VYBZAcademyFRvybzdj.com ↗
Dirty SwiftAUTHOR — A-01
The author

Dirty Swift

DJ, author, founder of VYBZ.

Professional DJ, author of « Culture DJ » (Larousse) and founder of VYBZ. Everything you read on this Academy comes from the same hand: no anonymous writers, no mass-generated content. When a page carries an opinion, it's signed; when it carries a number, it's sourced — and when the data doesn't exist yet, it says so in plain words.

Key facts

DJ
Professional, active behind the decks as Dirty Swift
Author
« Culture DJ », published by Larousse (2023), foreword by Cut Killer
Founder
VYBZ — the marketplace that matches event organizers and DJs
Academy
Single author: every course is written, signed and owned

The journey — from « My Life », Culture DJ

  1. 1975Born in Rennes, France, on October 4th. Grows up in the city's southern suburbs, far from any club — and without the Internet.
  2. 1983The spark: Michael Jackson's Thriller video airing on French TV one Saturday night. Then the show H.I.P. H.O.P. — everyone wanted to breakdance; he never got over it.
  3. 1990sPublic Enemy, Naughty by Nature, The Source posters on the bedroom wall. Science degree, engineering school in Paris — and a Technics SL1200-MK2 bought for 3,500 francs.
  4. 1999First mixtapes as DJ Swift, aka Fat Def, recorded on a four-track. Engineer by day, DJ by night.
  5. 2001Launches bounce2dis.com, one of the first reference sites for US rap in France: weekly Bounce Mixes, interviews, exclusives nobody else was playing.
  6. 2000sRadio shows (Radio Laser, FPP — the Marché noir show), Paris's first hip-hop bars, gigs in Oakland, San Francisco, Montreal, parties with De La Soul.
  7. 2023Publishes « Culture DJ » with Larousse — the history of DJing, its pioneers, its craft — with a foreword by Cut Killer.
  8. NowFounds VYBZ, the DJ booking marketplace, and its Academy: passing on the culture, not just the technique.
« J'ai vu Dirty Swift pour la première fois au Gibus. C'était un gamin déterminé à marcher sur les traces que nous, les précurseurs, avions esquissées. »
— Cut Killer, foreword to « Culture DJ » (Larousse, 2023)

Why this Academy

« DJing is easy to learn alone — and easy to learn badly. This Academy is the program I wish I had found when I started: culture with technique, the craft with the passion, and zero complacency. »

— Dirty Swift

His courses on the Academy

C-01 · Culture & HistoryWhat is the cultural role of the DJ?C-01 · Culture & HistoryWho invented hip-hop?C-01 · Culture & HistoryWho invented house music?C-01 · Culture & HistoryThe DJ and the radio: how the airwaves built French DJingC-01 · Culture & HistoryRaves, free parties and French Touch: club culture in FranceC-01 · Culture & HistoryWomen DJs: numbers, pioneers and barriersC-02 · FundamentalsHow do you become a DJ?C-02 · FundamentalsHow do you build a set that holds a room?C-02 · FundamentalsWhat DJ gear do you need to start?C-02 · FundamentalsThe DJ glossary: every term you need to knowC-02 · FundamentalsWhat is harmonic mixing — and should you use it?C-02 · FundamentalsWhat is beatmatching?C-03 · TechniquesDJ transitions: which ones to learn first?C-03 · TechniquesEQ mixing: how do you swap the bass?C-03 · TechniquesScratching: where do you start?C-04 · CareerHow much do DJs make?C-04 · CareerWhat legal status for a DJ in France?C-04 · CareerHow do you get booked as a DJ (with no connections)?

His other full-time project: VYBZ, the DJ booking marketplace.