Hot 97

Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Hot 97’s Peter Rosenberg: ‘If You Don’t Have Turntables, You Are Not a DJ’

Peter Rosenberg
Mike Tyson with Peter Rosenberg at Hot 97 in New York City. (Facebook)
 
People have been arguing about the definition of a DJ for years, and yet, the debate never dies down.
 
The latest person to chime in is Peter Rosenberg, a long-time DJ and personality on legendary New York radio station Hot 97. During a recent interview with DJBooth, Rosenberg gave his opinion on what it means to be a DJ and didn’t hold back.
 
“[‘DJ’] is a misleading word that’s not used accurately,” Rosenberg said. “There are a lot of producers who get on stage and stand behind turntables and play songs they’ve produced. That is a talent, it should be applauded, it is an amazing skill, [but] it is not DJing.”
 
He added, “If you don’t have turntables, you are not a DJ. At least [have] CDJs. If someone comes up to me and they’re like ‘Yo, I’m a DJ. I’ve had CDJs for ten years,’ [then] you’re a DJ.”
 
Watch the full conversation below.
 

 
Related: Comedian Russell Peters Talks DJing, Calls Out ‘Fake DJs’

| DJ Culture, Videos
Hot 97, Interview, Peter Rosenberg,
Thursday, September 3, 2015

A-Trak: ‘It’s Cool to Be Weird Now’

A-Trak
A-Trak performs at the TIKTAK Festival in Amsterdam on July 18, 2015. (Clayton Woodley)
 
A-Trak recently spoke with Hot 97’s Ebro in the Morning show about the open-format mission behind his Fool’s Gold label and Day Off festival.
 
“As DJs, my partner Nick Catchdubs and I, we wanted to create a label that stood for what we play in our sets, which is not just one thing,” A-Trak told Ebro. “The whole idea of mixing up hip-hop releases and electronic releases, it just felt like it hadn’t been done at the time.”
 
He also said the rise of open-format DJing in the late-2000s influenced the label’s creation.
 
“In our DJ scene everything was mixing up again, so as a label, we went that same route of mixing stuff up again. Our events reflect that [diversity] too. And Day Off has really turned into an actual festival, it’s more than just a show.”
 
Though the idea of blending genres wasn’t mainstream when Fool’s Gold launched in 2007, A-Trak said that today’s fans are more eclectic than previous generations.
 
“I think that everybody listens to more than just one thing. It’s not like back in the day in the ’90s either you listened to Joy Division or you listened to BDP or KRS-One. Those crowds didn’t really [mix].”
 
Watch the interview below and check out the schedule for Fool’s Gold Day Off here.
 

 
Related: A-Trak’s ‘Heads Will Roll’ Remix Gets Flipped by DiscoTech

| DJ Culture, Music Industry, Videos
A-Trak, Ebro in the Morning, Hot 97, Interview,
Monday, May 18, 2015

DJCX Puts Down Throwback Hip-Hop Mix for Hot 97

DJCX
 
Miami’s DJCX put down a guest mix for New York radio station Hot 97 a couple weeks ago. The 21-year-old’s hour-long “Boom at Noon” set is a must-listen for fans of classic hip-hop, specifically the mid-’90s to mid-2000s variety.
 
CX is currently a mixer on Miami’s Power 96 and Pitbull’s Globalization channel on Sirius XM. Stream and download his mix below.
 

 
Tracklist:

1. Jagged Edge ft. Nelly – Where the Party At
2. Jermaine Dupri ft. Jay-Z – Money Ain’t a Thang
3. Nelly ft. St. Lunatics – Ride Wit Me
4. Memphis Bleek – Like That
5. T.I. – Bring Em Out
6. Ludacris ft. Shawnna – Stand Up
7. Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz ft. Ying Yang Twins – Get Low
8. Juvenile – Back That Ass Up
9. Snoop Dogg ft. Pharrell Williams – Drop It Like Its Hot
10. Missy Elliot ft. Jay-Z – One Minute Man
11. Destiny’s Child – Independent Women
12. Lauryn Hill – Doo-Wop (That Thing)
13. Eve ft. Gwen Stefani – Let Me Blow Your Mind
14. 50 Cent ft. Nate Dogg – 21 Questions
15. Big Pun ft. Joe – Still Not a Player
16. N.O.R.E. ft. Nina Sky, Daddy Yankee, Big Mato, & Gem Star – Oye Mi Canto
17. Frankie Cutlass – Puerto Rico Loop
18. Naughty By Nature – Hip Hop Hooray
19. A Tribe Called Quest – Scenario
20. Black Sheep – The Choice Is Yours
21. Pete Rock & Cl Smooth – T.R.O.Y.
22. Slick Rick – Children’s Story
23. Montell Jordan – This Is How We Do It
24. Ghost Town DJ’s – My Boo
25. INOJ – Love You Down
26. Usher – Nice and Slow
27. DJ Frosty – Ride That Wave
28. Run–D.M.C. – It’s Tricky
29. Salt-N-Pepa – Push It
30. Nightcrawlers – Push the Feeling On
31. Technotronic – Pump Up The Jam
32. The Outhere Brothers – Boom Boom Boom
33. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – Thuggish Ruggish Bone
34. Bone Thugs-n-Harmony – The Crossroads
35. 50 Cent ft. Justin Timberlake – Ayo Technology
36. T.I. – Whatever You Like
37. R. Kelly ft. Usher – Same Girl Remix
38. D4l – Laffy Taffy
39. Dem Franchise Boyz – Lean wit It, Rock wit It
40. DJ Unk ft. T-Pain, Jim Jones, & E-40 – 2 Step Remix
41. The Game ft. Junior Reid – It’s Okay (One Blood)
42. 50 Cent – What Up Gangsta
43. Eminem – Lose Yourself
44. Akon ft. Styles P – Locked Up
45. Nas ft. Lauryn Hill – If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)
46. OutKast – Ms. Jackson
47. Usher ft. Ludacris – U Don’t Have To Call Remix
48. Jay-Z ft. Pharrell Williams – Change Clothes
49. N.O.R.E – Nothin’
50. Erick Sermon ft. Redman – React
51. Busta Ryhmes ft. Ron Browz – Arab Money
52. Panjabi MC ft. Jay-Z – Beware of the Boyz
53. Kevin Little – Turn Me On

 
Related: DJCX’s ‘The Sounds of CX’ Episode 2

| Mixes
DJCX, Hot 97,
Thursday, March 12, 2015

Enter for a Chance to DJ on Hot 97

Hot 97
 
Hot 97 — one of the most influential hip-hop radio stations in the US — is looking for guest DJs to mix during their Friday “Boom at Noon” show with TT Torrez.
 
The station is home to personalities and mixers such as Funkmaster Flex, Ebro Darden, Peter Rosenberg, DJ Camilo, DJ Enuff, Miss Info and the recently hired Nessa.
 
For consideration, send a three-minute mix to guestdj@hot97.com and include your name and contact information.
 
Shouts to our East Coast Director Latin Prince for the tip.
 
Related: Hot 97 Honors Grandmaster Flash

| DJ Culture, Music Industry
Hot 97, Radio,
Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Velous Talks Producing Kanye West’s ‘All Day’


 
Kanye West’s new single “All Day” has been sitting atop DJcity’s “Hot Box” chart for nearly a week now. And as the track continues to climb other charts, it’s come to light that at least 20 individuals contributed to the song.
 
One of the most important contributors to “All Day” is Velous, the 23-year-old beatsmith that produced it. During a recent visit to New York’s Hot 97, the upstate New Yorker discussed how the track came about, who his influences are and what other projects he’s working on.
 
According to Velous, the beat for “All Day” was originally intended for French Montana. He also revealed that the track at one point contained a Sade sample, but it was eventually pulled due to licensing issues. Watch the full interview above.
 
Download: Kanye West ft. Allan Kingdom & Theophilus London – All Day
 
Related: DJ Dahi Talks Producing Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Money Trees’ and Drake’s ‘Worst Behavior’

| Videos
Ebro in the Morning, Hot 97, Kanye West, Music Production, Velous,
Friday, February 27, 2015

Power 105.1 Surpasses Hot 97 in Recent Ratings

Angie Martinez
Angie Martinez on the air at Power 105.1. (Katherine Tyler)
 
After years of nearly equal ratings, New York hip-hop radio station Power 105.1 has surpassed rival Hot 97, according to NY Daily News.
 
The website has reported that Nielsen’s January ratings show Power 105.1 with 3.9% of the audience, compared to Hot 97’s 2.8%. It also states that Power’s “The Breakfast Club” show has a “big lead” over Hot’s “Ebro in the Morning.”
 
The news comes after Angie Martinez left Hot 97 for Power 105.1 in June 2014. Two other longtime employees, Mister Cee and Cipha Sounds, also left the station last year.
 
Hot 97 recently hired MTV’s Nessa to replace Angie Martinez during the coveted afternoon drive-time slot (3-7 p.m.)
 
H/T: HipHopDX
 
Related: Cipha Sounds Leaves Hot 97

| Music Industry
Hot 97, Power 105.1, Radio,

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