Raydar Ellis

Raydar Ellis is a “Jack of all trades, master of many” in a musical landscape that embraces diversity. Whether he is producing, spinning party-goers into a frenzy, influencing students, or contributing as a co-founder to Revive Music Group, Ellis has made tremendous strides to cement his place as a major player on several fronts in the music scene.
Ellis has spent much of his career thus far as a sideman in the NYC jazz community, setting up turntables alongside upright basses & horn sections, and triggering samples and loops as a member of many live outfits. As a core member of the Revive Big Band, Raydar’s commitment to the principle instruments of Hip Hop (Turntables & Samplers) has helped shift the perception of what was possible with the devices & cemented credibility with institutions who otherwise wouldn’t know or care. Some of these musical excursions have found their way to prestigious venues like The Kennedy Center, The Apollo, & The MoMA.
As an Assistant Professor, Raydar remains fully dedicated to the students he teaches at Berklee College of Music, teaching classes rooted in Hip Hop like songwriting, beat making, and the first ever J Dilla Ensemble, a curriculum he created. Raydar has also been invited to The Grammy Museum & MIT as a guest lecturer, The New School as adjunct professor, and to Harvard to write the essay on Production for their Hip Hop Archives series. <br>