Co-founder of the already-legendary Oakland Faders crew, Spair has already become a major factor in the still-evolving Bay Area DJ scene. A well-respected, contest-winning mix DJ with deep crates and an even deeper love for vinyl, Spair has refined his technical abilities to become a club favorite as well as a skilled producer.

While still in high school, Spair briefly ran a record pool with future Fader DJ Mere and cut his teeth as an in-store DJ for the Beastie Boys owned X-Large store, in addition to making his first forays into the world of mix tapes. In 1999, Spair won URB Magazine’s first-ever mix-tape contest. Soon after that, his tape The Spair Mix Project came to the attention of SF’s DJ Cue, who was assembling a compilation (Cue’s Hip Hop Shop) for Stray/Dogday Records, then a well-respected player in the Bay Area hip-hop game. “Dope Music,” the first track ever credited to the Oakland Faders, followed, and the label was impressed enough to commission a vinyl EP, Fader Beats, which featured Spair and DJ Platurn.

After continuing to hone his abilities, pumping out mix-tape after mix-tape and completing a stint at the Red Bull Music Academy in South Africa in 2003, Spair and Platurn entered Scion’s 2004 nationwide mix-tape contest, “Free Up Your Mix.” The Faders placed first, beating over 600 competitors, and their winning mix was distributed on 500,000 promotional CDs, which brought what had been one of the Bay’s best-kept secrets to national attention.

Since then, Spair has opened up for numerous artists, including Kool Moe Dee, Xzibit, Hi-Tek, Mix Master Mike, and the Roots. Spair’s production can be found on Bas-1’s Music for the Mentally Astute, Colossus’ “From the Lab” remix, Live Human’s Remix LP, “and many other video and television projects. He’s also compiled an impressive mix-tape catalog dating back to 1996.

Spair wants it to be known that while he considers himself a hip-hop head, he’s first and foremost a fan of all music. “I don’t just focus on one genre; hip-hop is where my heart is at,” he says. “I like coming up with a creative mix, and being able to show my technical skills.” Although mixing remains at the core of what Spair does, as he gets deeper into original production, he’s grown artistically, on an exponential level. “I don’t want to be classified as just a DJ… at the end of the day, it’s all music.” Still, he adds, “being a DJ makes you a better producer.”

With over a decade of experience on the 1 and 2s, DJ Spair is just getting started. Whether crafting mixtapes, spinning in the clubs, or original production in the lab, this is one DJ who always keeps your head bobbin’ and your body rockin’.