Silva Sir-Fa Productions – Audio and Video Creation

Personal Info:

“I have been working with analog and digital production since the days of the Fostex porta multitrack recorders and Panasonic camcorders, which are the sources of my affection for all things media-related. I am enthusiastic about audio and video production, collaboration, songwriting, and of course, deejaying.”

REGGIE BROWN

Proficient In:

Snapshot 1

BRONX TO L.E.S. Uprooting Of The Brown’s

As my siblings and I prepared for school, the radio atop the fridge was our morning soundtrack. Our parents typically tuned into AM where Top 40 was still king and stations featured a playlist of songs from artists and groups like Al Green, Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, The Commodores, Donna Summer, The Carpenters, ABBA, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, The Spinners, and more.

While residing in the borough of the Bronx, NY, the radio waves along with my parents’ collection of 8-track tapes & vinyl helped shape my musical experience.

In 1978, I began hearing about parties where someone would rhyme into a microphone while another person skillfully played records on two turntables. Despite my age preventing me from attending these events, I found the concept interesting. And I lived in walking distance from these jams.

snapshot 2

LOWER EAST SIDE – NY THE SIXTH BOROUGH

In 1979, my family moved from the Bronx to Mid-Town Manhattan as a homeless family, living in a place called the Martinique Hotel. As a 14-year-old kid I never knew or felt like we were homeless, thanks to Mom & Dad.

We thought we were on the list to move into the newly developed 80/20 high-rise building known as Lands Inn. However, fate had other plans, guiding us 15 minutes away from Lands Inn to a place called Baruch housing. In May of 1980, we settled into our new apartment and soon after got familiar with the surroundings, friends, and school mates of the Lower East Side.

After high school, I reluctantly found several jobs, and I also dove into creative pursuits, channelled my energy into writing, creating, and recording songs with my first official electronic musical instrument, the Casio MT 4000 (circa 84′). A collection of these compositions found a home on the cassette, a personal soundtrack that only I would listen to.

Snapshot 3

HOMING IN ON THE CRAFT Move The Crowd

After hearing and witnessing the elements of hip-hop, I was on a mission to get some equipment. Once I had acquired my DJ and recording gear, I purchased a substantial collection of vinyl records (2x). After learning all about the equipment and creating sets, my focus shifted on getting a group together. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I was honing in on my skills as a songwriter with the group I was in.

After a lot of practice and carefully crafting a show, it was finally time to take the stage in what we called ‘The Big Park’ near ‘Lands Inn’.

We transported the gear on dollies, making our way from Baruch housing to a large park in a different neighborhood, as we had more protection in that part of the Lower East Side at the time. And a nearby light pole to provide the juice :).

DJ Reggie-Reg jam at the Big park, on the Hill, L.E.S-1983.

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Snapshot 4

11pm to 7am and then some The Big M

As I honed in my role as a deejay, I continued to work at various occupations over the years, including selling newspapers, packing and delivering groceries, working as a security guard, and in convention – catering services at the NY Marriott Marquis.

I was introduced to the Marriott family in 1986 through my mom, who happened to be the first female in the engineering department at the NY Marriott Marquis property, yeaaa Mom. After being interviewed for employment by the Human resources representative who said “I’ll hire you because of your mother but I see your heart is in pursuing your musical aspirations” – true story. I’m glad she gave me the green light to venture into Marriott culture. It opened the door to seven years as a convention/catering service associate. Looking back, those were truly great times on the overnight shift. I was able to pursue and achieve my musical goals during the day, get some rest, and then work overnight. We used to call it the graveyard shift.

snapshot 5

Onward and Upward Every Step We Take

While DJing on the Lower East Side and working the night shift at the Marriott Marquis NY, I got a break to start interning in the mornings at an independent record label called DNA International. I wanted to be an A&R rep. for the label but was given the position of a sales rep., which came in handy for future mixtape sales. The internship soon led to my DJing on the radio alongside my friend DJ Hank Love. The DNA & Hank Love radio show aired on WNWK 105.9fm in New York from 2:00 am to 4:00 am every Saturday.

Marriott management graciously granted me steady days off so I could rock the airwaves every Saturday night. No one on the overnight shift had steady days off (Sat. & Wed), so that was big for me.

During the initial stages of my radio gig, I asked my co-workers at the Marriott, for a deejay name to replace DJ Reggie-Reg. Although they had some good suggestions, I was drawn to an unidentifiable character in a comic book, even though I wasn’t into comics.

Milestone: My 1st born child came into this world during this period.

Snapshot 6

The Transition From Radio To Mixtapes

Although I enjoyed breaking records and creating mixes for the radio show, other deejays from NY were beginning to reach a wider range of listeners via mixtapes in stores. Even though I was creating mixes/blends on cassette tapes for live shows on radio, I felt I had to make the transition to the selling of mixtapes to stay relevant, and so it begins.

By the time I released Mix Tape 25, Mixtapes were demanding their space in the underground Mixtape Market across the country and the world. While record labels played both sides of the coin by condemning mixtapes and CDs, they also supplied us DJs with vinyl to help promote their artists. As a DJ in the Golden Era of Hip Hop, you had to make the transition to selling mixtapes or become obsolete. Or be on 1 of the 2 power radio stations in your area. Thankfully I had several DJ friends play my promo tracks on the air from time to time.

DJ's Radio Promo

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Recap & Continue

Vibe out and take a 30+ year video journey.

All in 11 minutes and 45 seconds. Talk about time management.

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