Bunchland

This summer, MC Abdominal wrote this 4-year-old-son-of- a-DJ his own rap. As the kid of  Bunch’s own DJ Fase, Pharaoh Nation Wendt  has logged a considerable amount of time in his dad’s home based studio, accompanying his dad to gigs and generally just hanging around music making. On Friday nights, while his mom, Jerako, is helping out at church, Pharaoh and Fase are on-air at CIUT for Fase’s radio show.  Summer at the cottage is about fishing, swimming and composing beats with Fase’s crew of deejays and MCs.  As a result, pretend play for Pharaoh involves jimmying his own DJ rig together out of toys or getting on the mic at CIUT  and playing at being a radio host.

BUNCH: We came over to your place to shoot a promotional video when Pharaoh was two. He was changing records on your decks and pretending to scratch. We asked if you if you thought he would grow up to become a DJ and you said you thought he would and that you would give your massive record collection to him. But last year  Pharaoh was going through a phase where he complained a lot about your music. Where’s he at now? Thumbs up to deejaying or thumbs down?

FASE: Thumbs up. He likes to be in the studio by himself and pretend to DJ. I’ll go in and he’ll be like “Daddy, you leave now”.  He doesn’t always want me there seeing what he does. Then he’ll go find a thing that looks like a laptop and a toy that looks like a mixer and make his own rig out of it on the kitchen table and play deejay.

BUNCH: Has he picked up any new skillz?

FASE: He remembers everything. He can spot any Michael Jackson song and always wants to see Michael Jackson videos. It’s funny what’s regular vocabulary for him.  He’ll hear something and he’ll be like “Hmmm. You and Tweeze made that beat, I like that beat!.”

BUNCH: We understand that you and Pharaoh have a Friday night ritual. Tell us about it.

FASE: He comes with me to the radio show on Friday nights (STYLISTIK ENDEVOURS on CIUT 89.5 from 8-10) He loves it. I’ll pick him up and he’ll say “Where are we going?” and when I tell him he says “Yay! Radio Show!” I started bringing him 2 years ago or so when Jerako started doing church things Friday night.  It was easier for me to bring him with ’cause he could play or watch tv and I wanted him to be around. The show is me, Theology3 and two other DJs.  [Pharaoh] likes to talk to everyone and tell people about soccer and they think he’s funny. He also likes the hustle and bustle of the changeover when the guys from the Island Force Caribbean show are leaving and sometimes that host brings his kid, too. I like that he gets it. He knows to whisper when you don’t hear the music coming through the speakers because that means we’re on the air. I just wanted it to be second nature to him eventualy at some point He brings toys and hangs out in another room and sometimes comes in. He’s gotten on the mic the odd time and been live and he likes to go into the vocal booth and pretend and he knows if the lights on the mics on but he’ll pretend which he often does with DJ stuff .

BUNCH: You mentioned that you were up at the cottage with Pharaoh and a bunch of MCs and DJs working on some recordings. Did Abs or any of the other MCs help out with childcare while you were up there? And is Pharaoh tight with any of the artists you hang out with?

FASE: Yeah they helped out a little bit and they like to play soccer with him. All of my friends like kids and don’t have kids. Pharaoh is close with Andy (Abs) and for a while he was calling Theo3 “Uncle Theo” but Jerako didn’t like it. She was like “He’s not his uncle”!

BUNCH: Does Pharaoh get to take part in the music making?

FASE: Yeah we were all playing around at the cottage, making beats and recording a song for fun called “Cottage Life.” Andy (MC Abdominal) wrote a rap for Pharaoh and was teaching it to him. We might record it.

PHARAOH’S RAP

My name is Pharaoh in the place to be,

I’m four years old, that’s 1 + 3.

Good as me? Yeah right you wish,

I’m the best on the mic, plus I know how to fish.

Ask nice and I’ll give you some tips

but first you need to give me some chips!

I like the cottage, ‘cuz it is fun,

I’m MC Pharaoh and my rap is done!!!