Before becoming a trio, the Triple Threat DJs all but conquered their genre. Each came up as youngsters through mobile DJing and evolved into world-renowned turntablists. Shortkut was a member of the legendary Invisibl Skratch Piklz, as was former Branford Marsalis collaborator DJ Apollo, whom many claim invented the turntable band with Mix Master Mike. Throw Vinroc's two ITF back-to-back championship belts into the mix and you have a DJ dynasty through battle titles, party rocking, plentiful mix tapes and an upcoming EP. For this interview, each crewmember was scattered throughout the globe, so SOTU hit them up one by one.

SOTU: What is Triple Threat?

Shortkut: Trying to incorporate all around DJing skills. Like battle scene, club, party rocking style. Just pretty much all around because Apollo, Vin and myself were branded with that turntablist kind of label. So we just want to make it known we have that background that we love, just DJing.

SOTU: So you don't want to be labeled as turntablists?

Vinroc: No. Not at all…What got us to this point was when we were all very young, we were doing parties and doing bar mitzvahs and weddings and collecting records and you know, learning about music in whole, not just scratching. So we haven't forgotten about what got us to this point, we're just incorporating everything that we've learned so far.

SOTU: What do you say to people who claim you're wasting your time mixing and should just battle?

Shortkut: It's not even about that. If you call yourself a DJ or a turntablist, you have to know how to DJ first to become a turntablist. Kids now, they can just pick up two scratch records and be like, 'I'm a DJ.'
Vinroc: Nobody ever said we hated scratching. I don't hate scratching, I love scratching. I love beat juggling. But I also have an equal amount of love for mixing at parties and making a beat and staying home and doing some production work or making a mix tape…There's nothing like DJing a party and getting everybody hype. That's one of the best feelings in the world--that's my natural high.

SOTU: Are things too rehearsed in the battle scene?

Shortkut: It's not so rehearsed, but there's no funk in it anymore. A lot of people try to focus more on skills, trying to get the scratch down, trying to get the juggles down. That's cool with me, that's what I try to do in my stuff too. But I guess it's the whole essence of digging for records, going to record stores and trying to shop for records and stuff. I think that's an art that's kind of lost.

SOTU: What are the Triple Threat DJs trying to accomplish?

Shortkut: You know how the Tape Kingz has theirs in the East? We're trying to do that maybe for the Bay Area 'cause nobody's really doing that right now.
Apollo: Just trying to be the bridge between everybody. Trying to get kids to feel what we're doing and hopefully they'll respect each other's styles.

SOTU: What's been your best show so far?

Shortkut: In Detroit it was cool. Everyone was just bobbing their head. That's our basic mission, to have everyone in the crowd moving. No one just standing up and video taping us the whole time.

SOTU: How about the hardest show?

Shortkut: We did a lot of the ITF's in Canada, which was pretty hard because I guess the way we tried to be presented at the time, they didn't know what we were trying to do. Like, 'Aw man. You guys are supposed to do some routines at the end of the battle.' They didn't know whether to dance or just look at us.
Apollo: The hardest shows are when the crowd is just a bunch of kids with video cameras. They walk away pretty upset cause they expect to see just turntablist stuff.

SOTU: What are the biggest misconceptions about Triple Threat?

Shortkut: Maybe that we're just basically a turntablist crew. There's so many new crews coming out that are on the battle scene. We're definitely not looking to be in any battles anytime soon or nothing like that. [We're] just a collective of DJs. Just how the Beat Junkies are. There's a core of us who do battles, but we have some other DJs who do radio and everything like that, so we're just trying to spread ourselves out and cover all areas. I guess you can basically say that Triple Threat's almost like the Beat Junkies of today, like extended family.

Vinroc: That we hate scratching. That we only just mix, which is funny. Don't say nothing until you come and see the show…[Turntablism's] basically a sport to them right now. That's not why we're in it. We like music. If I want to see sports, I go watch a basketball game or something like that.

Apollo: We're just playing records, that's the biggest one. And rocking parties, that's like a big word that's thrown out there of what we're about, but that's not what it's all about. It's about encompassing all the skills of being a DJ.

SOTU: Apollo, since you're the one that's seen it all, can you give me a really ill DJ story?

Apollo: [Laughing] It was a Triple Threat show in New Orleans and some broad came backstage and started freaking everybody, pulled down her pants and this dude was right next to me, pulled out his dick and she starts fucking him right in front of us. We were like whoa! And that's not it. She pulls out and all kinds of blood comes out of her fucking shit. We were like, 'Oooh shit!' We all ran out the room, literally got up and ran out the fucking room. We we're like, 'Did you see that bullshit!?'…There's a wacky story for you if you can print that.