This Friday the illustrious DJ Spooky and hip-hop funkies The Coup are coming to the ’Sco. The career of Paul D. Miller, also known under his “constructed persona” DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid, ranges from the music word to the written word.

As far as music, Miller was one of the first New york City’s DJs to blend diverse elements of space rock, hip-hop, ambient, jungle, experimental and dub, and stands as one of the forerunners in electronic music’s emancipation of the mainstream. Miller spread his contemporary grooves through Lower East Side underground parties and similar events.

The often gritty sound of Miller’s sound collage hip-hop brings in elements from the city — cars, police sirens, street sounds — and the overall effect is an ambient metal, animal and mineral exploration.

Miller has collaborated with many big names, including Kool Keith, a.k.a. Doctor Octagon, Killa Priest from Wu Tang Clan, Yoko Ono and Thurston Moore from Sonic Youth. His most recent album, Under the Influence, the first installment of a series showcasing the inspirations of big mixmasters, is a collection of tracks featuring Moby, Future Sound of London, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Amon Tobin, Sonic Youth and others.

Beyond the music scene, Miller has had many articles published in publications, such as The Village Voice, The Source, Rap Pages and Slate.com. Miller has also served as the first editor-at-large of Artbyte: The Magazine of Digital Art and is presently co-publisher with poet Steve Canon of the magazine A Gathering of the Tribes. Miller’s writing career doesn’t stop there. He is also working on an upcoming science fiction novel, Flow My Blood the DJ Said that featuring his “constructed persona” DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid.

Miller also resides as professor of music-mediated art at the European Graduate School (filmmaker David Lynch is another famous faculty member). EGS is an experimental institution based out of New York City, Saas-Fee, Switzerland and Hamburg, Germany, an experimental cross-disciplinary environment focused on issues of contemporary culture beyond those dealt with in traditional academic envoronment. Miller dubs it an early 21st century Black Mountain College, an experimental institution from 1933-1956 attended by such notable artists as poet Robert Creeley.

Let’s not forget the grooving political hip-hopsters The Coup, coming straight from Oakland to Ohio. Boots Riley and DJ Pam the Funkstress are the members. Putting social agendas to party music is their game. DJ Pam has been inspiration to many women, as one of the forerunning popular lady DJs, and combined with Riley’s mastery of producing, arranging and songwriting, the duo have been blending everything from electrofunk to Motown for over 10 years.
If that isn’t enough hype to get you to the ’Sco for this Friday’s 8 p.m. show, ain’t no amount of hip gonna save ya. $7 bones with OCID, $10 without.