Have you seen “Meet The Parents”? I’m guessing you have. It does star Robert DeNiro and Ben Stiller, was a pretty big hit and gave the world “Gaylord Focker”. Can I ask you to think back to a latter part of the movie where Stiller’s character is returning to Chicago, shunned for making mistake after mistake in hopes of impressing his fiance’s father, an ex-CIA agent played by Robert DeNiro. A big part of the movie is that Stiller lost his luggage on his trip to his future in-law’s, and all hell breaks loose after that. So, on the return trip to the Windy City, Stiller refuses to check his oversized luggage, even after it’s proven to not fit in an overhead compartment or under the seat in front of him. The lovely flight attendant asks Stiller to check his bag and sit down, to which Stiller replies, “I just want to do what I want to do.” There’s almost a childlike frustration in Stiller’s voice, as his character is utterly exhausted, angry, and irritated. He has spent almost a week conforming to the demands of others only to complete failure, and now just wants to keep his bag and go home.
Many times I’ve thought of this famous scene, and Stiller’s quote. It entered my head last night while I was DJing, and has spurned a lot of thought for me this morning and afternoon. See, as much as I may fight it, I definitely have a lane and style to my DJing. As Naledge and Mic Terror have both told me, when they come to one of my gigs they expect to hear a certain style of music, played in a specific way. I guess the lazy and easy way to describe it is “real Hip Hop”, or “boom bap” etc… My biggest DJing influences are people like DJ Babu and the Beat Junkies, Rude 1, Z-Trip etc… It’s something that part of me wants to shake, as I try to grow and extend my reach. At our Dimes and Dozens parties I’m able to pretty much play whatever I want, and use it as a platform to showcase the music I love most, including that “real Hip Hop” but also dance, pop, and other genres that I dig. I feel like when people book me to play their weekly, or their show/party, they more or less want that, they want my style. Quite frankly, that’s really when I’m most comfortable, when I’m at my best, and when I really cut loose. I love the feeling of walking out of the DJ booth and having strangers telling me that they enjoyed my set, as well as close friends and people who come to a lot of sets tell me how much I continue to improve, or every DJ’s favorite phrase, “you snapped”.
To quote one of our Closed Session songs featuring Emilio Rojas, Scheme and Astonish, “I’m just having one helluva year”. Thanks in part to some luck, some good people reaching out, and lots and lots of hard work, I’ve been able to land really good gigs and grab the attention of new eyes and ears. One of those people is a really good and trusted friend of mine, who also has a lot of connections to various clubs. He hit me up earlier this week about DJing at a downtown club that, quite honestly, may not fit me on the surface. At least, it may not fit what people think when they think of me. It’s not a Hip Hop spot, not commercial, and definitely not underground. So, I saw this new Thursday as a chance to not only hit a new audience, but build a new night at this venue, and bring my own flavor. But, I must be honest, part of me had some doubt about DJing at this place. Would it be weird to the people that really like my work? Would I have to conform my style too much so that it wasn’t enjoyable? Would it change the RTC brand that I’ve worked hard to develop? Could this be a new start for me in the downtown club scene? All those thoughts went through my mind as I rode to the venue. When I walked in though, I was really excited to set up shop and kill it! I feel like I’m in a really good zone DJ-wise right now. I’m having fun, and feeling creative. I approach each gig with great energy and am ready to do my best and give people a unique listening experience. A lot of those feelings morphed when I got to the venue.
I like to really prepare for my sets. I like to pick my transition points and styles, and use scratching techniques in somewhat the same way an emcee uses the word “yo” before they start their rap. I like to bring records back, catch doubles, and all that. That is what makes me, me. I do all that with turntables. I love turntables, and really don’t f**k with CDJ’s, or any other platform. When I got to this club and walked up to the DJ booth I was told that they didn’t have any turntables, and were also missing the Serato control CDs, meaning I was going to have to DJ purely in internal mode. My first instinct was to skip the gig, and not DJ at all. I thought, ‘the people seeing me here, are going to see me DJ on internal mode, something I’m unfamiliar with, and makes it impossible to do any actual DJing. They are going to see me tonight, and think I just suck. They don’t care about my equipment, and won’t even know.’ Anyway, I was convinced to stay and hammered through the night playing songs directly off my computer. When I finished I felt detached, and disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to really do my thing, but also didn’t provide the audience the experience they deserved. I didn’t feel as bad though as when I make mistakes and have a bad gig with turntables.
It brings up my question, really I’d love some feedback… At what point does an artist stop “expanding”, and focus on their lane? Is there such a thing about going too far out of your comfort zone, or are comfort zones meant to be broken? I know DJ’s who have given up on DJing downtown clubs because they frankly don’t want to play that kind of music, or play in that environment. I know others who live to do it. I guess the idea of DJing at all the hottest clubs excites me, but there’s part of me that would prefer venues like Lava Lounge, and sticking to concerts and shows. I definitely want to expand my brand, but I want to keep it mine as well and this I guess is just part of the struggle and the balance. In the end I “just want to do what I want to do”. I just don’t know exactly what that is.
Tonight I am DJing, on turntables, at Lumen with DJ Izzo, DJ Jay Illa, and Pac Div. It will be dope. Come out… Other than that, Closed Sessions Vol. 1 drops in March… Keep an eye out. Until next time…
Stay Up,
RTC