acquainted with the talents of Malcolm (Lethal Weapon) Smith.

Lethal Weapon has been in the industry for almost 22 years, and he has no intention of slowing down.

"I basically love music... I was about 14 when I got into mixing music, and my brother was the one who started me off,'' he said.

"(Since then) I've played at Flavors, The Touch Club, Half and Half, and a late night workman's club.

"Coming up, I worked with Big Daddy Gates, who's been in the industry for 40 or 45 years.

"DJ Cobbs from Spinning Wheel was a real `mixologist' -- he taught me a lot about mixing. Back in the day, I would go to Spinning Wheel and sit off and listen to him just to get ideas.'' Lethal Weapon is one of the only full-time DJs on the Island (along with Bubbles Darrell), and he said in addition to working at clubs, he DJs at weddings almost every week.

"I've got 35 or 40 weddings to do between now and December. But it's best to work in a club and try to get two or three nights a week -- that will give you at least half your wage,'' he chuckled.

"I'm into every music there is, but technology has changed. I just got into CDs five or six years ago.

"But one thing -- I'd never sell my turntables because I have a home studio where I record from records to CDs.

"I've got about 18,000 records and almost $30,000 worth of CDs -- it's a whole library that goes from the ceiling to the whole length of the room.'' Lethal Weapon said using CDs instead of records is much easier since the equipment is lighter and you're not carrying around heavy turntables.

"Even when it comes to speakers, you don't need all the heavy stuff to get a good sound. 15 years ago you needed enough to knock a house down,'' he added.

Lethal Weapon said the music scene in Bermuda is very different now than it was 20 years ago.

"Most youth are stuck in one groove, either rap music or the reggae tip, but to be successful you have to be into every style of music,'' he noted.

`Lethal' still firing "20 years ago, Bermuda wasn't into that hardcore reggae thing -- it was culture music like Bob Marley and Dennis Brown. That's the real music and without that you wouldn't have the music you have today.

"A lot of this stuff is made today, gone tomorrow -- they make a quick million dollars and they're gone.

"Back in the day, people went out to party, meet women, and go home feeling relaxed and nice -- they weren't into fighting and all that,'' he said.

"R&B back then was it -- House music was dance music and people loved it. Now when you drop House, people just look at you.

"But practice makes perfect -- when I first started, I would knock off from work and mix for six hours a day. That's how guys start -- they keep doing it and get better and better.'' All systems go : Malcolm Smith, aka Lethal Weapon, has been DJing for more than 20 years.