DJ Lethal (USA)

Biography

Leor Dimant (born December 18, 1972 in Riga, Latvia), better known as DJ Lethal, is a turntablist and producer. He is best known as a member of the band Limp Bizkit, and formerly a member of the Irish-American-influenced hip hop group House of Pain. Currently, DJ Lethal is the main producer of hip-hop super group La Coka Nostra, which includes his former House of Pain mates Everlast and Danny Boy, among others. The group's debut album is expected to be released in 2007. Dimant (often being written «DiMant», although the correct form is «Dimant») was born in Riga, Latvia. His first contact with music was through his father, who, along with his friends, played guitar in a rock band. In 1979, at the age of seven, Dimant and his family moved to Italy, where they remained for a year until they obtained a visa. They were then allowed to go to either Toronto, Los Angeles, or New York City. His parents chose New York. There, his father performed in various Russian clubs and restaurants mostly in Brighton Beach. Dimant and his parents lived in Jersey City for a time, but moved to Los Angeles in 1987 when his father got a job at a new Russian restaurant there. His first introduction to hip-hop was in Jersey City, when his school held a talent show with several students performing a rap song, and Dimant was amazed. Once he moved to Los Angeles, he quickly became interested in hip hop culture, including break dancing and graffiti. Before learning to DJ, he actually started off as a beat boxer. He later practiced DJing using his friend's turntables and mixer.

Limp Bizkit

On House of Pain's final tour, Limp Bizkit, an up-and-coming band from Jacksonville, Florida was hired as a supporting act. DJ Lethal and the band became friends, and later, Limp Bizkit hired him to do some work on their recordings, eventually asking him if he wanted to join them. DJ Lethal accepted the offer, and the band became one of the most popular rap/rock groups during the late 90s and early 2000s, selling over 33 million records worldwide.DJ Lethal wanted his contributions to the band recordings to be more original than typical DJs in bands at the time. "There are a couple of other rock bands that have DJs and they’re just like, [mimics a chirp scratch] “Hey, what’s going on? Let me spin around a couple of times and show off that I can spin two records.” So I definitely knew I didn’t want to be just another DJ in a rock band. I wanted to be another instrument—a part of the band, like another guitar player." On Limp Bizkit albums, he is credited for doing "sound development". Besides the work with his groups, DJ Lethal is producing records in his Hollywood based studio, working for artists such as Scott Harris, and is also preparing his long delayed solo album.