DJ RAP LETS THE SPARKS FLY (unapologetically) WITH BULLETPROOF

Words by Carl Noone, Jr.

This year, the undisputed queen of Drum n Bass, DJ Rap, returned to fighting form with a hybrid release that combines all new productions and a handful of her own remixes blended together into a sure-fire hit called BULLETPROOF. After six long years since her breakthrough smash debut, Learning Curve (released on Sony Records in the UK and Columbia in the U.S.) she steps back into the ring with a 1-2 punch that includes tracks from trance-meister Ferry Corsten and Subliminal head-honcho Erick Morillo, as well as UK jungle giants Konflict and Concord Dawn, while introducing six of her own new productions to the world.

HISTORY
Born to an Italian father and an Irish-Malaysian mother in Singapore, DJ Rap spent the better part of her upbringing traveling the world. While growing up, one of her loves was the piano, dreaming as children often do of being a concert pianist. In her early teens, when the family moved to Southampton, England, she discovered pop music for the first time and took time out to backpack through Greece, Turkey and Europe. She eventually returned to London and joined a legal firm, first as a secretary, then trained to become a lawyer. It was during this time that Charissa Saverio morphed into DJ Rap.

"She ditched her job, kicked out her difficult boyfriend and discovered raves." ­ Anonymous.

"From as far back as I can remember, my goal has been to sing songs to huge audiences, but if someone would have asked me ten years ago that DJ-ing would open those doors for me, I wouldn't have believed it. Although I really enjoy touring and singing with the band, the best part of what I do is when I get up there and play great records because I'm a DJ at heart. I just want to get the crowd moving," says this twenty-something beauty, known to many teens from her appearance in a TWIX candy television ad.

TODAY
In between "packing for a 10 day vacation to Hawaii" where she plans "to do nothing but listen to CDs and relax before I go on tour," and waiting for a another phone call to close on a real estate deal, I felt fortunate to get Rap on the other end recently, and immediately let loose with the obvious question; why so long between Drum n Bass releases?

"The bottom line is… I just didn't have the passion for it. I felt that I had put so much into the follow-up to Learning Curve, that I just needed a break from producing and everything else. Once I was good and rested, then I was really itching to get back and produce. I've been (A) in America and (B) DJing a lot of house projects, so it was only natural, but I think it's very interesting because of where I was at mentally. I hadn't been influenced by Drum n Bass for 3 years either," she adds matter-of-factly. "I think it was important for me to create something artistically that I hadn't in a while, and I had the concept for this album called "Bulletproof".

Then, you ask, why so much House music lately, coming from this so-called Jungle Queen? "I'm just missing the big-room vibe, that's all. Drum n Bass is getting smaller and smaller and smaller, therefore, when you DJ, it gets very intimate. I will continue to DJ Drum n Bass, so long as there are good parties. I'm just afraid those parties are slowly disappearing," she concedes. "I've had this feeling for five years now, so I made sure to have plan B, C, and Z in place. I love progressive, and there just aren't as many Drum n Bass parties as there are House parties." Strangely enough, simple math and the economics of society are even quietly at work in the world of DJ culture.

"OPEN YOUR MIND," blasts Rap when I ask about fans that may have felt abandoned, left in the cold by her obvious and sudden swing to the "straight beat side". "Any true fan never expects you to do the same thing over and over again," she adds. "A true fan realizes you're growing as a musician and evolving. Just because I'm not making as many Drum n Bass records, doesn't mean that the soul and spirit of DJ Rap isn't or shouldn't be on that House record. The truth of the matter is, I need to eat, and Drum n Bass doesn't afford me the opportunities it once did. I wish it were different, but it is what it is."

"I feel abandoned by a lot of people," she resounds, evidenced by a bit of hurt in her UK-inflected voice, "who don't turn out and just sit and bitch on websites. I feel the same way by people who don't show up and support the music. It's really hard, but I'm going to go where I can get love and give it."

After several mix compilations (including one House mix for Armani Exchange with Palash of Saeed and Palash fame) and with over 20 releases on her own label, Proper Talent, to her credit, Ms Saverio is ready to prove her detractors wrong by bringing the elements of Jungle and Drum n Bass back to store shelves, and hopefully, to the delight of fans and critics alike. With a blistering assault of rapid-fire musical missiles, Bulletproof combines little bits and pieces of Trance, Heavy Metal, and Progressive House into a cauldron of bass-heavy Drum n Bass rave-ups that is sure to bring smiles to the faces of dance music lovers everywhere.

CATCH DJ RAP ON TOUR:

11/12/2005
On Broadway
San Diego, CA

12/9/2005
Club Elements
San Salvador
El Salvador

12/17/2005
Sky Lounge
Austin, TX

12/29/2005
Vinyl
Denver, CO

For more visit djrap.com