The Shinin'

The two masterminds behind The Shinin' are DJs Take One and None. Their story began about four years ago, when Tom Wilson (aka DJ Take One) moved to Olympia, Washington to attend school at Evergreen State College. Unsatisfied with the availability of underground hip hop in his new home, he formed a close phone relationship with Jamie Carrillo (DJ None), who was the buyer for Street Sounds, one of L.A.'s premier underground hip hop record stores. Carrillo would call and play Wilson the latest West Coast hip hop, and Wilson would then mail order the records. The two soon realized that great minds think alike, and they decided to collaborate on some tracks for mix tapes whenever Wilson was in L.A. Meanwhile, the Northwest was finally coming into its own on the hip hop front, thanks in part to none other than Sir Mix-A-Lot. Wilson began spinning in and around Olympia, under the name of DJ Take One. In 1998, he went on to record the Emergency Breaks 12-inch on K, featuring a track by DJ None. The Director's Cut EP (K/Drunk Decibel Records) was recorded at four different studios in Washington and California and showcases some of the finest MCs working in the Los Angeles and Seattle/Tacoma underground hip hop scenes, including Dr. OOP, PM, Universal, J-Thorn, and Tacoma's Bedroom Productionz of the Black Anger/DU4SELF crew. The track "Who Knows?" features Seattle's Samson S. and producer Vitamin D. To quote the EP's opening sample, "Some shine, some don't." By keeping it real and doing it right, The Shinin' definitely do.