Rob Swift

Turntablist Rob Swift entered the world as Robert Aguilar in Jackson Heights, a Queens neighborhood. During his formative years, the cutting-edge jazz artist Herbie Hancock joined more conventional DJ icons such as Grandmaster Flash, Grand Wizard Theodore, and DJ Premier in shaping his approach. Following his psychology degree from Baruch College, he became a member of the X-Men, a leading scratching collective of the 1990s that later adopted the name X-Ecutioners. His 1992 DMC East Coast Turn Table Championship victory preceded a stint DJing for rapper Akinyele during the latter’s nationwide tour. After contributing to one X-Ecutioners album, the mixtape favorite issued his own acclaimed debut, Soulful Fruit, on Asphodel in 1997, with The Ablist arriving two years later. He then produced a series of mixes for Triple Threat (Airwave Invasion), Tableturns (Sound Event), and Six Degrees (Under the Influence). Swift departed the X-Ecutioners in 2004 once Revolutions appeared, after which he completed OuMuPo, Vol. 2—a remix project drawn from artists on the Ici d’Ailleurs label—and War Games, a 2005 Coup de Grace release conceived as a soundtrack to the post–September 11 world.