DJ King Britt talks his odd tour rider request: books

The tour rider is a window into old-school rock star success. It's a list of stipulations in which musicians can make extravagant demands to promoters at tour venues. Madonna's leaked tour rider asked for 20 international phone lines. Mötley Crüe demanded a list of local AA meetings, a submachine gun, a 12-foot boa constrictor, and Grey Poupon. Van Halen notoriously asked for M&Ms but no brown ones.

What about world-renowned, Philadelphia-born-and-based DJ King Britt? He asks promoters to give him a paperback book he might like.

Though he tours all the time, Britt is always in the studio. Three months ago, he started a subscription service for his music. For $7 a month, fans get a full album worth of material. "I did it just to put out exclusive things you can't get on Spotify or on those streaming services. I wanted to offer something special," he said. "It helps cover overhead in the studio, but it also focuses me to create these projects monthly and I don't get sidetracked."

In coming months, his subscribers will receive a live album - recorded at a stop where Britt invariably requested a book.

The request is so adorable, we had to ask him about it.

Q: So how did this start?

A: About two years ago, we were all talking what was on our riders. Mine is kind of boring because I don't drink. I used to have Johnnie Walker Blue, just for my guests. But it was such a waste. I'd rather have something that I want. I thought it would be cool to see what the promoters think of my personality, to buy a book they think I would like. So, I just started getting these great books. I haven't even gotten to most of them. They're just piled up, ready to be read. Now everyone is trying to copy me!

So, were you always a nerd?

[Laughs] Oh yeah, I was always a geek. I was always around books. The only books I buy are autobiographies of musicians, books about futurism and electronic instruments. I get a lot of cookbooks. I get vegan cookbooks.

Are you vegan?

No, but there's no gluttony on my rider, there's just water, dry fruit, healthy things. I try to eat healthy on tour. Then when I get back into town, I'm like, "Yo, I want ribs!"

C'mon, you can get whatever you want! You need a little excess.

A few years ago, I played at the World Finance Center. We were watching some documentary about Zeppelin and thought, "Let's put a gong on the rider," as a joke. We show up and there is a massive one. We had to use it. We opened the show with it and closed it.

What are your exact specifications for books?

I'm traveling, so paperbacks are easier to carry. It's really a reflection of what [promoters] think of me. Most . . . are books about musicians or poetry or black power books. When I was in Kansas, this straight-edge white dude is the promoter. He took a course on black literature at the university. He asked me if I was hip to Amiri Baraka. . . . He said in our troubled times works like these are important. I'm in Kansas . . . but I didn't expect that. You never judge a book by its cover. I've been all around the world, I've never been to Kansas. These cats were really open. Those are two of the best books I've ever gotten.

Why do you think books are such a reflection of who you are?

It's the same with records. Back in the day, we used to make mix tapes for girls. It reflects your taste and your personality and what you're thinking about. But I also love books on art, I love photography books. The more obscure, the better. I just got this book today, it wasn't given to me, it was suggested to me by my friend who studied Sufism, it's about Sufism and music, the teachings of Hazrat Khan. In my work, you're on a lot of airplanes. I just came back from Indonesia. It's a 36-hour flight. I have plenty of time to read. My lady just got me the new Kim Gordon memoir [Girl in a Band]. It's awesome. It's heated. Now I'm on to [Black Quantum Futurism Theory & Practice Vol. I] by Rasheedah Phillips. She runs a blog called the AfroFuturist Affair. She has a few books out, but this is about time travel and physics but through an Afro-futurist lens. This one is geeky, a lot of math. It's my favorite book at the moment.

This is going to be funny because my daughter, she goes to Swarthmore, top of her class, scholarships, works at the Art Museum. You talk about books? She's a collector. She's all about the first edition. She suggested all these books, but I haven't read them yet. She makes fun of me more than anything else.

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