The Gaslamp Killer
The Gaslamp Killer, born William Benjamin Bensussen, is a Los Angeles-based DJ and producer who began DJing in San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter at age 17, earning his stage name from disruptive sets that occasionally provoked hostile crowd reactions. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2006, he helped found Low End Theory, the weekly beat-driven club night at the Airliner in Lincoln Heights that ran until 2018 and became a defining showcase for experimental hip-hop and electronic production. He has played festivals including Coachella, Austin Psych Fest, Decibel Festival and Voodoo Fest, and released a long run of mix tapes and DJ sets, among them Gaslamp Killers, It's a Rocky Road volumes one and two, I Spit on Your Grave, All Killer for Finders Keepers Records, and a 2024 90's Hip Hop mix. His work as a DJ and selector on the Brainfeeder label roster placed him alongside collaborators like Flying Lotus within the label's broader beat scene community. Bensussen's sets, drawing from psych rock, funk, hip-hop and global sounds, helped shape Low End Theory's eclectic identity across more than a decade of Wednesday night residencies at the Airliner.