David Rodigan MBE needs little introduction.
One of reggae's premiere broadcasters since the late '70s, when he joined Radio London after several years selling records on a stall, Rodigan is best-known for his legendary residency at Kiss FM, though last year he made the move to BBC Radio 1xtra after claiming that Kiss moving his time slot was part of their "continued marginalisation of reggae music". Off-air Rodigan has built a reputation as a titan of the soundclash format, and he represents one of music's most respected elders both in and outside of the reggae world -- ask Goldie and Marcus Nasty who the DJ they most respect is, and you'll see what we mean.
To ask the questions in this in-depth interview with Rodigan, we recruited Wrongtom. The South London DJ and producer has worked with everybody from Roots Manuva and Hard-Fi in his time, and as it turns out, has interviewed Rodigan before. He did a fantastic job, and we're very thankful to him for getting involved, as well as Laurent Fintoni for the hook-up. In part one, Rodigan talks about discovering reggae as a young mod, how Sgt. Pepper blew everybody's mind, and how Caspa and Breakage helped to find him a new audience.
David Rodigan will bring his Ram Jam night to the London Forum on May 17 with sets from Toddla T, Ms Dynamite and more.