Peanut Butter Wolf

DJ Peanut Butter Wolf
@ The B-Side Liquor Lounge, Cleveland, June 20
by Andrew Clayman
Published in The Scene (Cleveland), June 2007



For two decades, DJ Peanut Butter Wolf has been the Pied Piper of the hip-hop underground-- bridging the schools of old and new and establishing the scene’s most formidable label, Stones Throw Records.

In the process, PB Wolf (aka Chris Manak) has helped launch the careers of indie titans like Madlib, J Dilla, and MF Doom, while simultaneously releasing a string of solo efforts that have put him in the pantheon of modern mixmasters. It’s a pretty impressive resume for an unassuming white boy from San Jose, CA, especially considering some of the adversity he’s had to overcome.

In 1993, PB Wolf’s friend and collaborator, the outstanding MC Charizma, was gunned down, leaving Manak devastated and contemplating retirement. He eventually elected to soldier on, and 1994’s Peanut Butter Breaks solidified his reputation. Two years later, he founded Stones Throw, releasing a remixed Charizma track as the label’s first single.

Though he’s mostly behind the scenes these days, PB Wolf’s latest tour finds him embracing eclecticism like never before, including a seven night, seven club stint in L.A., during which he’s spinning everything from ‘60s funk to ’90s “ironic hipster covers.”