The host we are featuring this month, Gibby Diaz, goes by the name DJ GIBB when he hosts his show, The Cool Out, on Sundays at 9pm. He has been involved in the DJ scene since the late 90’s. Initially, he was a “House DJ”, but he has since transitioned into a “Hip Hop DJ” in order to share many different genres of music. Since the start of the pandemic, he has found a new niche in DJing called Portablism. This comes from Turntablism, but it is more focused on turntable modification and using the turntable as an instrument through scratching. In any spare time he does have, he practices his DJing and goes through new music.
DJ GIBB’s first experience with Jazz music was with the group, A Tribe Called Quest. The beats and smooth rhythms stood out to him as a child and he began to think about the creation of the beats he heard. Then DJ GIBB mentioned the album Jazzmatazz by Guru. “Jazzmatazz was released a couple of years after Tribes first album and it REALLY got me into Jazz. Jazzmatazz is the perfect blend of Jazz and Hip Hop. It’s one of my all-time favorite albums.” Guru is the MC on that album which featured artists Donald Byrd, Roy Ayers, and Lonnie Liston Smith among others. This album was influential in building DJ GIBB’s musical taste and influencing the fusion genre as it was the first album to combine live jazz with hip hop and rap. When DJ GIBB was in middle school and high school, he listened to indie music on KSYM. The programming opened up his ears “to new genres of music that [he] wouldn’t have otherwise been exposed to.” He believes indie programming is important because it is listener focused.
DJ GIBB first became involved with KRTU about 12-13 years ago. DJ Donnie Dee asked DJ GIBB to join his show, Super Soul Saturday, together they played nonstop soul and funk music. Then in 2012 JJ Lopez, our general manager, asked if DJ GIBB would like to start a program on Sunday nights, thus the Cool Out was born. The Cool Out features lo-fi beats, jazztronica, downtempo, and hip-hop instrumentals. Lately, DJ GIBB has turned it into a “DJ Mix” program where he mixes multiple genres and keeps the music flowing through his transitions and song selection. A few artists he features often on the show include DJ Krush, J Dilla, Freddie Joachim, and Madlib. His favorite album at the moment is John Yancey by Illa J. Every Saturday morning when he wakes up, he prepares the show. He selects a track with a specific bpm and improvises from there. “The show and the track listing are spontaneous and improvised, much like jazz.”
“I hope I can continue to mix my show there at KRTU. It is definitely one of a kind.”
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