Today’s guest is hailing from the city of ROCKFORD and MIDWEST MONSTA SQUAD, DJ RICKMONSTA. I had the pleasure of DJing along side him several years ago in Rockford. What stood in my mind from him was his humbleness towards everyone and also while hearing him spin, I was getting my tracks ready in my head and noticed we had a lot of the same tracks. What also stood out was how RICKMONSTA would cut up the tracks differently or play them differently, which was refreshing to hear and see. Rick along with Vic MONSTA would always welcome me in Rockford like if I was one theirs and I truly appreciate the love.

RICKMONSTA thank you for being a part of my CrossTown Sessions, it is a huge pleasure to have you on always excited to hear you spin. First question is when traveling into different cities what do you look forward to? For example, Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison etc…

A: When traveling as just a visitor I always keep my ear to the music/Dj. For example Chicago is one of the most versatile places to hear djs…you can here a DJ go from str8 hip-hop ish…and jump into sum house, into reggae or whatever they are feeling that night…prime examples are guys like the late great timbuck2 and Boi Jeanius but for me when I spin in the city its a lot different from where I come from compared to Rockford. I’m a lot more free to play music because the people in Chicago are a lot more open to different genres

Second question is how is life in Rockford as far as securing residency or gigs in your area and how has that affected you?

A: Rockford to me is really what I make it too be…I’m so lucky that I’m apart of the group of friends that I have. We are the party scene and we make the party scene. Yea sure there are bars but nowhere really a place where you can dance. So I make it a point to make people bob their head and girls dance their ass off whenever we throw a party or I’m at bar/club. It’s really hard because the places out here are really strict with the type of music they want. Top 40/EDM is the most predominant thing you hear out this way…but I switch that up whenever I’m on the tables and do my own thing.

Third question is which mixer have you enjoyed using the most and is there a particular favorite you have and if so why?

A: Mixers I’ve pretty much used them all pioneers…rane..numarks…but I’m very eager on trying this S9 lol…but to be honest I’ve always used cheap mixers as well and I’ve always done my thing so sometimes the best equipment in the world don’t mean ish if you’re a garbage DJ lol…