While his friends at Vic High were out having fun after school, Angus Kant was in the kitchen at a local eatery sticking to his plan to become a DJ.
Kant eventually stockpiled enough money through washing dishes to buy a pair of turntables. The equipment was more than material; it was his gateway into a world that is still evolving today, nearly a decade after the fact.
“When I got that pair of Technics 1200s,” Kant reminisced, “it was probably the happiest day of my life.”
Hip hop has always been in his sights. Kant, 31, taught himself how to DJ at an early age, specifically so he could get out and play parties. Eventually, parties turned into paid gigs and by the time he was old enough to get into a club, he had himself a career.
“That kept money rolling in,” he said. “Whereas a lot of my friends didn’t find a niche on the Island — they all moved to Vancouver for bigger, better things — I had no reason to go anywhere. Especially when the weather is this nice.”
Though he feels most comfortable at smaller-scale events — “House parties are my specialty,” Kant said — he also has the ability to get technical and compete with some of the best performance DJs in and around Victoria.
He is turning that gift into another facet of his business career. Kant’s seven-year career as a carpenter is coming to an end in a few months, after which he expects to hang up his hammer, so to speak. He is embarking full-time on two projects (large-scale sound-system rental PK Sound and DJ-renting service Party People Sound Solution) that will put a large chunk of the local DJ-related business under the banners of DJ Anger and DJ Primitive, a.k.a. Jeff Lingwood.
He’ll continue playing on his own, with fiddler Kytami, and in tandem with other DJs on a regular basis, in addition to spinning music for two fitness classes at Johnson Street’s Body Dynamics every Saturday and Sunday.
His versatility is endless. “One night I’m playing dub-step, and then the next night I’m doing my hip-hop routine. Every genre I’m pretty capable of playing and making people dance and enjoy themselves.”
Where were you born and raised?
I was born in Victoria, at Royal Jubilee Hospital, in 1981.
Have you left Victoria for any length of time?
Other than going to carpentry school for two months in Vancouver, I’ve never lived away from the Island. I have travelled, but Oak Bay and Fernwood are the only two addresses I’ve ever had.
What is your favourite thing about Victoria?
It’s paradise. It’s not too small and it’s not too big. There is a lot of stuff around to do, but it’s not overwhelming. There’s not the evilness of some of the bigger cities.
What is your greatest accomplishment as a person?
Being able to teach myself a skill which is now a moneymaker for me. To be self-taught is pretty amazing, especially to have something that brings in an income.
And as a professional?
One of my sweetest moments was when Raekwon from Wu-Tang Clan came to town and I got to perform on stage with him. He didn’t have a DJ, so I did the set with him. That was pretty amazing because Wu-Tang was some of the first hip hop I listened to in the beginning.
First album you purchased?
Cocktail, the soundtrack. On cassette. But if we go hip hop, my first CD was Mobb Deep, The Infamous.
Favourite album?
It would have to be anything Outkast. Always my favourite.
First concert you attended?
Hieroglyphics at the Victoria Curling Club.
Favourite concert you attended?
Outkast at the 2001 Area:One Tour at Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.
If you had one motto, or rule to abide by, what would it be?
Live every day to its fullest.
DJ Anger performs with Blackalicious, The Cold Residents, Skulastic on Friday at Sugar nightclub. Tickets are $24 at Lyle’s Place, Ditch Records and ticketweb.ca
