DJ Culture
Kittens: Must-Have Items in My DJ Bag
Kittens / Instagram
As a member of A-Trak‘s influential Fool’s Gold family, Los Angeles DJ/producer Kittens stays busy rocking parties around the world. She is also a member of Athletixx, an LA collective that includes Hoodboi, Falcons, and Promnite.
When she’s not DJing or working on music, Kittens hosts a series of non-profit DJ workshops for women (all proceeds donated to local women’s shelters). Her in-depth musical knowledge enables her to engage all kinds of crowds, from exclusive Hollywood hip-hop parties to cutting-edge dance and electronic events. She is currently on tour with RL Grime.
Check out her must-have travel items below.
Backup Bits
“If I’ve learned anything from DJing over the years, it’s that equipment can and will break, no matter how prepared or fancy the venue is. So having simple things to swap out in case of an emergency is helpful. I always have the following: a couple of USBs (some with music and rekordbox loaded, others with the Serato timecode); an RCA to RCA cord (I can’t tell you how many times there’s been some odd sound issue that ended up being a faulty RCA cord); a USB-A male to -B male a.k.a. printer cable a.k.a. the cable that connects the Serato box to your computer (this is one of those cords that you won’t easily find laying around at a club and a very important one to have in perfect working condition. Always carry a backup).”
Handfan
“It gets hot on stages and in booths nine out of 10 times. I like having a little fan for emergency cooldown use and also because it makes me feel like a sassy bitch.”
Mini Deodorant
“Like I said before, it gets hot up there. Stay fresh, everyone.”
Gum and Listerine Strips
“No fan wants to meet you after you play and smell whiskey while you speak.”
Beauty Essentials
“I have a tiny bag within my DJ bag that has hair ties, hair pins, concealer, chapstick, a small hairbrush, face powder, and eyeliner. Sometimes your perfectly made-up face and hair can get messed up during a sweaty, jumping around performance. If you want to make sure you look halfway cute in photos with fans or while you’re hanging out after your set, you gotta be prepared to do a little touch-up.”
Follow Kittens on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Twitter.
Watch: UK DJs Connect at DJcity Linkup in London
Last Friday, DJs from around the U.K. got together for the annual DJcity Linkup in London. The exclusive event, which took place at the Ace Hotel, featured guests like Charlie Sloth (BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra), DJ Stylus (BBC Radio 1Xtra and SiriusXM), Nathan Dawe, Manny Norte (Capital XTRA), James HYPE, and JFB (three-time DMC UK champion and 2016 Red Bull 3Style world finalist). Like all DJcity Linkups, DJs were able to catch up and build with each other. There were also jam sessions and interviews.
Watch our recap of the Linkup above and check out DJcity UK for the latest music (non-UK subscribers can log in with their DJcity accounts).
Watch: A-Trak Reflects on His Career and Performs a Routine at Serato
A-Trak at Coney Art Walls in New York City. (Photo Credit: Mel D. Cole)
Following the success of his Goldie Awards DJ and producer battle in September, A-Trak sat down with Serato to reflect on his career. The Fool’s Gold chief also performed a routine using his single “Believe” featuring Quavo and Lil Yachty.
The seven-part interview series is broken down into the following topics:
– Starting off as a turntablist
– When he learned how to rock parties
– How he discovered Serato
– Where he gets his inspiration from
– Why he improvises his sets
– His evolution as a producer
– Why he launched the Goldie Awards
Watch the interview series and routine below.
Related: Watch A-Trak Explain How He Produced ‘Believe’ Feat. Lil Yachty and Quavo
Should DJs Use Sync?
Syncing is one of the most controversial topics in the DJ community. People have made passionate arguments for both sides, and now it’s DJ TLM‘s time to chime in. Watch above on this episode of Share the Knowledge.
Related: How DJs Should Use Microphones
How DJs Should Use Microphones
DJs don’t have to use a microphone, but having some mic skills can be very beneficial. On this episode of Share the Knowledge, DJ TLM discusses why DJs may want to use a mic and how they should use it.
Related: How to Stay Healthy as a DJ
Red Bull 3Style Sets Date for National Finalist Announcements
DJ Puffy at the 2016 Red Bull Thre3Style World Finals in Santiago, Chile. (Alfred Jürgen Westermeyer/Red Bull)
DJcity will reveal the Red Bull 3Style national finalists for each participating country starting Monday, August 7. Like last year, there will be six finalists per country.
The national finals will take place from September to December. The winner of each, along with three wild cards from non-participating countries, will compete at the world finals in Poland. The wild cards will be announced in September.
For the first time since the competition began, DJs will be allowed to compete with all-in-one controllers in place of players and mixers.
Follow DJcity on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to get exclusive 3Style news and content.
Related: Entries Open for Red Bull 3Style
DJ QBert Shares Advice on DJing
DJ QBert shared some advice on DJing in a recent interview with hip-hop website, 247HH.
The legendary turntablist discussed letting loose on stage, practicing, eating healthy, and being spiritual. He said his biggest lesson in life was losing the DMC World Championship.
“It taught me how to be humble. From my experience of not practicing, I gotta practice a lot now. Because if you don’t practice, you know, everything falls apart. I have to stay humble and keep being a student. So I practice even more nowadays.”
In 2016, QBert reunited with his influential Invisibl Skratch Piklz crew and dropped their first album in over 20 years. The group, which consists of QBert, D-Styles, and Shortkut, recently performed at the Boiler Room in Oakland.
Watch the video above.
Related: Invisibl Skratch Piklz, Cut Chemist, and J. Espinosa Perform on the Boiler Room
KidCutUp: Must-Have Items in My DJ Bag
If you’re a subscriber to DJcity’s record pool, chances are you’ve seen KidCutUp‘s bootlegs, edits, and remixes. The Wisconsin native’s tracks regularly make it on DJcity’s Top 50 chart and have been supported by everyone from Diplo and DJ Khaled to Vice and Z-Trip. Now based in Los Angeles, CutUp currently holds it down at The Dime and Harlowe Bar on Mondays and Thursdays, respectively. He also gigs a lot in the Midwest. Last weekend, he opened up for Pink at Milwaukee’s Summerfest in front of a 25,000-strong crowd.
Check out his must-have travel items below.
1/8″ to RCA Cable
“You never know when you’ll have to plug in your phone for a laptop switchover or because of a sound issue. And if a venue has all the wrong gear, I can DJ a set off my phone if necessary. I never want to be unable to rock!”
Backstage Pass Lanyard
“Sometimes you get a laminated pass that’s just loose. Other times you need to look official without explaining to every security guy that you are official. Having a stack of passes around your neck can help.”
“I carry a small light with a hook and magnet on it to attach to it things or position it in the booth. Being able to see the knobs and faders on the mixer is essential especially if the lights in the booth are moving around as much as they are on the dance floor.”
Backup Hard Drive or Flash Drive
“If my laptop goes down, I can plug in my backup drive into any available computer and make the show happen. If you don’t play the show, you don’t get the money. Don’t let that happen to you!”
“Stay fresh.”
Follow KidCutUp on Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, and Twitter.
Related: DJ Zo Scratches With KidCutUp’s ‘Podcast Battle Breaks’
The Samples Behind Capone-N-Noreaga’s ‘The War Report’
Power 106‘s Wax Only series is back to examine Capone-N-Noreaga’s gritty debut album, The War Report. The project, which was released 20 years ago on Saturday, is considered an East Coast hip-hop classic.
The War Report included production from legends like Marley Marl, Lord Finesse, Buckwild, and DJ Clark Kent. It contained the singles “L.A. L.A.,” “T.O.N.Y. (Top of New York),” “Illegal Life,” and “Closer.” (“L.A., L.A.” was in response to Tha Dogg Pound’s 1995 track, “New York, New York.”)
Despite not having a hit single, The War Report was a commercial success. It peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200 and No. 4 on their Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it the pair’s highest-charting album to date.
Watch above to see Vin Rican go through the samples.
Related: The Samples Behind Wu-Tang Clan’s ‘Wu-Tang Forever’
A-Trak Launches New DJ and Beat Battle
A-Trak at the We the Future Festival in Puerto Rico. (Photo credit: Steve Garfinkel)
A-Trak has launched a new DJ and beat battle called the Goldie Awards. The Fool’s Gold chief first announced it on DJcity’s MikiDz Show back in May 2016.
“The Goldie Awards isn’t the same old DJ battle,” A-Trak says in the trailer for the event. “We’re allowing literally any piece of equipment you want to bring. We’re welcoming anything that’s part of the art form of DJing now in this day in age.”
The competition is “designed to reflect the genreless, borderless, and limitless nature of music today,” according to Thump, which is a co-sponsor of the battle.
The Goldie Awards will feature six DJs and six producers competing in their respective categories. The DJs will be judged on originality, creativity, technical ability, music selection, crowd response, and stage presence. The producers will be judged on originality, creativity, technical ability, musical range, and crowd response.
Judging the categories will be a star-studded panel that includes Diplo, DJ Craze, Just Blaze, Mannie Fresh, Destructo, and Mija. Harlem rapper Dave East will host the event.
The winning DJ will get to perform at the Fool’s Gold Day Off festival, and the winning producer will release a song on the Fool’s Gold label.
To enter, entrants must upload a one-minute video to their Instagram or YouTube accounts with the hashtag #GoldieAwards and fill out the application on the contest’s website by August 6. The judges will then select six DJs and six producers to be flown to the live battle, which takes place at Brooklyn Steel in New York City on September 7.
Get more information, including the competition’s rules, at the Goldie Awards website.
Watch the trailer below and grab your tickets for the event on June 9.
Related: A-Trak Reacts to Possibility of Expanded of Laptop Ban on Flights
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