I created a YouTube playlist for my DJ sets! Once a year, I DJ...
I created a YouTube playlist for my DJ sets!
Once a year, I DJ at the Floomp, which is a queer dance party at WisCon, the feminist science fiction convention in Madison, WI. My DJ style boils down to:
1/3 old-school funk/hip hop
1/3 mash-ups
1/3 K-Pop and J-Pop
Plus assorted other stuff here and there.
I love the mix of those three things – for some reason, they seem to go really well together. The super dancy mash-ups have a lot of beats that mesh with the K-Pop, and then the old-school just pumps it up some more. I created this YouTube playlist a while back, to kind of represent the stuff I spin, and a couple of the videos have already been taken down. So I figured I should post it ASAP!
Some notes follow.
EARLY CHILL/INSTRUMENTAL SET: I often try to start off with some instrumentals that are a bit more chill. The J.B.’s Reunion CD is totally worth getting, and “Mistakes and All” is a standout track featuring Bootsy Collins. Gang do Tagarela’s instrumental version of “Rappers Delight”/”Good Times” is utterly brilliant – it’s on the Black Rio CD and it blew my mind the first time I heard it. Then things get a bit more R&B with Tasha Taylor’s fantastic “Wonder Woman” and “Getaway” by N’Dea Davenport from the Brand New Heavies. Those totally started the party off right once or twice at the Floomp.
Other songs worth noting:
Deep Dickollective/We Out – this queer hip hop group, starring my friend Juba Kalamka, was absolutely incredible, and their stuff is easy to find online now.
Mighty Mike/Crazy Time to Relax and Beyonce/Formation – I love the way this mashup flows into Beyonce’s song. I didn’t ever play the Mighty Mike mashup in the same set as Gang do Tagarela, since that’s a LOT of “Good Times.”
Hyuna/Ice Cream & Roll Deep – I love Hyuna Kim, and always have to play at least one of her songs. Her videos are super hypnotic too.
En Vogue/Free Your Mind and Eurythmics&Aretha/Sisters are Doing It – I love playing these back to back.
Star Academy/Paris Latino: The song “Paris Latino” was done in the 80s by a group called Bandolero, and it’s a super fun disco-funk jam about being a Mexican in Paris. Star Academy was some kind of French TV show, and they did a slightly slicker, more danceable cover of this song a few years ago. Thanks to Liz Henry for tracking this down for me.
Anyway, this is pretty much representative of the kind of stuff I love to play as a DJ. Hope you enjoy it!
