Downstairs, the new breed of DJs gathers to jam. Hip-hop culture looms large within this converted basement.
Graffiti artists sketch tags in ringed notebooks.
Humidity and weed smoke combine to give the scene a queasy, underwater feel. A black platform holds two Technics 1200 turntables plugged into a Vestax mixer. Q-Bert hovers over the mixer. With 11 years of turntable experience, he serves as point man for this burgeoning genre. The free hand moves the mixer's cross-fader, creating DJing's trademark scratch sound.