The Audacity of Dope

“Real DJ’s don’t take requests”

That’s a line in the new J-Live (yes, new J-Live!) track that we ran this week and it definitely stood out to me the first time I heard it.  I was going to write a quick essay with my thoughts on the topic, because I can see both sides to some extent, but then I looked at the clock and realized it was 1am and I haven’t had dinner yet.

I’d love to hear your take but, um…yeah…in short, most DJ’s should take more responsibility with what they play, though not necessarily on radio where hands are often tied, just in general.  Regardless of your level of skill or the outlet you push the music through, if you’re a DJ, you’re a selector.  You have a responsibility to live and breathe the music you shine light on.  You use it to express your feelings, the same way the artists make records to express theirs.  Don’t you love it when a song says something you can’t?

Perhaps it boils down to how you view your role: are you there to appease the listener or are you there to support what you believe in?  Maybe both.  It may not be the politically correct answer, but I don’t play music for people.  I play music for the music itself.  I’m just lucky that a few people enjoy listening to my picks…and with that, another episode of SNSS for the dedicated few:

Show #255 (4-18-10)

1. Kidz In The Hall – “Grizzly Man”
2. Donnis – “Gone”
3. Big Boi – “Shutterbug”
4. J. Cole – “We On”
5. J. Pinder – “Go Far” (Local Music)
6. Vitamin D ft. The Note – “Who Dat????” (Local Music)
7. Kendrick Lamar – “The Heart, Part 1”
8. Cook ft. Tunji & Deacon The Villain – “Towards The Future”
9. Yahzarah – “Why Dontcha Call Me No More”
10. Janelle Monae ft. Big Boi – “Tightrope”
11. Erykah Badu – “Gone Baby, Don’t Be Long”
12. Pac Div ft. Ty$ – “Rollin’”
13. Drake – “Fall For Your Type”
14. Nas & Damian Marley ft. Dennis Brown – “The Promised Land”
15. Eulorhythmics – “Leavin’”
16. Little Brother ft. Chaundon – “So Cold”
17. B.o.B ft. Lupe Fiasco – “Past My Shades”
18. J-Live – “The Way That I Rhyme”
19. Dead Prez – “Mind Sex” (Throwback of the Week)
20. M64 – “In The Pocket (Grillade Remix)” (Local Music)
21. Passion Pit – “The Reeling”

Link to download the mp3 of the show – http://www.mediafire.com/?dtot2njzmoj
(back up / streaming link – http://www.zshare.net/audio/7516981535311b19/)
(2nd back up – http://usershare.net/5oaxdslkpbai)

If there are any problems with the links or if you’d like to be added to our weekly email list to receive the playlist and download links after every show, just shoot me an email, DJHyphen@gmail.com.

Tags: 255, dj hyphen, j. moore, kube 93, Radio, real dj's don't take requests, Seattle, Sound Session

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 20th, 2010 at 1:06 am and is filed under Episodes, Sound Session. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.