Hear ye, hear ye! It’s the news that we’ve all been waiting for… Hype, Hazard and Pascal are back. That’s right – Playaz 2.0 is here.
Signifying an exciting new era for the label, Return of the Dubplate Killa featuring tracks from DJ Hype, Heist, DJ Hazard, Crystal Clear, Tyke & Prestige has finally dropped. The 4 track EP is signature sounding Playaz with a mischievous little twist, kickstarting a string of releases, alongside some exciting plans from one of drum & bass’ most influential labels.
We sat down with the one and only DJ Hype to find out more.
Hype! Playaz is back… What’s the story?
I’ve got a credit Hazard. In lockdown, everything was all over the place. Everyone started doing their own thing. No one had an income, no DJ work, so I started producing again. I wasn’t trying to make a banger. Just making music, vibing. I started getting back in the studio. I worked with Xtrah, called up Jappa, Heist, Tyke. There were bits that I made that didn’t see the light of day, but I was playing other bits out when the clubs reopened and thought, yeah, I like this, but I had no confidence. I could tell you what I thought of your music, but I wasn’t really sure about my own music. I was playing at a Valve Sound System night last year, going back to back with Hazard and Dilinja, and I played one of the tunes I’d been working on. Both Dillinja and Hazard were vibing out, and I thought, maybe they just like the mix. I nodded over to Hazard and he was like ‘This tune! What’s this?’ And I said ‘It’s me!’ Hazard had been doing his Hazardous Material stuff at the time, releasing lots of dub packs. He had a few releases on other labels too, which, you know, he had my blessing for. But then he came up to me later that night and was like ‘We gotta get Playaz back. We gotta get it back up and running.’ And I was like, you know what? Yeah. We do. I’m so glad he said that. I’ve always been someone who needs a wingman, someone to bounce off. Pascal is amazing in the business side of the label, but musically, I didn’t have no one else. So, we had the conversation last year, and it was like, right, let’s rally the troops. I spoke to Tyke, Taxman, Heist. We all agreed rather than trying to get a million people on board, it was about quality and the right people. I want people making music because they genuinely want to, with us, not because they’re being arm wrestled into it. So yeah, it’s exciting. We’re just putting out good music. If me and Hazard agree that a tune is decent, we’ll release it. We’re not going to put out releases just because you need a DJ gig or because you’re a big name. That’s the mistake I made sometimes with Playaz, when I started, I ended up putting out a bit of fodder, so now I’m only putting out music that I really like. I’m not saying it’s going to be big or small – or that I’m better than anybody – it’s just, ‘Yeah I like it and I’m playing it.’
Return of the Dubplate Killa has just dropped! Sounds like Playaz with a nice little twist. Who’s on the EP?
The EP is a mix of people and flavours, I wanted to release something that says ‘Yeah, we’re back.’ Do something collaborative. So you’ve got ‘Return of the Dubplate Killa’ by myself, Heist and Daddy Earl. I made the original back in 2004 so I thought, let’s get Earl to come in and do a vocal again, make a new version. The vocals were very catchy so yeah, it just worked. So that was the job done. And then obviously, Hazard’s, Hazard! Crystal Clear is on there too with a VIP of ‘The Code’, plus we’ve got a track called ‘They’re Watching Us’ from Tyke and Prestige.
Any other upcoming releases or plans you can share?
We’ve got ‘Dubplate Killa Volume 2’ and 3 incoming. They will all be four tracker, various artists EPs. It’s going to be an ongoing series. Annix and Hazard are doing a collab. We’ve got Tyke’s LP incoming too. There’s other names that I don’t want to name until I get the tracks sent through. I’m not reaching out to too many people. I want it to be natural. The plan for 2026 is to get Playaz nights happening more regularly too. We did Playaz at Fabric for 15 years, and I loved it, but then when the club lost its license, I thought: what do I do? Do I sit here waiting for them to reopen? Yeah? And what if they don’t reopen? Everyone else is gonna move onto other nights. Where am I going? My agent was like you should be doing big venues. Bigger than fabric. It’s time to move on. So we started doing our Printworks, Brixton Academy, all these big festivals like SW4. But I felt like I was losing my identity. I had a year where I kept saying to my agent ‘I’m not doing it,’ and he was like ‘You’ve got this good fee, and the place will be packed.’ But I said, it’s not about that. It’s not about the money. I lost interest in them. So getting the Playaz nights back up and running is a big goal for next year.
In what ways will the label be different this time round? Hazard being involved a little deeper is a big one…
Yeah so Hazard is going to be helping me. You know, if I’m out of the loop. My mother’s got Parkinsons. She’s 82 years old, me and my sister basically look after her. That takes up a lot of time, so I can’t always commit. So he was like ‘Well, when you can’t do something, I’ll do it.’ I’m excited to be working with Hazard across the label. I’m a team player, believe me, I’m not a lone soldier, and I like having people around me. It’s going to be different the second time round but I don’t think it’ll be dramatically different. It’s just we’re all a bit older and wiser. The only other thing I’d like to do is attract a few of the younger producers. I want a full range of artists. So anyone who’s reading this, if you’ve got any demos for Playaz, the best way to hit me up is probably Instagram, just private message me and send me a link.
Is there anything you’re looking for in new artists?
No generic tunes. I used to get a lot of people saying ‘I’m making a tune that sounds just like Hazard’s tunes’ and it’s like, I don’t want that. I don’t want you to mimic what we’ve got. I just want you to be you, and if I like what you’re doing, I’ll take it. If I don’t like what you’re doing, but I can hear you’ve got potential to go in a different direction, I’ll suggest it. It’s up to you then what you do with that.
Playaz is more than a label. It’s a collective, an important part of drum & bass history, and so much more. What does Playaz mean to you?
It’s my life. It’s an outlet for me to express myself musically and shape artists. Selling records and making money from it is a bonus. Over the years, there were times when I thought: do I really want to have a label anymore? But then it’s the people that are out there that keep you going. Whether it’s other DJs or ravers. People tell you that you’ve changed their lives. I used to be weird about it, because I just play records, but it does make you feel meaningful as a person and musically, it’s all I have. I’m not educated. This is what I’m self trained in. I’m in it for the love of it more than the money. If it was all about the money, things would be done a lot differently. I’d rather do a good gig that I love, where the money was sh*t, than a gig where you paid me millions, and I’m not getting to express myself in the way I want to. I call it music therapy. When I go out and play, it’s like I forget everything in my life. It frees your mind up. When you’re 20, you’ve got no responsibilities, you’re probably still at home with your mom, life’s fine. Then you get older, life gets in the way. You have issues and problems, people are ill. People die, you have children, you have to take care of all of that, but then being in a club and seeing everyone smilin’, it makes you forget everything for a little bit. I’m 57 now, so there’s only 13 years ‘til I’m 70. I’ve lost Randall, Fats. There’s other people in the scene that have passed that I wasn’t as close to but, I’ve had friends and family who have passed away too, that’s what happens in your 50s. Life is always muddied by people dying and ill parents. So it’s like, now’s the time. Do what you want to do and enjoy it. It keeps you young. I’m blessed that I can travel the world, entertain people.
What sort of influence or impact do you think Playaz returning could have on the drum & bass scene as it is today?
All I want is for my label to be liked for what it is, and to hopefully influence other people to make music that they truly like too, but it’s not going to change anything. Maybe there will be a tune like ‘Bricks Don’t Roll’ or ‘Mr Happy’ that will have a legacy or someone will make a tune that everyone jumps on, you know, in a style that becomes at the forefront of things. But I’m not going to be changing the game. I’m not here to check. I never was. I’m not a game changer. I’m a True Playa.
Catch DJ Hype on Rinse FM second Friday of every month between 2-4pm.
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