop for another eight bars to make it long. I might scratch a little different here and there at different spots in my routine. I like to go with what I am feeling at that moment. That is what has always worked best for me and my style.

DJ Times: Is that why you went back to the ITF Worlds in ’98, to see if you could do it again?

Vinroc: Yeah, ’98 was more of a year to just prove it to myself. I wanted to see if it was just a lucky streak or if I could do it again.

DJ Times: After you won the ’98 worlds, what was the next step for you in your career as a DJ?

Vinroc: I just started concentrating on the music and began to work on my mix tape, Recon-Struction. I was also beginning to think up ideas for a tour, which we just happened to have finished up in December of 1999, called the "Triple Threat Tour."

DJ Times: What were you going for when you released Recon-Struction?

Vinroc: I wanted a tape that everyone could enjoy, just something that you could pop in the deck while cruising down the strip with your lady in the car. I did not want it to be a tape full of just cutting and scratching. I can do an instructional album any time, but with this I wanted it to be pure hip hop, just something that you can jam too.

DJ Times: Did you use any effects on your tape?

Vinroc: The only things I used where my track board and a reverb peddle from a guitar. I only used them to enhance my sound a little. I wanted it to sound professional so that’s why I chose to add to the album.

DJ Times: Other than the track board and reverb, exactly how did you put together Recon-Struction?

Vinroc: I made Recon-Struction over a several month period at my house using my own little four-track recorder. I also used my keyboard a little for effects. It is just an old ASR 10 that I bought off of E-Bay. I really enjoyed making it. All the music on that album has some sort of sentimental value to me. Most of those songs are old school — the kind of shit that takes me back to the days when I would chill after school. I also like to only spin hip hop because of the beats. They have solid beats that are easy to mix with.

DJ Times: How would you suggest for a DJ making his first mix tape go about getting his stuff out to the public?

Vinroc: I would do anything possible to make sure that everyone heard it and knew about it. I would load the car and head to all the record stores that I could think of and ask them if I could let them sell some for me on consignment. I would also check with some of the local radio stations about seeing if they could maybe give you a little airtime. Also get your homies listening to it. They can help you spread the word faster.

DJ Times: Why don’t you tell me about the "Triple Threat Tour"? I understand it is a little different than other tours done by most DJs.

Vinroc: Yeah, it is more like a head bobbin’ party. That is the feel we wanted to create. I want everybody who comes to our shows to enjoy themselves. It does not matter if you are a B-boy, B-girl, turntablist or you are just somebody looking to get your groove on. We also cater a lot to the ladies. We love to see the ladies showing up. That is one of the main reasons we like to keep to a club style format. If all we do is sit up there and battle back and forth all night, we would lose the interest of our audience.

DJ Times: Do you plan to restart the "Triple Threat Tour"?

Vinroc: Yeah, we plan to re-launch it in the early part of the summer, maybe in June or July. Shortkut is moving out to L.A. and he wants to take a little time to get settled out there. When we do return from the tour we plan to head out to Europe and that area for a while before we head back to the U.S.

DJ Times: While at a club or on tour how do you decide what music you are going to play?

Vinroc: I basically just play what I want to hear. Nothing is really set in stone. I basically just pick out records I like and screw around with them. I also like to experiment around a lot with new music. I believe it is vital to keep the beats funky and the music fresh.

DJ Times: How many records would you need for a couple hours?

Vinroc: Two or three hours I’d have to bring at least three crates.

DJ Times: Where’s your favorite shop?

Vinroc: The most reliable spot out here is Amoeba Records. If you really need something quick, or you want to get lucky, that’s the spot. Most of the good shops are usually picked clean already, cause they’re so big, but sometimes you come up on some old break or some old hip hop. Or get them on-line. You can go to any on-line record store, or jam.com or e-bay.

DJ Times: Are you looking mostly for hip hop?

Vinroc: It could be anything. It could be old funk, soul, hip hop, rock, some Hawaiian record with those guitar strings on it. Sometimes you don’t know what you’ll be getting, you’re taking a chance.

DJ Times: You being a member of the 5th Platoon DJ crew, why don’t you tell us how the 5th Platoon came to be?

Vinroc: Rolli and Daddy Dogg were both mobile DJ’s when they started the group back in the day when the whole turntablism battle shit began to blow up. Everyone started hanging out together and having small local battles in their basements. So they got together and decided to start a crew.

DJ Times: How many current members of the 5th Platoon are there, and who are they?

Vinroc: There are six of us—Roli Rho, Daddy Dogg, Neil Armstrong, Doh-boy, Cutt’in Kandy and Me.

DJ Times: Do you guys perform together very much anymore?

Vinroc: We have actually never all performed together at the same time or show. The last time four or five of us performed together was last year at a show out in L.A. We are just so busy and spread out that it is hard for us to get together and perform.

DJ Times: When you do perform together what is the stage set up like?

Vinroc: We each use a set of turntables. So if there were four of us we would have eight tables. We don’t really have any order of people or music. We just flow with it and give each other signals as to what we are doing next and how long to play and shit like that. It is pure freestyle. There is no preparation involved. That is what the beauty of our art is. There is so much of it that is done on the fly that you have to know your shit or it will show to the crowd.

DJ Times: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Vinroc: I still plan to be DJing. I love to do it, so hopefully I can continue to be a part of it for many more years. I also am planning on getting into the producing aspect of music. I would like to produce for people and be a part of other people’s music.

DJ Times: Could you ever see yourself breaking out into the mainstream and teaming up with a group like Limp Bizkit or Eminem?

Vinroc: I would love to do that. If someone hears my beats and thinks they’re dope I would definitely join with them. I’m not against mainstream music. I think it is great that so many DJ’s are beginning to be able to break out of the underground and are being heard by millions of people.

DJ Times: What do you have to say to anyone who is just getting started as a DJ?

Vinroc: I would tell them to learn as much about music as possible and to learn everything about being a DJ. Don’t get stuck in a rut of just being a turntablist or something. Learn it all and most importantly be a DJ first.

DJ Times: Will CDs ever replace vinyl?

Vinroc: It can’t be CDs. It’s just not as versatile as vinyl. It can’t be, unless you make a 12-inch CD that goes on a turntable with a laser-reading tone-arm, and it’ll never skip, and it would have to feel like vinyl. I know there are DJs who use CDs, but me personally, and everyone I know, we buy vinyl, and we’ll go to the end of the earth to get vinyl