Introduce yourself
What’s up everyone, my name is Ruben Quintanilla also known as Boi Jeanius. I was born in Elgin, raised in Carpentersville, but Chicago raised me. I’m 28 years old and have been DJing now for half of my life.
When did you first start getting involved with djing?
I was 12 years old. I remember being on Spring break with my brother even though he was older than me. My brother has always been the cool person in the room, the one with the cool clothes, and I recognized his want to be apart of the culture. I was always curious about what he was into. But, he kept me away because of the vulgar language. One day, I was watching MTV Jams and saw DJ Skribble. He came on right before the commercial break. I asked my brother what he was doing and my brother told me he was DJing. I was like what is DJing? I kept watching and saw he was playing other peoples music, hosting, and he was very cohesive. That was my first glimpse at DJing and I was blown away. After seeing that, I told my Mom I wanted to try DJing. One day after baseball practice my Mom picked me up. As soon as we got home, she told me to go to the trunk to grab the groceries, and in the trunk was two Technics turntables and a 19’ radio shack mixer. As I look back, I always wanted to be apart of anything that makes people move. That was always my curiosity. Music is a never-ending story. Music moves people. You find the right songs to move people and put them together a certain way, it moves people consistent. I realized I could put three songs together and have so many people dance.
What was your first big wow moment when you realized you could do this as a career?
August 24th, 2007, fresh outta high school, I was on KissFM. I was on the brand new mix show and I kinda thought how it was weird how all of this was handed to me. I had submitted three demos and they fucked with them. I made another mix for them and they really enjoyed it. They said I got really good with their standards and requests. I remember I was 18, driving home from Chicago and was told my mix was going to air at 10pm. It was so special to me because, at that time, my Dad and I were in the truck together. I turned the radio on at 10pm and heard them say, “we have our newest beatfreak Boi Jeanius…” My dad looked at me and said, “so this is what you been doing huh”? It just blew me away. I was actually on the radio.
Why do you think the DJ intro killed the DJ game?
There are so many things I can say, but to break it down, it’s the training wheels on music that need to be removed. If you cannot ride this bike without training wheels, then you shouldn’t ride this bike.
Looking back over the years, how crazy is it to think that Timbuck2uesdays entered into its 10th year. What’s it been like being apart of this over the years and are you ready for year 10?
Tim taught me everything about his party. And because of everything Tim has done for me, this party embodies me. Every Tuesday I wrap my world around it. I wrap everyone else’s world around it too. I understand that the city hasn’t been the same without Tim. I can’t imagine if Timbuck2uesdays left Chicago or if we ever stopped. The city would never be the same and I know that. This party turned into a drug for me. I had to make sure I did it the best every week and then I realized nobody around me was that competitive in the DJ circle. For the first year post Tims death, I Djed every week with Happy. Happy would open me and I would close out the rest of the night.
Now moving forward in the 10th year, my plan is to be as organized as possible. Last year was all about planning. I figured out the structure I want to do, the DJ’s I want to book, and then how to be receptive to newer DJ’s. I’m opening it up to a lot more younger DJ’s who gotta give the party a life. As much as I want to be the end all be all, I have to remember it’s not my shit. The party has to survive. The minute it gets wack though, I have to pull the plug. I have these next 50 weeks already planned and I’m very excited for it. This is a text I can send to Tim and say, here man, already done. Obviously, I’ll get no response, but it’s like here’s your work, it’s already laid out. You don’t have to worry about this anymore. I’ll come in once a month…flex…close the entire party down, but the rest of the weeks the homies are helping me out.
How important was it to mix that 5-minute vinyl routine into your set at redbull3style?
I made a decision to do it based off of what I haven’t seen in the game. I had to do it. I was bored with DJing. I was bored with myself. I felt like I couldn’t offer anything more to the digital platform. That’s no longer my strength. I’ve always been a better vinyl DJ. I needed to show everyone to the core what DJing looks like today…still. I knew walking in, I was already on the guillotine. I was already laid out and I put myself there. I knew the needle was going to jump. I told myself it will skip, it’s going to happen. But it didn’t matter because I wanted to play that game in front of the whole country. I didn’t give a fuck. That’s the legit truth. I wanted to do something that was FUN FOR ME. That 5-minute routine will never get old to me. It’s still very difficult to achieve and still very difficult to perform. Every transition I had to gather my breath. I like that. And my favorite part about that is that it fucked up on me. I liked that. I was not defeated, I was actually pure. I was dragged through the mud while this needle was skipping and all I could think about was how I talked all of this shit and couldn’t get out of it. Then I remembered, fuck what they’re doing, I know how to DJ still. And I DJed. DJing is what got me out of the mud. What’s crazy is that everyone kept coming up to me and telling me they couldn’t believe I pulled that all vinyl and the way I recovered was even crazier. For my personal existence in the game, I needed to do something that I knew was going to last forever. And I hope that I’ve encouraged the DJ game to get out of their laptops, get out of their ways, and just DJ.
Quick fives
Favorite show you’ve Djed?
The one I can highlight most recently was headlining with Dj Craze at The Mid.
Favorite song to sample?
Hot Music – Soho.
Favorite Chicago venue?
Beauty Bar and Untitled.
Favorite DJ?
Timbuck2.
Favorite memory with Timbuck2?
I brought a controller to Tim’s house while he was sick and the Bulls were in the playoffs against Lebron. The Bulls were going to lose the series…but D.Rose banked that 3pointer…and Tim and I lost it! That’s literally my favorite moment with Tim. It has nothing to do with DJing. We were just sitting at home, kickin it, and watching the bulls.
When it’s all said and done how would you like to be remembered?
That’s something I actually think about all the time. When I go, I want people to know that I tried to be the best at what I do. Not what anyone else does. The best at what I do is what I have to offer and that’s my personality, my charm, and the knowledge that I’ve accumulated. DJING used to mean the world to me. Now I’ve realized I’m more than that. We all are more than we think we are. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my time exploring the new rooms I’m gonna create in my head. I want everyone to know that I love being and anything pure. If you’re real about it, you’re real with me.
Chicago Creatives 