One of the keys to longevity is keeping the passion for your craft alive and that’s precisely how DJ Manipulator has managed to maintain his career. Hailing from Hempstead, NY, but now residing in Worcester, MA, Manipulator is a hip-hop DJ and producer who has steadily built up a solid repertoire of releases and live shows since 2012. Having first been drawn to hip-hop as an 8-year-old boy, thanks to his older brother’s influence, Manipulator first tried his hand at rapping, graffiti and breaking, before realizing his real passion resided with DJing and beat-making. Skip to 2002 and he acquired his first set of turntables, with his first production setup following a year later, and drawing on influences from artists such as J Dilla, Madlib and The Alchemist, Manipulator set about honing his skills in both disciplines. Having followed his natural desire to work with samples, he also embarked on a lifelong crate digging obsession. Fast forward to now and that obsession has paid off, with a stack of notable releases under his belt, including two instrumental projects, The Synth Tape and The Soviet Tape. The two releases provided an insight into Manipulator’s beat-making prowess and demonstrated the value of his sample hunting.