The foundation of what is now known as Elite Productions can be attributed to a couple of friends who took the adolescent infatuation of music, never letting it go, and aligned themselves with those with this same credo: It first started with two friends, Michael Balint and Anthony “Chip” Fernandez. First meeting in the sixth grade, 1991 to be exact, their friendship was forged with common interests such as skateboarding and music. Listening to Hip-Hop, House or whatever reigned over the airwaves in the early nineties, both young men made it a must to attain these songs. And as true fanaticism is, knowledge of the craft came to surface. Mike and “Chip,” as many called Anthony, had an ear to what people liked to hear. With this talent for song selection and the drive to grab whatever they could get their hands on, many soon after requested their services the designated dj’s of the junior high circuit….this is where the hustle began.

Today young bucks couldn’t fathom the idea of not having cd burners or mp3′s, but making some side cash, the duo would go through the slow process of “pause tapes,” just to have a good mix of songs from party to party. By late ’91, Mike got his first set of Numark turntables with a Gemini PMX-2000 mixer, and through their good fortune, they would borrow vinyl records from older family members. Chip’s older brother was in the biggest dj crew at the time, Unlimited Sounds. As the Asian scene was starting to rise in New York. Mike’s cousin was in another big DJ crew called Alliance. By this time Mike came up with the name “M-Possible,” which represented his skies the limit approach to the craft. Years later it would be shortened to M-POS, but those who know the deal, needed not an explanation: “We would practice hours on end trying to mix the same records over and over since we only had a few. We didn’t learn how to DJ from watching videos or later on from the internet. We learned by taping Funkmaster Flex, Red Alert, Kid Capri, DJ Ace, Ron G, Peter Parker and Stormin’Norman, and other guys like Glenn Friscia and Tony Humphries. We would recorded their mix shows off the radio and play them over and over to try and figure out how they did what they did.” – DJ MPOS

You can say their first real gig was when they dj’ed their middle school dance while in the 8th grade with a borrowed sound system that was lent to them by one of their friends fathers. Coincidentally he was also a dj.This set the trend of many more nights like to come and by similar to the turntables rotation, the wheels were in motion. Where previously as M-Pos’ suggested they, “wouldn’t go to parties to dance or meet girls; we would sit their and watch the dj(s) all night,” this discipline developed their skill sooner than others, slowly gaining recognition, while still finding a name to call their own. Soon after in high school, M-Pos was able to acquire his first set of Technic 1200′s. This is when they started really honing the fundamental dj skills of mixing and blending. M-Pos’s skill caught the attention of an upper classmen at Piscataway High School named T.J. White. M-Pos and T.J. started rolling as a crew going under the name Imperial Productions. As one of the premier dj’s in area during the early nineties, White took both Mpos and Chip under his wing.

As maestro, first hand tutelege of turntalist skills and tricks enticed the wet behind the ears duo, while building a common bond of music with the veteran of the high school halls. They also made numerous mixed tapes during this time as Chip early experimented with another element, emceeing, although short lived. During the same time Mpos was also dj’ing other gigs on the side with Chip. In addition, Rae Aleman who also was deeply into the art of dj’ing, was on the come up aspiring to their same goals, eventually doing more parties together. Unfortunately, Imperial Productions was short lived because the following year T.J. left for Atlanta to attend Morehouse College. Because of the exposure Mike got from dj’ing with Imperial, he continued where T.J. left off, still being asked to do a lot of parties. Since Mike had no one to help him, support from his best friends including Chip, Chip’s cousin Oneal, Rae, and their friend Osmund (Oz-Boogie), came in to continue an issuing dynasty which evolved into something much bigger. At an early age, Chip possesed a exceptional quality of social interaction. From this people person persona, “Mr Popularity”as he was jokingly named expanded their infamy through word of mouth. He knew people from all over the borders of the Garden State and as a result, requests poured in to handle more and more parties. They still didn’t have a name for their crew, however. One day in 1994 while hanging out in Chip’s garage, they brainstormed a title to last them until this day: Elite Productions. The overall consensus was that wanted to be the best of the best. It seemed only right that a title such as this embodied their “top rung” drive. Once the dust settled on their newly branded crew, the 5 original members of Elite Productions- Mike, Chip, Oneal, Rae, and Oz, set off to live up this this name.

Elite soon became very well known in their surrounding area, but what made them known to a broader audience was when Mike, at the age of 16, started dj’ing parties in NYC for Unlimited Sounds. By the time they graduated from High School, Elite was one of most known and respected crews in NJ. Also by then, they had enough equipment to dj multiple parties and a time.They needed another dj so they kept their eyes open for fresh young talent. Such one case was when Chip attended an atypical basement party of its heyday. This one night in particular, there was a dj that caught his attention. This dj was Jay Jung. So after coincidentally seeing him at gigs, the demand for Jay was nothing short of impressive. Through the foresight of predicting great potential in the dj, they scooped him up. Now with another good DJ rolling with them they started taking on more and more gigs. Eventually looking for another DJ, the attempt now was to try to put together the best DJ line up around.

Things seemed to fall into place as another member was discovered on the strength of a house party. This dj was Mike Capio also known as Mike Intellect, or Intel for short. Like Jay Jung, it was evident that his skills were superb and immediately he was asked to join, even in the event that Mike was on a hiatus from dj’ing. Through this newly formed bond, Mike Intellect rekindled his interest and also coincidentally reached his prime in his early days with Elite. He emerged onto the competition scene, battling along side heavy names including Esquire, IEmerge, Mysterio, and Fraze. 1998 and 1999 were big years for Intellect and Elite, setting off what are now old school NJ venues like Club Malibu and Velocity. Intellect also did several guest spots in the city, and released his last mixtape that was available on cassette. Once Mike Intellect and Jay Jung emerged and started reppin hard, Chip began emerging as well away from the public relations and promotions aspect side and decided to step up and dj alot more. People became puzzled as to why he came back to spin, when it was a momentary thing or a once in a blue event. But once chip decided to be 100% with the djing, the crew was more solid than ever. And so it began: random Dj battles to the DMCs, 2 classic mix cds in the course of 1 year, holding down a 2 years plus residency, and doing radio with djayjung and j encite, he came out from behind the scenes to make the roster a threat to many crews. By this time, Chip’s sister had given birth to a baby boy, making him an uncle. With his sheer pride and the repetitive new moniker, he decided to make it his dj name- Unkle Chippy. Coincidentally, this was the time that a friend of their’s Francis, a dj as well came into the picture. Now an element of Elite that was not as present was the reggae dj. Although all members played it during their sets, there was no absolute authority on the genre. It seemed to be perfect timing as they were expanding their resedencies, Francis,Frankie 5 or F5 took another position of the Elite Productions team in 2001.

Throughout the years, Elite grew bigger and better. J.Encite, an affiliate of Elite since he was a young buck, was the representative emcee alongside his brother Junan. In the earlier days, Mpos was their dj and would spit at various parties for the hell of it. He later linked up with the boys of Elite and after immediate catching up, he took on Jay Jung and Chip on his radio show, titled Guerrilla::Words Radio. Although the two were regulars, everyone from the Elite was invited to spin adding another element to this history. The expansion team had begun. Linking up with dj Force, Chip and Jung formed the turntalbist crew known as Audio Assault. A separate entity from Elite, the main goal was solely battle routine and sets. With this formation more exposure was added to the family. As a result this exposure led to linking up with another dj who went by the name Naz.

Naz has been around for longer than Elite has been around. Everyone in the crew can say they where blown away by his style and versatility. Down with other crews such as Secret Society and spinning for El the Sensei, Naz seemed to symbolize an evolving era of Elite.

Today members have strectched all over the United States, with representatives in California, Virginia, New York and obviously its founding state in New Jersey. Many affiliates as well have shown support for the thirteen year old band of turntablists which continue its legacy today. If Elite by definition means, “The best or most skilled members of a group,” then it is a must that they live up to these demands placed upon themselves. Who knows what the future holds in the next decade of a crew of humble beginnings. What matters is the love of the music, the bond that brought them together in the first place.

-J.Encite