I’m one of the biggest @djspinbad fans in the world. News of his untimely passing is heartbreaking. Spin is a legend in the DJ world—a true DJ’s DJ. Blessed with ungodly skill on the turntables, Spin did amazing, visionary things before anybody & he did them better than anybody.

Back in 1995, when DJs were still spinning vinyl, an unknown kid from Queens named Spinbad dropped this incredible mixtape: Rock the Casbah (The '80s Megamix).

It was a dizzying and brilliant pastiche of music, film and popular culture from the 1980s. https://www.mixcloud.com/djspinbad/dj-spinbad-rocks-the-casbah-80s-megamix-vol-1-1996/

Spin's 'Rock the Casbah' was a paradigm-shifting production that inspired generations of DJs and helped create the genre-bending style known as “mash-up.”
This was the first time a DJ treated pop records the way DJs treated hip-hop records. And it blew our got damn minds.

Brilliantly sequenced, packed with razor-sharp cuts, blends, snippets, and incredible audio collages—Casbah was a mixtape masterpiece. Every music fan who heard it loved it, and every DJ thought: “Ohhh, we can do THAT now… any song is fair game!’ https://www.discogs.com/DJ-Spinbad-Rocks-The-Casbah-The-80s-Megamix/release/839441

Inspired by Spin’s creative breakthrough, DJs began experimenting with cross-genre mixing—notably the late, great DJ AM, who would bring the mashup style to nightclubs. Spin created dozens of these masterful mixes which can all be heard on his Mixcloud. https://www.mixcloud.com/djspinbad/ 

Spinbad became a fixture on NY radio, he toured & appeared on TV with Moby. In recent years he toured extensively w/ superstar comedian Russell Peters, playing for massive crowds around the world. @therealrussellp is a true hip-hop head, a man who appreciates top-notch DJ skills.

I feel honored to have worked with Spinbad, and gotten to know him. He had an offbeat sense of humor and a self-effacing style that belied his incredible talent. He leaves behind a wife of Japanese descent and beautiful children. My heart goes out to them at this time.

I know DJs around the world are joining me in honoring and celebrating this truly one-of-a-kind artistic genius. Chris Sullivan was just 46, gone way too soon. Rest peacefully DJ Spinbad. Your work in this life shined like a light, you outdid everyone. Much love brother.