The fourth annual Global Spin Awards will be taking place in New York next month on November 27, and is once again set to celebrate and honour DJ culture, and the best in the biz. Awards and recognition is dished out to those who deserve it most – and this year, two production heavyweights, legends in their own fields, will be honoured with some pretty outstanding awards.
Hip-hop pioneer Afrika Bambaataa is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement award for his contributions to, and influence of the very foundations of hip-hop production and DJ culture. One of the most loved, not to mention important names in the entire umbrella genre, he was a founding father of a then-new type of music. His style, skill and outlook has influenced every single existing genre of rap, including more specific aspects like instrumental hip-hop, sampling, scratching, rhythm work and incorporating funk and electro elements into rap. “Yeah, I think you could consider Bambaataa somewhat of the Elvis Presley or Little Richard – one of those people who helped bring the culture into the mainstream,” said Shawn Prez, event organiser. “And then you have the descendants of their great work, which are the Justin Timberlakes of the world who now benefit from the doors that those guys helped open.”
In response, 58-year-old Bambaataa, aka Kevin Donovan himself replied, “I wouldn’t say I was the Elvis Presley, but I can tell you I was the Sly Stone or the George Clinton.”
On the dancier side of the production spectrum, Mark Ronson will be presented with the Breaking Barriers award. According to event organiser Shawn Prez, this is attributed to “his skill set and talent beyond the turntables and outside the world of DJing.”
A masterful producer, both of his music and other artists, Ronson has produced albums for some of the world’s greatest, including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Paul McCartney and recently, Action Bronson. His own album Uptown Special blew us all away earlier this year – and those who caught him during his recent Australian tour knows exactly how great it was live.