Fun Fun Fun Fest Preview: A-Trak
Sunday, November 7
Waterloo Park (403 E. 15th)
8:45pm, Blue Stage
[info] | [tickets]
A-Trak may be best known for his DJ skills on stage with Kanye West, but he's recently teamed up with a bunch of other big names to bring his raucous beats to as wide an audience as possible. His latest venture as one half of the group Duck Sauce (other half made up by DJ-producer Armand Van Heldon) has just released a video for the club anthem "Barbara Streisand." The star-studded video is well worth a peep, as the cameos include Chromeo, ?uestlove, Yelawolf, Santigold, Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, and more. Unfortunately, (or fortunately?!) the song's namesake is played by an impersonator, but a decent one that definitely hams it up. The song is expected to drop as the first single from Duck Sauce's debut album, out October 12 on Fool's Gold Records.
The rise to such high profile friendships came through legitimate hard work. A New Yorker with roots in Montreal, A-Trak got his start at age fifteen by winning the DMCs World DJ Championship in 1997, and he hasn't looked back since. He was one of the first DJs to win three major competition titles, and has also garnering five DJ World Championships. A-Trak hit prime time success in 2004 when Kanye West brought him on board as the tour's DJ, and he remains Ye's go-to collaborator today.
In the producer role, A-Trak has most notably worked with Kid Sister on her first album, and Lupe Fiasco on a few tracks. He's also become a key clothing culture icon, repping for Zoo York, New Era, Nike and many other streetwear companies. Joining forces with Travis Barker, A-Trak last performed in Austin at SXSW this year to a packed RepublicLive crowd.
