DJ Shadow

With a new album that mixes hyphy with indie rock and his trademark cinematic instrumentals, Josh Davis looks to expand his audience

In April, DJ Shadow unveiled the first taste of music from The Outsider, his first album in four years, and some longtime fans scratched their heads. The track "3 Freaks" found Shadow flanked by hyphy stars Keak Da Sneak and Turf Talk for a banging hip-hop track--far removed from the cinematic instrumentals of his past work.

And while The Outsider, due September 19 via Universal, does not abandon Shadow's musical roots, it is by far the most hip-hop-focused record of his career. Other guest rappers on the project include Q-Tip, the Federation, David Banner, E-40, and longtime collaborator Lateef.
Bay Area native Shadow (real name: Josh Davis) became enamored with hyphy--a gritty, up-tempo style of hip-hop--in early 2003 while listening to local radio during car trips from his house to his studio. But it wasn't until the middle of last year that he started creating his own hyphy beats and reaching out to local artists to join him in the process.
"Until January, hyphy was largely (limited to) a 20-square-mile radius in the world," Shadow says. "I went to New York in October last year to tell people this album was coming, and everybody said, 'Hyphy? Who? What?' Four months later, they were like, 'Oh, we love hyphy. We get it."'
Still, that didn't prevent friends and label personnel from discouraging Shadow to release an album combining commercial hip-hop with rock ("You Made It"), mind-expanding instrumentals ("Artifact," "Triplicate"), and psychedelic folk ("What Have I Done").
"Some of the feedback I was getting was, 'Well, why don't you do a whole rap album, and then a rock album after that?' But for me, I don't just listen to rap for six months and then rock for six months," Shadow says. "I wanted to make a record that reflects entirely and completely what inspires me, and where I feel like my interest is musically right now."
On his fall tour, Shadow's shows will feature live rapping from a rotating cast of guests. At least one in-store event is in the works for the album's release date, as are more intimate appearances during the tour where Shadow will field questions from fans.
"I think a common misconception among some in my fan base, and maybe even at my own label, is that I'm happy in my own little box and I don't really want to sell a lot of records and I don't want radio play," Shadow says. "Of course I do. Anybody who makes music, whether they admit it or not, wants to be successful with what they do. I don't consider myself the type of artist who will ever be in the top five, but what I do can work with a lot of people."