DJ Culture

Styles Davis and DJ Jazzy Jeff at Red Bull Music 3Style IX World Finals (Credit: Julian Melanson)

During the Red Bull Music 3Style IX World Finals in Taiwan, DJ Jazzy Jeff sat down with DJcity’s Styles Davis for an in-depth Q&A about DJing. The legendary party rocker discussed a variety of topics, sharing his wisdom throughout the talk.

What 3Style means to him:

“This became my most inspirational week of the year … You don’t ever get chance to spend a week with your peers that you can kinda talk a complete circle about what you do. And you start to realize that after that week was over, you were more excited to play, you had more weapons in your arsenal …”

How the scene has shifted from EDM to hip-hop:

“It’s natural. … If you are fortunate to be around long enough, you realize that everything is in cycles. … Anybody that was around in the ’80s can easily identify that EDM is nothing but [Afrika Bambaataa‘s] “Planet Rock” with a little twist on it. … the Joey Bada$$‘s, the J. Coles, and the Kendrick Lamars, that’s just the rebirth of ’90s hip-hop with a twist on it. …”

If technology is making DJs less important:

“I am never afraid of technology replacing me until technology enables you to look around and see how people are vibing and make adjustments … If you want to keep a job, you have to let your employer know how much you’re needed. You gotta go in that club and play like there’s no f#cking machine that will ever be able to play like this. …”

Watch the convo below and stay tuned for DJcityTV’s mini-documentary about 3Style IX.

Related: Watch: Inside DJ Jazzy Jeff’s 2018 PLAYLIST Retreat

Legendary Bronx rapper Big Pun tragically passed away 19 years ago today on February 7, 2000. His second studio album, Yeeeah Baby, was released posthumously two months later. It is considered a classic East Coast hip-hop album.

Executive produced by Fat Joe, Yeeeah Baby peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in October 2017. The project was supported by the singles “It’s So Hard” featuring Donell Jones and the Puerto Rican anthem “100%” featuring Tony Sunshine.

To honor the 19th anniversary of Big Pun’s death, Power 106’s Vin Rican has returned with a new episode of Wax Only. The series showcases classic hip-hop albums and the samples behind them.

Watch Wax Only above.

Related: The Samples Behind Gang Starr’s ‘Moment of Truth’

In December, DJcity and DJ/producer Vice announced that they were teaming up to launch a new conference, the Beyond the Music Retreat. The conference is dedicated to helping DJs from around the world take their careers to a higher level.

The retreat, which will take place at a resort in Denver, Colorado from March 4 to 6, will offer a variety of panel discussions with some of the brightest minds in the industry.

The panelists include A-Trak, Miles Medina, DJ Spider, Kirill Was Here, DJ Echo, and Yoni Goldberg of dGi Management. More will be announced soon.

Register for the Beyond the Music Retreat here (hotel packages are available).

On February 11, viewers will have a chance to a win a free pass and hotel package during Vice’s appearance on DJcity’s MikiDz Show live stream.

Related: DJ Vice to Perform on DJcity’s ‘MikiDz Show’ Live Stream

This week, DJs from around the world converged on Taiwan for the Red Bull Music 3Style IX World Finals. On Friday, we asked them all to join us at the DJcity Linkup in Taipei for exclusive giveaways and open turntables. The event, which took place at the W Hotel, featured performances from Mojaxx, DJ Delta, and Red Bull Music 3Style world champ, Damianito.

Watch our recap of the Linkup above.

Related: Red Bull Music 3Style Goes Sightseeing in Taiwan

Yo Yolie is a club and radio DJ from the Bay Area who’s now based in Las Vegas. She’s a mixer on San Francisco’s WiLD 94.9 and SiriusXM’s Globalization channel, and rocks crowds from the Bay to Vegas on a regular basis.

DJcity’s MISS DJ BLISS sat down with Yolie to discuss how she broke into radio and the Vegas scene. Yolie also gave advice to female DJs.

Watch above.

Follow Yo Yolie on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Related: NOODLES Talks Being Kehlani’s DJ and Gives Advice to Female DJs

Bass music DJ/producer Figure has gone from the fringes of Indiana to stages worldwide. He started out as a hip-hop DJ in the rave scene before becoming a household name in dubstep.

Figure’s production skills brought him to Skrillex‘s OWSLA label, where he released his Horns of the Apocalypse EP in 2013. He went on to create his own label, DOOM MUSIC, as an outlet to release heavy bass music from himself and other up-and-coming producers.

On this episode of A Moment With, Figure talks about how DJing helped him learn how to produce, how hip-hop and horror movies have influenced his sound, and more.

Watch above.

Follow Figure on Facebook, Instagram, Soundcloud, and Twitter.

Follow DJs Are Not Jukeboxes on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube.

Related: Watch: Grandtheft Talks DJing and Producing

Art Laboe in his Palm Springs, California studio. (Credit: AP)

After 75 years on the air, legendary radio DJ Art Laboe still resonates with listeners. The 93-year-old currently hosts a syndicated oldies show on 93.5 KDAY in Los Angeles.

According to NBC Southern California, Laboe “credits one group of listeners for keeping him on the air after 75 years: family members who want to send messages to loved ones in prison.”

Every Sunday on The Art Laboe Connection Show, the Palm Springs-based DJ asks family members to call in to make dedications to inmates in California, Arizona or Nevada.

“I don’t judge,” Laboe told The Associated Press. “I like people.”

Born Arthur Egnoian in Salt Lake City, Laboe grew in an Armenian American family during the Great Depression. He attended Stanford University and served during World War II. Eventually, he got a job as a radio announcer at KSAN in San Francisco.

However, it Laboe’s tenure as a DJ at KXLA in Los Angeles that gained him fame. NBC writes that “Laboe was one of the first DJs to play R&B and rock ‘n’ roll in California and is credited by scholars for helping integrate dance halls among Latinos, blacks, Asian Americans and whites …” His show became the city’s top radio program.

Laboe has maintained a fan base over the decades, especially among Mexican Americans. In the 1990s, he started getting calls from inmates’ family members. Current and former gang members are some of his most loyal listeners.

In 2015, iHeartMedia’s KHHT-FM (92.3) canceled Laboe’s show after the station switched to a hip-hop format, sparking protest. Laboe later returned to the airwaves on KDAY.

Related: This 82-Year-Old Dumpling Maker Is Now a Professional DJ

DJ Chile (Credit: Boom City)

British creative collective Boom City has released the latest episode of their documentary series, Inside Turntablists. This episode features DJ Chile, an award-winning UK turntablist based out of Hull.

Chile is a 15-year veteran of the DJ community. He is the 2011 WTK World Freestyle Scratch champion and the 2013 IDA UK Freestyle Scratch champion. In addition to battling, he also produces a series of scratching tutorials which are available on his YouTube channel.

Watch the episode and a routine from DJ Chile below.

Related: Watch: ‘Inside Turntablists’ Puts a Spotlight on DJ Soak

DJcity and genre-bending DJ/producer Vice have teamed up to host the Beyond the Music Retreat, an educational conference dedicated to helping DJs from around the world take their careers to a higher level.

The retreat, which will take place in Denver, Colorado from March 4 to 6, will offer a variety of panel discussions with some of the brightest minds in the industry.

Hotel packages will be available. Sign up here to receive updates.

Related: Win a Trip to the Red Bull Music 3Style IX World Finals

In November, more than 100 DJs got together for DJcity’s Ladies Linkup in downtown Los Angeles. The inspiring event featured performances by Syntax, Spinorita, and J Rose, and a talk by Lindsey Williams of brand strategy firm Be Digable. Notable attendees included Lady Sha, Shortee, Javin, Tina T, and Michelle Pesce.

Watch the recap above.

Related: Watch: DJcity Hosts First Ladies Linkup