The Malaysian hip-hop community and music industry in general were dealt a heavy blow today with the announcement that Joe Siva, a pioneering hip-hop DJ and record label heavyweight, had passed away at the age of 62 from cancer.
The Star 2‘s Daryl Goh writes that Siva began his career in music way back in 1976, when he started as a disc jockey, playing disco music in clubs around KL before moving on to the recording industry in the late 1980s.
In 1989, Siva began work with seminal hip-hop/New Jack Swing group Krash Kozz, of which current Astro Radio CEO Jake Abdullah was a member.
As the Artist & Repertoire (A&R) officer of Valentine Sound Productions (VSP), Siva was responsible for the popularity of hip-hop/house remix albums in the early 1990s, with notable mixtapes under his belt that include 1990’s Pump It! and Rap It! (1991).
He also paved the way for many independent rock bands from the local scene to get their first taste of mainstream label backing, when he signed such landmark acts as Carburetor Dung, Cromok, Sil Khannaz, Suffercation, and Slumscums to the VSP roster.
Siva was also responsible for Malaysia’s exposure to the DMC World DJ Championships in 1994, when he brought the global DJing competition to local shores – and budding local DJs – as DMC Malaysia’s director.
Joe Siva’s contributions to Malaysian hip-hop and local music in general have yet to be fully recognised, and we hope that his trailblazing efforts will grow in appreciation by the country’s musicians and fans, not diminish.
Rest in peace, Joe.
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