And the Beastie Boys' Mix Master Mike fit the bill: 'I always loved what he was about,' Barker tells MTV News.
By Alvin Blanco, with reporting by Sway Calloway
Travis Barker
Photo: Larry Marano/ Getty Images
Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj and Rick Ross may be getting the lion's share of the publicity on the I Am Still Music Tour, but venue after venue, Travis Barker has been rocking the stages too. Hip-hop's favorite drummer just released his long-awaited solo debut, Give the Drummer Some, last month, and he's brought a friend along on tour to help keep his album cuts fresh.
The Blink-182 drummer enlisted the Beastie Boys' DJ, Mix Master Mike, for his set. For Barker, his choice in DJ was all about finding a worthy successor to his friend and collaborator, Adam "DJ AM" Goldstein, who died of a drug overdose in 2009.
"After playing with AM so long and after he left, it was like I had to find the best DJ in the world," Barker told MTV News. "And one that I grew up on that I loved that I had something in common with. And I grew up on the Beasties. I always loved Mike's DJing. I always loved what he was about and everything, so it was a good matchup, man."
Barker's new album is a mix of rock and hip-hop, featuring contributions from acts like Lupe Fiasco, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes and Cypress Hill. "Can a Drummer Get Some?" — featuring tourmates Wayne and Ross along with Swizz Beatz and the Game — is the lead single, and Barker is deciding what the next release will be.
"It's probably going to be 'Knockin,' " Barker said. "Right now, 'Saturday Night' off the album is living on rock stations, which is kind of cool. And 'Can a Drummer Get Some?' is living on the hip-hop stations. There's a new remix coming. Wayne actually has a new verse on 'Can a Drummer Get Some?,' and there's an additional Swizz verse and a remix video that's going to drop that's just bananas, stupid."
What do you think of Barker's solo album? Share your reviews in the comments!
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