WHOO KID IS the official DJ of rapper 50 Cent's hip-hop posse, G-Unit, as well as a self-made entrepreneur and master of street-level marketing. Still, it's his mixtape compilation CDs - a guerilla manoeuvre to simultaneously promote a DJ or rapper on the streets while giving fans new music - that earn him high praise.
'You know Canal Street, Chinatown, where you can buy any bootleg CD you want?' the 28-year-old Queen's native asks. 'Well, imagine getting a mixtape hosted by Robert De Niro, [basketballer] LeBron James or [comedian] Jamie Foxx. I make classics. And I'm the only one doing that stuff.'
If you have no idea what a mixtape is, then you're probably wondering who Whoo Kid is. In short, he makes compilation hip-hop CDs that have voiceovers provided by Hollywood or sporting stars and feature unreleased or advance tracks by hip-hop greats such as Busta Rhymes, Nas and Snoop Dogg. While they're still known as mixtapes, the CDs consist of music you won't hear elsewhere, so this can include leaked tracks and unofficial remixes that are usually illegal because they infringe copyright laws.
'That's where I got my name,' the New Yorker says. 'Everyone was wondering who's this kid who was stealing their music.'
Having perfected the art of hustling since learning to DJ at the age of 16, Whoo Kid has blasted his way through the music industry in the past four years to become one of its most profitable properties. Originally signed to Capitol Records, he now releases official mixtape CDs under G-Unit Records that sell about 100,000 units apiece. Today, the winner of the award for best mixtape DJ at the eighth Annual Mixtape Awards in New York in January has his finger in every youth-culture pie: he runs Shadyville Entertainment, hosts radio shows and a reality-television gig called Sada Pop TV, makes DVDs, has a luxury watch and clothing line, and tours the world with the G-Unit crew. His influential status was acknowledged when, a few months ago, he was hired to officially compile a mixtape for Rock the Vote, to boost education and help recruit youth voters for this year's US presidential election.
Shady or not, Whoo Kid has forged a career and empire by walking the walk. 'To get here, I just lied my way through,' he says. 'When I first started, I was a clown and lying like crazy. I even said I had gigs in China as I knew no one would call to check. That got me to meet major players like [Def Jam founder] Russell Simmons, Puff Daddy and [Violator Records CEO] Chris Lighty.'
His first DJ gig, at 18, was a US$150 booking at The Tunnel. At 20, Whoo Kid joined the Violator DJ roster and, as his connections grew, he decided to concentrate on making celebrity-hosted mixtapes. And funnily enough, years later, he actually does have his first gig in China coming up. He's due to play in Hong Kong tonight at Ing.
Alongside DJ Clue, Envy, Green Lantern and Kayslay - collectively regarded as the 'kings of the mixtape' - Whoo Kid is responsible for shaping the future of hip-hop. Originating from the streets of New York in the 1970s, mixtapes are made by DJs who take hits, raw tracks and bootleg songs, throw in some freestyle rap, perhaps even bellow in their own shout-outs, feature celebrity voiceovers, and deliver an hour-long personalised party play.
The result can go two ways: either a cease-and-desist order or a career hike upwards. For a thug called 50 Cent who lost his record deal after being shot several times, it was an appearance on a Whoo Kid mixtape that made it to music executive Riggs Morales, who lent it to an Eminem bodyguard, who somehow played it at the right time, and led to 50 Cent's US$1 million signing to Eminem's Shady Records.
Growing up in a middle class Haitian family with an engineer father and nurse mother, Whoo Kid was once known as Yves Mondesire, who hailed from the same neighbourhood as LL Cool J, Nas, Run DMC and Tupac Shakur. 'I was a lazy guy who hung out at home while everyone was on the streets,' he says. 'I refused to play sport. Well, except for soccer, 'cos I'm Haitian.'
His friends included DJs Clue and Envy, who lived around the block. 'I got into DJ-ing because I saw Clue making money for no reason,' he says. 'So, I started fooling around with music on turntables in the attic. I liked doing R&B blends.' Today, he mixes music on laptops in one of his three studios in Los Angeles, New York or his New Jersey home.
With nearly 70 mixtape releases to his name, Whoo Kid and his producer, Red Spyda, don't make money from sales of the unofficial CDs. After all, copyright laws make them illegal to sell - even though street peddlers make US$3 from each bootleg sale. Rather, the self-promotional tools result in tour bookings, such as playing to 200,000 people for an MTV party in Greece, or corporate deals, such as his Grand Theft Auto mixtape.
Upcoming rappers have also paid up to US$5,000 to appear on his releases, which is measly compared with the US$100,000 that a record label will spend on promoting an artist. 'Eight rappers got signed this year because of my tapes,' Whoo Kid says. 'Slim Thug went to Geffen, Bump J went to Atlantic, and Game got an Aftermath Records deal.'
While mixtape culture serves an important role in dictating hip-hop trends, there's some irony in the fact that songs on the CDs aren't mixed. As Whoo Kid can attest, it's all about the hype. 'I'm a party DJ and not into cutting and scratching,' he says. 'I make money from promoting my name and my personality. I'm the Haitian Barry White.'
DJ Whoo Kid, Hiphopmania, tonight, 10.30pm, Ing, $160 (advance, HMV, Ing), $200 (door). Inquiries: 2836 3690