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Rik shaW
this dragon dJ continues to sculpt his unique reggae party sound.
Words: stacey dugan illustration: damon locks
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Many people have tried to steal the Deadly
Dragon Sound System name, and a few have
succeeded. But DJ Rik Shaw wants to set the
record straight.
Rik Shaw, born Richard Warfield Smith,
founded the DJ collective and dub night,
Deadly Dragon Sound System, in 1993. Smith
and four “compatriots”–John Herndon,
Bundy K. Brown and Casey Rice of Tortoise,
as well as a DJ by the name of Jeremy
Freeman–hosted the weekly event at a shopworn
Chicago venue called the Empty Bottle,
playing a unique blend of reggae classics,
dancehall hits, jungle and hip-hop.
When Tortoise began demanding more of
Herndon, Brown and Rice in 1998, the collective
disbanded. Smith continued selecting
on the Chicago circuit, holding well-attended
residencies at some of the city’s most esteemed
nightclubs. But Freeman moved to New York
City, where he continued to play under the
Deadly Dragon moniker without Smith’s
permission. Now, to Smith’s dismay, Freeman
runs a Deadly Dragon website and record
store, although he’s not the first to co-opt the
name for his own purposes.
“Shit’s gotten surreal,” says Smith. “I’ve
walked into clothing [boutiques] and seen
Deadly Dragon jackets and clothing that I’m
not making a cent off. I think what people
really want is the Deadly Dragon vibe and
that’s something I hold way too tight for anyone
to have.”
Seated in the corner of his studio amid milk
crates and shoeboxes overflowing with rare
45s and LPs, it is clear that Shaw has a lifelong
What’s youR favoRite ChiCago institution? Rik Shaw: The institute of dubology.
romance with the reggae, and he’s intent on
sharing his impeccable tastes with the masses.
“In the States, because of hip-hop culture,
there’s a lot of stigma placed on turntables
and turntablism,” says Smith. “[People] expect
you to scratch or cut, because they watch
MTV and this is what’s projected to them.
But [I’ve been to parties where] one dreadlock
with one turntable and a microphone is
just mashing it up—mashing the whole room
up. For me it’s purely about the vibe, which
is something you’re sculpting out of nothing.
Every time I DJ I feel like I have to approach
it in a different way, and I don’t want to
repeat myself. I have enough records that I
don’t have to do that.”
Catch Rik Shaw weekly Sundays at Tomohawk at Sonotheque
in Chicago.