Shepard Fairey assumes his DJ alter-ego for KCRW

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When he’s not designing posters or squaring off in court, Shepard Fairey can often be seen DJ’ing at local clubs, parties and festivals. (He sometimes uses the stage names DJ Diabetic and Emcee Insulin.) Now the artist has taken his weekend job to the airwaves as part of KCRW’s guest DJ series on ‘Morning Becomes Eclectic.’

During the show, Fairey discusses at considerable length his famous Obama ‘Hope’ poster and his recent legal battles in Massachusetts. Appropriately, the artist chooses the Equal’s “Police on My Back” to kick off his set.

‘I’ve said frequently that I became addicted to DJing because it has the same rewarding problem-solving aspects as design,’ Fairey says.

‘And, in fact, it’s even more fun because you’re listening to great stuff as you’re figuring out how to put it together in a way that works, that’s both sharing something that people may know, but also combining it in a new way that they’re not expecting, so it’s that double-up punch that’s gonna really make it something fun to listen to.’

Among the other singers and groups that Fairey chooses for the show are Henry Rollins, the Sex Pistols and Led Zeppelin.

You can listen to the entire show using the player above.

-- David Ng