A Filipino-Canadian born in England, Hedley "DJ Hedspin" Tuscano has run on both shores of Canada, living in New Brunswick before settling with his family in Vancouver and taking his rightful place among the foremost DJs on the West Coast.
One of the Vancouver ’s most prolific club and party selectors, Hedspin is also a battle-tested veteran. After surviving Van City’s Sound War in ’97, he came back and murdered his way to third place in ’98. In 2000’s Battle Royale, Hedspin was the last DJ standing, copping first. He entered his inaugural DMC battle in Whistler in ’05, and finished third. On finally entering the DMCs: "It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but never did. I needed new headphones, too. I thought I can’t really afford them right now, so how am I going to get them? That was sort of my motivation."
Getting motivated is easy when you’re around music – and love it – as much as Hedspin does. Other cats claim to be down 24/7 but, from working as a lifestyle promotions rep for a record label, running his own street marketing company and killing it at the clubs and concerts, Hedspin truly lives it. Hell, he’s even engaged to another well-respected Vancity DJ, Bles-sed: "It’s definitely put me in touch with what females want. For sure, I try to absorb a lot of influences. I take what I like and just flip it to my own style. I definitely learned a lot about new soul and old R&B going out with [her]. It’s added to my repertoire."
Being versatile comes naturally, and probably represents the main reason why Hedspin has earned the respect of his peers in the city’s tight DJing community. Heds really can spin anything: "If you’re playing for a certain crowd that likes AC/DC, I won’t hesitate to play it. There’s a time and a place for everything. I know I play a bunch of different genres. I play mainstream stuff, I play hip hop, I play funk, I play soul. I’ll play whatever it takes to get the energy out of people, whether it’s J-Lo or Slick Rick. Whatever it takes on that night."
On some of those given nights he has played beside the likes of Talib Kweli, Snoop Dogg, Jurassic 5, Cocoa Brovaz, Kid Koala, Souls of Mischief, Killa Kela, X-ecutioners, Triple Threat DJs (Shortkut, Apollo, Vinroc), Lloyd Banks, K-Os, The Roots, Ozomatli, De La Soul, Jedi Mind Tricks, Mr.Lif, Young MC, Prince Paul, Mark Ecko’s Getting Up Festival – ft, Mos Def, Nas, Lil Jon, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes and Kanye West and as the backing DJ for Digable Planets reunion show in 2005 at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom. .
A proven party rocker blessed with the talent of a top turntablist, one who’s down with the classics but up on the hot new shit, Hedspin has wowed crowds in Whistler, Victoria , Seattle , Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Toronto, Montreal, Japan, Philippines and London. You can find him at his current residencies alongside the city’s top promoters: weekly at Get Up, Get Down Fridays at Shine Nightclub, Tenka Thursdays at Club 686 (Japanese night) and Posh Saturdays at Au Bar and monthly at Mash it Up Fridays at Atlantis.
After burning up Vancouver’s hip-hop scene over the past 5 years, Hedspin has finally become recognized by his peers and the industry alike being nominated for Clubvibes Vancouver Hip Hop DJ of the Year in 2005 and Stylus Awards Vancouver DJ of the Year and National Club DJ of the Year in 2006.
Accolades don’t mean all that much to Hedspin, however, who cites ruling the airwaves on his campus radio show as being " the most fulfilling thing I’ve ever done as a DJ." He’s been on the dial for roughly seven years, first at 101.9 CITR and currently on 102.7 CO-OP radio, where he educates and entertains every Tuesday via the Urban Renewal Project. The key is he gets to play what he wants; soulful hip hop one set, testosterone-fuelled hip hop the next.
With everything from DJing a radio show to being a student of scratching to being one of Vancouver’s top party rockers, Hedspin is no doubt a DJ’s DJ.
WOW. that was a lot of promo bags for this one little girl. but i did them!! then i got more flyers...so now i will do more =/ anything for extra cash =P
