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Gregory “DJ Abilities” Keltgen always had ambitions of being an artist, but Hip-Hop was the first art form he truly identified with. Gravitating toward the turntables at the age of 17, he soon found himself deeply embedded in the scene. After only two years of intense practice, he went on to compete in the legendary DMC DJ battles, winning regionals and advancing to the U.S. finals in 1999, and again in 2001. Soon after, Abilities was garnering attention for performing all the scratches on El-P’s classic debut, Fantastic Damage, as well as lending his scratching and production talents to other cult favorites like The Anti-Album by Semi.Official and The Taste of Rain… by Deep Puddle Dynamics. But above all, his name would become most celebrated throughout the 2000’s as one-half of the dynamic duo Eyedea & Abilities.
DJ Abilities had first met Micheal “Eyedea” Larsen in the mid-’90s, and the two began a working relationship that would eventually play a prominent role in the burgeoning Indie-Rap movement of the time. Together, they developed a near symbiotic creative union that produced three albums — First Born; E&A; and By The Throat — a catalog animated by the burning fusion of Eyedea’s introspective and technically adept raps with Abilities’ precise scratches and versatile beats. Tragically, Eyedea passed away in 2010 leaving Abilities to soldier on by himself, but the influence of their partnership continues to shape DJ Abilities’ music to this day.
