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Friday, December 22, 2017

Must-Play Tracks for the Weekend: Dec. 22


Reece Low / Facebook

TJR & Reece Low ft. Fatman Scoop – Check This
TJR and Low team up for an electro house and trap heater.

Migos – Stir Fry
A bouncy hip-hop track produced by Pharrell Williams.

Lumidee – Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh) – Dibs & MGM Mi Ritmo Bootleg
The Harlem singer’s 2003 song gets blended with Los XL’s moombahton track.

Dice Soho – Giraffe
The rising Houston rapper releases his latest Mike Dean-produced single.

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DJcity’s weekly picks are selected by Kidd Spin. To receive them via email, click here.

Related: Must-Play Tracks for the Weekend: Dec. 15

| Tracks
New and Notable Tracks,
Thursday, December 21, 2017

Watch Boi-1da Make a Track by Sampling Random Records

Boi-1da

Due to popular demand, Mass Appeal has enlisted big-time producer Boi-1da for its latest Serato edition of Rhythm Roulette. The series challenges producers to make a beat by sampling three records, which are randomly selected while blindfolded.

Boi-1da picks up his wax at Play De Record in Toronto before hitting the studio. The Canadian producer then gets right to work using Serato’s Sample plugin to cook up two beats from two different records.

A seven-time Grammy-nominee, Boi-1da is best known for being one of Drake’s in-house OVO Sound producers. He has also worked with the likes of Eminem, JAY-Z, Kendrick Lamar, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna. Some of his latest projects include G-Eazy’s “No Limit,” J. Cole’s “Deja Vu,” and five tracks off Belly’s Mumble Rap mixtape.

Watch Rhythm Roulette above.

Related: Watch Mura Masa Make a Track by Sampling Random Records

| Videos
Boi-1da, Music Production, Rhythm Roulette,
Thursday, December 21, 2017

The Samples Behind Nas’ ‘Stillmatic’

Stillmatic

Following his iconic debut album, Illmatic, Nas took his next three projects in a more mainstream direction. The decision put him under heavy scrutiny and even brought upon JAY-Z‘s infamous 2001 diss track, “Takeover.”

Nas didn’t take long to respond to both his critics and JAY, however, dropping his fifth studio album Stillmatic on Dec. 18, 2001. The project, which is a nod to Illmatic, is widely considered as Nas’ comeback album. It also featured the track “Ether,” his epic response to Jigga.

Stillmatic peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in January 2002. It featured production from the likes of DJ Premier and Large Professor and included the singles “Got Ur Self a Gun,” “One Mic,” and “Rule” featuring Amerie.

To honor its 16-year anniversary, Power 106 has examined some of the album’s classic samples on its Wax Only series.

Watch it above.

Related: The Samples Behind Black Star’s ‘Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star’

| DJ Culture, Videos
Music Production, Nas, Power 106, Wax Only,
Thursday, December 21, 2017

Facebook Signs Licensing Deal With Universal Music Group

Facebook

Facebook

Facebook has signed an “unprecedented” licensing deal with Universal Music Group (UMG), according to a press release obtained by Music Business Worldwide. The “global, multi-year agreement” licenses UMG’s recorded music and publishing catalogs for video and other experiences across Facebook, Instagram, and VR platform, Oculus.

Under the partnership, users will be able to upload and share videos that contain UMG music to Facebook, Instagram, and Oculus. The deal is particularly appealing to DJs and music producers, who have experienced copyright takedowns over the past couple of years.

Presumably, DJs and producers will be able to upload and share videos that contain UMG material, such as mixes, remixes, and routines. However, the two other major labels, Warner Music Group (WMG) and Sony Music, haven’t signed deals with Facebook yet. Videos that contain unlicensed content from those companies — and independent labels — could still be taken down.

According to a press release:

“The partnership will facilitate deeper engagement between artists and fans, empowering users to express themselves through music, share the songs they love and build communities around music-fueled culture. Enabling a variety of features across Facebook’s platforms, the agreement is intended to serve as a foundation for a strategic partnership roadmap that will deliver new music-based experiences online.”

Michael Nash, executive vice president of digital strategy at UMG, said:

“This partnership is an important first step demonstrating that innovation and fair compensation for music creators are mutually reinforcing – they thrive together. We look forward to Facebook becoming a significant contributor to a healthy ecosystem for music that will benefit artists, fans and all those who invest in bringing great music to the world.”

Related: Facebook Steps Up Efforts to Reach Deal With Music Industry

| Music Industry
Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Magma’s New 45 Bag and the World’s Best 45 Adaptor

It’s been a couple of years since Mojaxx‘s episode about 45s. In addition to discussing their benefits, the well-received video included reviews of a few products designed specifically for them.

For this week’s Tips and Tricks episode, Mojaxx provides an in-depth look at Magma’s new 45 Record-Bag 150 and SYD DEF JAM’s 45 adaptor.

Related: Why More DJs Should Play 45s

| DJcityTV, Music Tech, Videos
Magma, SYD DEF JAM, Tips and Tricks,
Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Top 30 Remixes, Bootlegs and DJ Edits of 2017

Top 30 DJ Edits

On Thursday, DJcity revealed its most downloaded tracks of 2017. Now, we dig deeper into the data to uncover the most popular remixes, bootlegs, and edits of the year.

Topping off the list is DJ Delta‘s tone play edit of “The Real Slim Shady” and “Wild Thoughts.” However, DJ Smerk and the Tall Boys receive the most entries with three apiece, while KidCutUp and Satoru tie for second place with two entries each.

Check out the top 30 below.

| Charts
DJcity Top 50,

Popular