DJ Escape

As a boy, Escape grew up listening to the music of the rising Hip Hop scene in Queens, New York. "I began spinning at 13 with D.J. Skribble," says Escape. "Sticking with what I knew, I played mostly Hip Hop and Reggae." But at 18, a night out at New York's Palladium changed everything.

It was the mid-nineties and Palladium, with Junior Vasquez in the booth, was New York City's hottest dance club. Jeff was immediately transfixed by Junior's pulsing underground house sound and awed by the crowd's reaction to it. The crowd seemed to be more than fans of the music, many were loyalists, especially as the night wore on and the mere "partying visitors" were weeded out, leaving an after-hours crowd consisting mostly of gay men that were truly committed to the music.