DJ Main Event is one of the top DJ’s in the city of Detroit. With a skill set that ranges from rocking clubs to providing music for formal events, Main Event stays on the cutting edge of the DJ world. Artists such as Curren$y, Big Sean, and more have all reached out to this master of ceremony for their musical needs.
Deejaying is the epicenter of where hip-hop started. Who and what got you into the art of deejaying?
I would attribute that to how you feel when you have the crowd rocking and controlling the crowd’s emotions. Noticing you can change people’s emotions is powerful. This was the part of the driving force of me wanting to become a DJ. As a regular person, how often do you get to control a room full of people? You know?
A DJ is known for his name as much as he’s known for everything else surrounding his craft. Who came up with the name DJ Main Event?
When I was in Atlanta, that was the first time I ever saw two DJs performing at the same party. … I just didn’t want to be the opening person. I felt like, we don’t have anything to talk about if you were trying to put me as the opening act. I wanted to be the main event. I wanted to be that person, so that’s where the name came from.
Every week, there’s a flyer with your name on it. You’ve even done events at DSA, Ford Motor Company, and the Sean Anderson Foundation. How do you stay consistent in such a competitive field?
I want to outwork the competition, period. This is because I realize that it’s a bunch of DJs out here, and as soon as you slip up, there’s always somebody there waiting to take your spot. It doesn’t matter what it is. And just like they want my spot, I want the next big spot. You literally have to take advantage of every opportunity. You can’t treat anything as little or mediocre. From the birthday parties to the biggest club events, I treat each one the same. You also have to seek out networking opportunities as well. I treat everyday life as a networking opportunity, whether I’m deejaying or not.
How has Detroit nightlife shifted since you started your career?
I actually feel like it’s safe to go out again. Part of the issue with the nightlife scene was that people were f—ing up venues. This hindered the flexibility of promoters because parties started to become very cookie-cutter, for the sake of keep out the hood folks. That’s why at parties now, you see no hats, no t-shirts, and no gym shoes on the flyer. It made people feel like that couldn’t go out at the time but I feel like we’re getting back to having a good time again.
