DJ Tomekk

DJ Wiki: DJ Tomekk

Wikipedia

Tomasz Kuklicz (born 11 October 1975), known professionally as DJ Tomekk, is a Polish-born German-based hip hop DJ and record producer. Rappers who have featured in his songs include Ice-T, Fatman Scoop, Khia, Xzibit, Fler, Sido, Kurupt, Lil' Kim, KRS-One, Torch, Afrob, Flavor Flav, and GZA. DJ Tomekk's debut album, Return of Hip Hop, was released in 2001, and was followed by Beat of Life Vol. 1 in 2003 and Numma Eyns ("Number One"; intentionally misspelled, in correct German "Nummer Eins") in 2005.

Early life

Tomekk was born in Kraków, Poland. His father was a Moroccan pianist and his mother a visual artist. At the age of 10, Tomekk met a DJ for the first time and was inspired by his work. That same year, his father emigrated to Germany and Tomekk followed him to West Berlin, where he lived in Berlin's Wedding district and attended the Diesterweg High School. His father died five years later. Tomekk lived in the children's home "Frohsinn" in Wedding from the age of 15 to 18. During this time he met the rapper Sido, five years his junior. Sido would later dedicate one of his songs to Tomekk. As a teenager, Tomekk got his own radio show on 98.8 KISS FM Berlin called "Boogie Down Berlin". At 17, he made his first recording contract with Stuff Records, and in 1991 released the single "OC featuring MC Mis One".

1992–2002

In 1993, DJ Tomekk invited Kurtis Blow to Kiss FM Berlin. Coincidentally, Kurtis Blow needed a short-term replacement DJ and offered the position to Tomekk. After that, Tomekk toured with him for a year through the east and west coast of the US. While he was barely known in Germany, he already appeared in the US together with Run-DMC, Public Enemy, Ice-T, the Wu-Tang Clan, LL Cool J and KRS-One. After their US tour, Tomekk returned to Europe where he continued to tour with Blow. In November 1993, Tomekk was honored for his work by the City of Los Angeles for Peace and International Understanding. In 1994, DJ Tomekk became the first non-US American to be nominated for the 1st Annual Rap Music Award. Juli 1996 that year he toured with the band Reality Brothers and acts as opening act at Reggea Summer Jam by Ziggy Marley. In 1996, DJ Tomekk worked with Lauryn Hill and produced the "Fu-Gee-La" remix for the Fugees. From the mid-nineties DJ Tomekk produced his first compilations and mixtapes, where he frequently integrated American and German artists together in his songs. In 1998, he founded one of the first hip hop labels "Hip Hop Büro Berlin" with Ronny Boldt, a roommate of his flat-sharing community in Berlin Mitte. Here, first mixtapes were produced on a cassette copying machine.

2003–2013

Nothing But You was a 2003 single released by Paul van Dyk in collaboration with the British group Hemstock & Jennings, featuring trance singer Jan Johnston and Kym on vocals. The song was a reissue of Hemstrong & Jennings' 2002 single Arctic, appeared with DJ Tomekk's remix, and was featured on the EA Games Fifa Football 2004 soundtrack and its Cirrus remix in Need For Speed: Underground 2. It reached number 14 on the UK Singles Chart and number 6 on the US Hot Dance Club Play. DJ Tomekk's production for Paul van Dyk was nominated for a Grammy Award. In 2003 Snap! released a remix of their global hit "Ooops Up" produced by DJ Tomekk as a single. In 2003, DJ Tomekk released with American rapper Kurupt the single "Ganxtaville Pt. III", which placed fifth on the German charts, as well as in the charts of Austria and Switzerland. He toured with his Boogie Down Berlin crew (DJ Noppe, Saeed, Trooper Da Don), where he completed about 150 appearances. In the following years, DJ Tomekk worked with artists such as MC Lyte, Xzibit, Noreaga, B-Tight, Montell Jordan, Truth Hurts, Horace Brown, Black Ivory and Harris on his new album Numma Eyns, which he finally released in 2005. 2007 Missy Elliott's "Hot Boyz" maxi single was released with two DJ Tomekk remixes - one of which featured Nas. In 2008, Tomekk featured in the third series of German reality show Ich bin ein Star, Holt mich hier raus!

2013–present

DJ Tomekk renounced all drugs and began campaigning against drug use as a speaker, author and sponsor. In 2016, he released the single "Lonely" with Dante Thomas and in 2019 the single "Never Give Up" with M.O.P. In 2020, his autobiography "Ich lebe für hip hop" was published by Random House (Heyne-Verlag) with a foreword by Kurtis Blow. In 2022, DJ Tomekk produced songs for the soundtrack of the American film "Kobe, The Legend of the 81-Point Game". The documentary looks at the life of Kobe Bryant. The single for the film "Ballin" by DJ Tomekk with Silla and Coolio, who died in September 2022, was released in November 2023.

Awards

• Juice Awards
• 1999: Category Best Producer
• 1 Live Krone
• 2000: in Category Best Producer
• Bravo Otto
• 2000: Gold in Category HipHop National
• 2002: Silber in Category HipHop National
• 2003: Silber in Category HipHop National
• Comet Award
• 2000: Category "Best Newcomer"
• Other awards
• 2003: Rap Music Award
• MC Mega Music Award