DJ Irie Breaks Down the Business and the Future of Deejaying

DJ Irie Breaks Down the Business and the Future of Deejaying

Name: DJ Irie

Official DJ for the Miami Heat


Most Recent Mixtape: The Green Sessions. It was a specially commissioned mixtape for Heineken.

Years in Action: 15 years


Describe your deejaying style?

I would describe my style as something for everybody. I’m passionate about a wide variety of music. My taste in music is so wide that I can get into almost anything as long as it’s funky. So my style is a blend and mix of some really funky music from a wide variety of genres.

How is deejaying profitable from a business standpoint? 

The business of a DJ can be extremely profitable if you have a good sense of business and marketing. Any DJ that looks as his or herself as just that, a DJ, will probably never realize major financial success from the business. The sky is the limit for the DJ that looks at his or herself as a brand and cultivates that brand. Once you establish your brand and gain traction, you can begin to sell your brand.

How did mixtapes change hip-hop?

Mixtapes changed and reshaped hip hip in a major way. Once upon a time, the only way to break an artist to mass population was by getting the music on commercial radio. For a very long time that was the only way. Then mixtapes came along. Artists such as Fabolous, 50 Cent and Young Jeezy, to name a few, all birthed their careers and gained mass critical acclaim via the mixtape.

Top 3 mixtapes of all-time?

Fabolous – There Is No Competition (The Funeral Service)

The Re-Up Gang – We Got It for Cheap

Young Jeezy –Trap or Die

5 songs that will get the party started? 

Rob Base & DJ EZ-Rock  – “It Takes Two”

50 Cent – “In The Club”

Michael Jackson – “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Enough”

Sugar Hill Gang – “Rappers Delight”

D.M.X. – “Party Up”

5 songs that will help partygoers meet their significant other? 

Jodeci – “Freak’n You (remix)”

LSG – “My Body”

Usher feat. Young Jeezy – “Love in This Club”

R. Kelly – “Ignition (remix)”

The-Dream – “Rockin’ That Thang”

What is the future of the DJ? 

Technology has drastically reshaped the DJ landscape as an art form and profession in the past few years. Technology is quickly closing the gap between the skilled and unskilled. Soon, a person with very little to no skill will be able to replicate things a very skilled DJ can do all by technology. This transformation will diminish the value of the DJ’s craft and put the relevance of the true DJ in question.

Twitter: @DJIrie

Website: DJIrie.com

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