DJ Zebo is a seemingly omnipresent figure behind the decks of Chicago’s hipster haunts, dance clubs, dive bars and, well…just about anywhere, to be honest. Given the ever-fractured state of the Windy City’s nightlife denizens, it’s a testament to this up-n-coming DJ/producer/remixer extraordinaire that he can keep both the honeys sippin’ Cristal and the beard-scratching trainspotters slamming PBR simultaneously in motion. Zebo achieves this near-impossible feat by packing a cut-up crateful of styles, from hip-hop and B-more to French electro-disco and even a nasty snippet of a techno track or throwback freestyle gem. Yet for all his vaunted versatility, no matter what direction his sets head, Zebo’s initial love of jungle seems to subconsciously permeate his music at peak hour, with bombastic basslines rolling on and on underneath familiar hooks and clever samples. Pitched-up, pitched-down, scratched-up and around, Zebo’s a populist at heart, finding the redeeming values in both subterranean cool and overt pop—it’s a delicate tightrope to walk, but this DJ has the balance to pull it off. Off the dance floor, be on the lookout for Zebo’s production work on his own sEs and Hot Dog labels (the latter cofounded with fellow Chicago DJ/producer Marco Morales), and his remixes of rising rap star Mic Terror and electro-rockers Hey Champ.