DJ Rob Swift

Posted on 03.9.2006

DJ Rob Swift
X-Men/X-Ecutioners
real name: Robert Aguilar
Jackson Heights, Queens

Rob Swift biography:
After being out of print for nearly 5 years, former X-Men/X-Ecutioners member Rob Swift’s debut album Soulful Fruit is finally available again as an exciting, repackaged release. Considered by many to be the first turntablist album - Soulful Fruit took the turntablism movement from live DJ battles to record store shelves worldwide and paved the way for artists like Mixmaster Mike, Q-Bert, and Z-Trip to release their own albums and helped bring the movement to the masses.

Queens, NY born Rob Swift got into djing through his father of all people, who was a salsa and merengue dj. Whenever left unsupervised, Rob and his older brother would commandeer their father’s equipment and practice scratching and mixing. Rob eventually got his own tables and continued progressing throughout college and in 1991, Rob joined an upstart NY dj crew called the X-Men and the rest was history.

The X-Men consisted of Rob, Roc Raida, Mista Sinista, Dr. Butcher, Diamond Jay, and Johnny Cash and shortly after forming they quickly dominated the dj battle circuit with Roc Raida winning the DMC World Finals, Mista Sinista winning the US Finals and Rob winning the East Coast Finals and New Music Seminar.

Rob’s original X-Ecutioner partners (then known as the X-Men), Roc Raida, Mista Sinista, and Diamond Jay make their contribution to Soulful Fruit performing individually and as a live turntablist band on the revolutionary “A Turntable Xperience”.
Beatbox legend and Roots member Rahzel appears for what is widely recognized as the most exciting performance: a live battle - beatbox vs. turntablism on “Rob Swift Versus Rahzel”. This mind-blowing match-up is talked about to this day and was an historic moment in turntablism, if not hip-hop in general.

Since May 15, 1997, many of the leading turntablists have gone on to release albums. Q-Bert’s "Wave Twisters”, Roc Raida’s "The Adventures of Grandmaster Roc Raida", Z-Trip’s "Shifting Gears”, D-Styles "Phantasmagoria", and Mixmaster Mike’s multiple albums are some of the comparable albums that all followed Soulful Fruit. Even Rob Swift has gone on to release subsequent albums. Yet the fact remains that none have managed to capture the explosiveness of the turntablist movement - as it was reaching its peak - the way Soulful Fruit did.