In hip-hop, before the rapper, there was the DJ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before hip-hop there was the DJ.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The often unsung musicians \u2013 and yes, DJs (true<\/em> DJs) are musicians \u2013 there is no party without the DJ. More to the point, if the party is gonna pop, the DJ has got to be on point. Two of the best are Brother Jules and DJ Willie Shu. Jules, who has been celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement recognition from the Black Music Awards, has been rocking crowds since the 1980s. As the former DJ to Prince, Jules\u2019 party-rocking abilities have allowed him move to crowds in Minneapolis\/St. Paul, Los Angeles, Miami, London \u2026 even Tokyo. But it all started in Uptown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI started spinning at the age of 13,\u201d said Jules. \u201cI started at Bernadette\u2019s teen club. Bernadette Anderson, who was Andre Cymone\u2019s mother, had a teen club where the YWCA is now in Uptown. I started spinning for my peers there. I just jumped right in. She had all the latest equipment, so I started spinning on two Technics 1200s (the longtime gold standard turntables for DJs).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Jules wasn\u2019t rockin\u2019 his peers he was rockin\u2019 the airwaves as a teenager manning the overnight shift at KMOJ, 89.9 FM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was 1989 and I was a junior in high school. I\u2019d go to school, do my homework then catch the last No. 9 bus to the station (then at 501 Bryant Ave., N., Minneapolis) and do my shift from 2 a.m. \u2013 5 a.m.,\u201d said the hardworking DJ. \u201cThen I would catch the first bus home, over South (Minneapolis). It was dedication \u2026 early.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That dedication paid off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As they say, chance favors the prepared, so when Jules got the call to spin at the famed Glam Slam \u2013 Prince\u2019s club \u2013 he was more than up to the task. Jules said when he got the call to spin he didn\u2019t appreciate the importance of the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really know who he (Prince) was. I got a call from Sharon Smith (who booked for Glam Slam) to fill in for the regular DJ. After I did my thing two guys, Joey and Dwayne \u2013 Prince\u2019s bodyguards \u2013 came up to me and said, \u2018the boss wants you out at Paisley Park,\u2019\u201d recalled Jules. \u201cI made my way out there and the rest is history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jules has a special adoration for Prince, and rightfully so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe took care of me. He sent me to college; bought me my first crib \u2026 he did all that for me,\u201d said Jules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jules said he would later work at four of Prince\u2019s clubs including ones in L.A. and Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI worked at his Glam Slam in Tokyo for two years,\u201d said the well-traveled DJ, who when asked if he spoke Japanese responded in the affirmative with the greeting, \u201ckonnichi wa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That Japanese will come in handy as he has upcoming gigs booked in Tokyo, as well as London, Jamaica and Australia. Closer to home he\u2019s spinning for the fourth annual 90s Throwback River Cruise, July 3 on the Mississippi River, cruising from Harriet Island in St. Paul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only an acclaimed DJ, Jules plays 15 \u2026 15 musical instruments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat would be my advice to anyone trying to DJ, learn an instrument. I helps when you are a student of music,\u201d said Jules, who suggested aspiring DJs learn piano as an instrument of choice for DJs. \u201cJimmy Jam would DJ and play the keys at the same time when he was spinning at The Taste. He\u2019d make remixes right there on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It could be said that DJing is the family business for Willie Shu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shu said his father and godfather, who both attended the University of Minnesota, used to DJ and promote some of the most popular parties around town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat was during the days of Morris Day, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and The Time \u2026 I think they said Prince showed up a time or two,\u201d said Shu. \u201cMy father used to work for a college radio station, so he had this huge collection of vinyl, so as a kid I had this amazing collection and at 11 I bought my first DJ set and I\u2019d just practice, practice, practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shu, along with longtime collaborators and friends, Gabe Garcia and Franz Diego, recently celebrated their ninth anniversary of Turnt Up, a second Friday monthly at Honey in Northeast Minneapolis. More than just a party, Turnt Up is a chaotic mixture of sight and sound. That\u2019s just how Shu likes it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want my events to be an experience,\u201d said Shu. \u201cI want it to memorable each and every time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Jules, Shu has friends \u2013 and fans \u2013 in high places. He has earned praise from Grandmaster Flash, the iconic DJ who earlier this month became the first DJ to win the Nobel Prize in Music and Shu has performed a couple of times with the Black Eyed Peas. But in his eyes, his biggest honor came from space (so to speak).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI met Pharrell and he told me I was dope,\u201d said Shu, speaking of Neptunes producer and Grammy-winning artist. \u201cThat might be No. 1 (musical memory) for me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not quite the same as gaining praise from Pharrell, Shu recently got a different nod of approval from a couple of partygoers excited by his musical selections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was spinning and I looked up and people were naked, so I took it as a sign that things were going well and I was doing my job,\u201d said Shu with a laugh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shu\u2019s not promising nakedness for his upcoming shows, July 3 at Honey, July 12 at Honey with the Turnt Up crew and Aug. 17 at Palmer\u2019s on West Bank for the Turnt Up Block Party; an event featuring 10 DJs, but he is promising a good time \u2026 and great music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In hip-hop, before the rapper, there was the DJ. Before hip-hop there was the DJ. The often unsung musicians \u2013 and yes, DJs (true DJs) are musicians \u2013 there is no party without the DJ. More to the point, if the party is gonna pop, the DJ has got to be on point. Two of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4645,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[2863,2225,38],"class_list":["post-4644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-brother-jules","tag-dj-willie-shu","tag-minneapolis","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Insight-News-Website-Images-28.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4644"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4646,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4644\/revisions\/4646"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4645"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/apexsamplework.com\/insightnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}