New Jersey producer, DJ and turntablist DJ MilkyMike taps into the raw foundations of East Coast hip hop on his new album, The Technocracy – Blueprint for Global Enslavement.
Released on September 14, the 12-track project pairs MilkyMike’s hard drums, dusty samples and sharp scratches with an impressive cast of underground lyricists. Produced and mixed entirely by DJ MilkyMike, with mastering handled by Gabriel “Costa” Gomes at Right Vibe Studio, the record carries the spirit of classic boom bap without simply trying to recreate the past.
Among the standouts, “Put It On” brings in Brand Nubian veteran Sadat X, while El Da Sensei steps up on “The 3rd Rail” and Afu-Ra delivers on the rugged “Iron Fist”. Elsewhere, Rasheed Chappell opens proceedings on “Brandish Steel”, with Jay Royale, Ufo Fev, Spit Gemz, Ill Conscious and more adding their own flavour across a project built around beats, bars and strong MC/producer chemistry.
Beyond the music, The Technocracy builds a dystopian world around themes of surveillance, technology, power and individual freedom. Its visual campaign brings graffiti, drones and futuristic cityscapes together with hip hop’s foundational elements, positioning creativity and independent expression against an increasingly technological society.
The Technocracy – Blueprint for Global Enslavement is out now digitally, on vinyl and CD – cop it here.
DJ MilkyMike sat down with Wordplay Magazine to answer our infamous 10 Questions:
1. So tell me, how did it all begin? What sparked your love for music?
Growing up in a house full of musicians, music was always an innate part of who I was. My father was a jazz trumpet player, and I was heavily influenced by him as well as three of my brothers, who were also musicians. Being the youngest of six, I was surrounded by music from as far back as I can remember.
When I lost my father at 14, music took on an even deeper meaning for me. There was a void that needed to be filled, and music became an outlet. With that heavy jazz influence already ingrained in me, I naturally gravitated toward hip hop culture and the music at a young age.
Growing up in a semi-rural part of New Jersey, though, hip hop wasn’t as accessible as it was in the city, you had to seek it out.
A few guys in my high school crew were DJs, and I got my first set of turntables at 15. By 16, my boys and I were making weekly trips into New York City, hitting record stores like Fat Beats, Rock & Soul, Music Factory, Tower Records and Beat Street to dig for vinyl. Three of us eventually formed a battle DJ crew called The Green Team DJs. That was really where things started becoming serious for me.
After high school, I decided to take that passion further and attended SAE (School of Audio Engineering) in New York City, where I studied music production and audio engineering. I interned and worked at several studios as an engineer while continuing to pursue my DJ career.
For roughly 15 years, I lived the DJ life, gigging four or five nights a week while simultaneously running my own business. Then, around 2020, COVID essentially shut down the nightclub world. That forced me to shift gears, but in a way it brought me full circle. I began putting more of my energy into production, taking everything I’d learned from growing up around musicians, digging for records, battling as a DJ, engineering and performing, and channeling it into making my own music.
Looking back, it feels less like I chose music and more like music was always there. The role I played just evolved over time.
2. Who are some artists that influence you and that you want to work with in the future?
My influences really come from a combination of producers, DJs and artists from the era of hip hop that shaped me. On the production side, guys like DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Large Professor, RZA, Havoc, The Alchemist and Buckwild were huge influences. I’ve always been drawn to producers who could take a sample, chop it in a completely different way and create something gritty but still musical. Coming from a jazz background, that combination of raw drums, samples and musicianship really connected with me. As a DJ and turntablist, that list goes even deeper. Growing up I was watching VHS tapes of Q-bert, A-Trak, The Executioners, 5th Platoon and a whole plethora of DMC / ITF battles. The art of digging for records, scratching and using the turntables as an instrument has always been a major part of my identity, and I try to keep some of that DNA in my production today.
As far as artists I’d like to work with, there are definitely some bucket list names, Nas, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Black Thought and AZ would all be incredible. But I’m also interested in working with artists from the current underground scene who are carrying that sound forward. I don’t necessarily chase names just for the sake of having a feature. For me, it has to make sense musically.
That’s actually one of the things I’m proudest of with The Technocracy. I was able to work with artists like Sadat X, El Da Sensei, Afu-Ra, Rasheed Chappell, Jay Royale, Ufo Fev, Spit Gemz, who are all artists I genuinely respect. Some of those collaborations would have seemed pretty far-fetched to the 16-year-old version of me digging through records at Fat Beats.
3. What projects do you have coming up and can you give us any info on them?
Right now, my main focus is continuing to push my latest album, The Technocracy: Blueprint for Global Enslavement. It was about a year and a half in the making, and it’s probably the most complete representation of me as a producer and DJ that I’ve put out so far.
The project is 12 tracks and features an incredible lineup of MCs including Sadat X, El Da Sensei, Afu-Ra, Rasheed Chappell, Jay Royale, UFO Fev, Spit Gemz, Ill Conscious, Slik Jack, Lil Dee, Invaders of the Universe, Mike Luch and J. Hotta. I produced the entire album, so even with that many different voices and styles, I wanted it to feel like one cohesive body of work rather than just a collection of features.
Conceptually, The Technocracy has a darker, dystopian atmosphere built around themes of technology, surveillance, power and control. Musically, though, the foundation is the hip hop I came up on, samples, hard drums, scratches and lyricism. I wanted to bridge that golden-era influence with some of the artists and sounds keeping underground hip hop alive today.
One of the coolest parts for me has been seeing the album start to reach people outside of my immediate circle. It’s an entirely independent release, and it’s already beginning to show up on independent hip hop sites alongside the major streaming platforms.
As far as what’s next, I’m already working on new music and building relationships with more artists. I don’t really want to repeat The Technocracy, I want each project to have its own identity and concept while continuing to develop my sound as a producer. For me, this album feels less like the finish line and more like the foundation for what I want to build next.
4. How would you describe your sound?
I’d describe my sound as gritty, sample driven hip hop with a strong connection to the golden era, but without trying to simply recreate the past. I came up digging for records, DJ’ing and battling, so hard drums, chopped samples, scratches and that raw feel are naturally part of my DNA.
At the same time, growing up around jazz musicians definitely shaped the way I hear music. I’m drawn to interesting chord progressions, obscure samples, different textures and things that have a certain mood or emotion to them. I like my production to feel cinematic at times, dark, soulful and atmospheric, but still hit hard enough for an MC to really attack it.
Being a DJ also influences the way I construct records. Scratching isn’t something I add just because I can; I try to use it almost like another instrument, whether it’s reinforcing a hook, creating a transition or adding another layer to the track.
Ultimately, I want someone to hear one of my beats without seeing the credits and eventually be able to say, “That sounds like a MilkyMike record.” That’s what I’m working toward, having a recognisable sound while still being able to evolve
5. What’s your proudest moment to date so far as an artist?
I’d have to say completing and releasing The Technocracy: Blueprint for Global Enslavement.
Not necessarily because of one particular song or feature, but because of what the entire project represents for me.
I spent so many years primarily identifying as a DJ. When I shifted my focus toward production, I was basically starting another chapter of my career and had to prove to myself that I could take an idea from beginning to end and create a cohesive album.
Being able to produce an entire record and work with artists like Sadat X, El Da Sensei, Afu-Ra, Rasheed Chappell, Jay Royale and the rest of the lineup was definitely a full circle moment.
These are artists connected to the music and culture I grew up listening to and studying.
But I think the proudest part is that I did it independently. There wasn’t a major label or a big machine behind it. I put the record together piece by piece, production, collaborations, mixing, artwork, promotion and ultimately getting it out into the world.
When I think back to being 15 years old with my first pair of turntables, I definitely couldn’t have imagined that years later I’d be producing records with some of the artists whose music helped shape me. That’s probably what makes this project mean the most to me.