I DJ a lot of fraternity parties at my university, but i am having a bit of a problem with music familiarity. Most people at my school aren't into house music. I am usually able to fill the dance floor but consistently have people coming up to me asking if I am going to play something besides "techno."

Does anyone have any tips on how to deal with the situation?

Last weekend I used some house remixes of hip hop songs (akon, lil wayne, etc) and that seemed to go over pretty well. Any good resources to find more hip hop house mixes?

I appreciate the help, thanks!

i feel u man...i have the EXACT same problem...and it fucking sucks.

the best thing to do i find, is play a lot of hip hop and stick in a popular house track once every half hour...u can plan ur set so that u build up and peak every half hour...and the top of that peak can be a house track...but it has to be something popular...like rise up, destination calabria, shine on, or something of the sort.

generally id say if ur a good DJ...dont bother dj-ing campus parties...i feel embarassed everytime i listen to my set and the shit im forced to play...otherwise u could just organize parties that are "raves" so people come knowing that they're gonna hear "Techno"

which school are u at btw?

there's a lot of good hip hop + it will make you better as a DJ when you compare mixing hip hop to mixing EDM, go to beatsource.

oh and also...if i want to find hip hop house remixes...or house that is relatively popular...i just look up the billboard dance top 10...and look for remixes. tony arzadon, spencer & hill, and jody den broeder remixes usually work very well...i.e.:

- way i are (tony arzadon remix) - timbaland
- just dance (tony arzadon remix) - lady gaga
- disturbia (jody den broeder remix) - rihanna
-disco lies (spencer & hill remix) - moby

xpress2 has some pretty good hip hop remixes.... check them out.

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Originally posted by Halcyon+On+On OOKA-OOKA ME NACHOS ME PRESS KEYS ON COMPUTER GOOD

Something I've been messing around with for a while has been including 30-60 second long sound clips of house then transitioning that into hip/hop, and then ending with the house sample again. For example; a real basic one would be daft punk harder, better, etc into Kanye's stronger, Jay-Z stuff works well too with Ferry. MIA paper planes...you can pair that up with almost anything. Not a lot of combinations I am good at yet, but at least it is different to throw in once in a while, and play to your tastes more then hours of straight hip/hop. The suggestion about the dance remixes off bilboard is good too, your crowd will recognize the song, and you will like a different beat.

BTW- I also hate it when people come up asking 'are you going to play something different then techno?"

jacques lu cont

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Originally posted by amp3 BTW- I also hate it when people come up asking 'are you going to play something different then techno?"

its usually horny frat boys looking to grind with girls

then there's the hipsters who think justice + mstrkrft + boys noize = house music

idiots.

evil nine

find different gigs that cater to the music YOU like to play. problem solved.

Jay

http://www.crack4djs.net/ that should help you out a little bit with some hip hop remixes and what not to throw into your sets. Just a disclaimer bout that site. Anything you get from there is for you to spin out to people. You cant use what you get from there to cut a CD ect, ect, ect. Its just to add to your mix.

I am a huge hip-hop fan. So usually I know the underground side of things for when I do more open DJ nights just to screw around and the more Rap/RnB side for clubs/parties. You can use house but use it like a seasoning. Maybe ease the transition with something like Dj Laz "Move, Shake, Drop" and midway through mix into the songs sample Benny Bassani "Satisfaction" or use a song like Ne-Yo "Closer" which already has more of a eurodance feel to it. One of the newer songs you can also use is Pitbull ft. Lil Jon "Krazy". Lil Jon has been on a house sound since he released "Yeah" with Usher and Ludacris. So that "Krazy" record can help get you into a period of more house focused things.

If you wanna know any more tracks that can help you out with rap get on the local Rap/RnB stations websites and see what their top 20 requested songs are and that will give you a good indication of what people will expect to hear through the night. Or just shoot me an IM and ill try to think of every song I can throw at you to use and help give you some more glue to bring people more into house music using rap.

BTW if you wanna go with more of a rock feel to something get ahold of some Travis Barker remix's (Soulja Boy "Soulja Boy", Flo-Rida "Low", Busta Rhymes "Dont Touch Me" are 3 of them for ex. Check them out on Youtube) or a new song that has been out by Kevin Ruldolf ft. Lil Wayne called "Let It Rock".

Also for up above. Why not DJ campus parties. Yes the crowd will put you into a box of "play this"... "play this song because I haven't heard you play it"... but any time spent playing out to a crowd is experience gained. Worthwhile trade off for a few nagging questions you get at pretty much any gig your at the same level as the dance floor.

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I will never be forgotten. I will only fade as time goes on from your conscious thoughts

Last edited by Imagin on Nov-06-2008 at 12:09

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Originally posted by veezee find different gigs that cater to the music YOU like to play. problem solved. Jay

it's not that simple. where I go for example, the EDM scene is dead. If there is an EDM scene it consists of bad house (calabria, rise up, world hold on), sickening electro-glitch, or cascada (and maybe some daft punk). And yeah, the only consolation is that you're getting experience on the dancefloor.