Kon & Amir

Kon & Amir are a hip-hop DJ and digging duo made up of Christian “Kon” Taylor and Amir Abdullah. They form in 1997 and build a reputation around record digging, mixtapes, and carefully compiled releases centred on rare funk, soul, disco, jazz, and hip-hop material.

Background and approach

The pair meet at Boston’s Biscuithead Records in 1996 while searching for breaks, and soon record their first On Track mixtape on a Fisher Price tape deck. Their work grows out of a shared interest in tracing the sources used in hip-hop and in recovering overlooked records. Amir develops that interest through listening to his family’s jazz, gospel and disco collection before becoming absorbed in hip-hop and recognising samples in early Run-DMC and The Treacherous Three tracks. Kon comes to DJing through an early enthusiasm for adult music, record shopping with his mother, and seeing Wildstyle; at 13 he begins using a Radio Shack Realistic mixer with two turntables to mix records.

Releases

Kon & Amir release eight albums in total. Their output includes six On Track instalments, The Cleaning, and The Kings of Diggin’, which they make with DJ Muro from Japan. They later sign a five-record deal with BBE/Rapster for the Off Track series. Unlike the shorter sample-and-break excerpts heard on On Track, the Off Track double-disc releases present full versions of rare tracks. On one disc, Kon focuses on dance music including modern soul, boogie and disco; Amir selects rare private-press jazz from the 1970s on the other.

Digging and reputation

The duo spend many years searching record bins across the United States and Europe, and some of the material they use is found while touring as DJs in Europe. Their reputation leads local collectors to bring them records as thanks, and other record diggers to take them to specialist shops. They are known for mixing classics with rarities in party settings, and for the breadth of their record knowledge.

Collaborators and recognition

Kon & Amir attract respect from a range of artists and labels, including Shady Records, Diamond D, Dr. Dre, Capitol Records, Pete Rock and Lord Finesse. Lord Finesse describes them as outstanding but under-recognised beat diggers, while A-Trak calls their compilations and mixtapes classics that reflect a DJ style rooted in hip-hop tradition.