Tag Archives: Hip Hop

Lindsey Stirling – Amazing Electronic Violinist

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I was introduced to Lindsey Stirling and her music about a year ago. I am a member of Conscious Dance Deejays and there is where I was pointed to her music.

From the Conscious Dance Deejays Site:

“Our group is for people who provide music for: freestyle dances, ecstatic dances, dance jams, barefoot boogies, healing dances, dance rituals, community dances, contact improvisation, Earthdance, 5Rhythms (TM), Sweat Your Prayers (TM), Nia, Soul Motion (TM), Body Choir (TM), Core Connexion, Biodanza, or any dance form promoting freedom of expression and/or positive social or individual change.”

For those who may not of heard of Lindsey Stirling, she is amazing! I love her music, mission and intention as an artist and woman.

Lindsey Stirling Crystalize Music Video

Lindsey Stirling (born on September 21, 1986) is an American violinist, musician, dancer, performance artist, and composer. She presents choreographed violin performances, both live and in music videos found on her YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which she introduced in 2007. In 2010, Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America’s Got Talent, where she was known as the Hip Hop Violinist.

Since 2010, Lindsey Stirling has released a self-titled album, an EP, and several singles. She performs a variety of music styles, from classical to pop and hip-hop to dubstep. Aside from original work, her discography contains covers of songs by other musicians and various soundtracks.

In December 2012, YouTube announced that Lindsey Stirling’s song, “Crystallize”, was the #8 top viewed video of 2012 with over 42 Million views. Stirling recently completed collaborations with Youtube Artists Tyler Ward and Pentatonix.

Lindsey Stirling Elements Music Video

Lindsey Stirling was born in Orange County, California and grew up in Gilbert, Arizona. She moved to Provo, Utah to attend Brigham Young University to study therapeutic recreation. She resided in Provo until December 2012, then moved back to Arizona to be closer to her family.

At the age of 5, after being influenced by the classical music records played by her father, Stirling began to study the violin. She took private lessons for 12 years. When she was 16, she joined a rock band with four friends called Stomp on Melvin. As part of her experience with Stomp on Melvin, Stirling wrote a solo violin rock song, and her performance helped her to win the state title ofArizona‘s Junior Miss and claim the Spirit Award in the America’s Junior Miss Finals competition. Lindsey Stirling was also a member of the Charlie Jenkins Band.

Lindsey Stirling Silent Night Music Video

In 2010, at the age of 23,Lindsey Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America’s Got Talent, where she was described as a “hip hop violinist”. Stirling’s performances were dubbed “electrifying” by the judges, and won the acclaim of the audience, but after she attempted to step up the dance level in her quarter-final performance judge Piers Morgan told her, “You’re not untalented, but you’re not good enough to get away with flying through the air and trying to play the violin at the same time”. Sharon Osbourne commented, “You need to be in a group. … What you’re doing is not enough to fill a theater in Vegas”. In her blog, Stirling confided, “I was devastated at the results … It was painful, and a bit humiliating; however, I had to relearn where it was that I drew my strength”. Stirling decided to continue to embrace her unique style of performance, promoting herself on the Internet. In a 2012 interview she remarked, “A lot of people have told me along the way that my style and the music I do … is unmarketable. But the only reason I’m successful is because I have stayed true to myself”.

Shortly after her performance on America’s Got Talent, cinematographer Devin Graham contacted her in hopes of making a YouTube video together. They agreed to shoot a music video for her song, “Spontaneous Me”. It was filmed the week of May 9, 2011. The video boosted Stirling’s popularity, and she began making music videos for her YouTube channel regularly. Graham has filmed almost all of her videos, while Stirling often does backup camera work and assists with his music videos. Stirling’s YouTube channel, Lindseystomp, which she created in 2007 and which is named after her first band “Stomp on Melvin”, is the main repository for her music videos. During 2011, the channel rapidly gained popularity and has over 242 million total views and over 1.5 million subscribers, as of February 2013. Her music is featured on Pandora, Spotify, and Last.FM. Lindsey Stirling also created a second YouTube channel, LindseyTime, in September 2012, in which she posts videos related to her life, vlogs, behind-the-scenes content, etc.

Lindsey Stirling Violinist with Rhode Island DJ Mystical Michael

Lindsey Stirling performing at VidCon 2012.

Lindsey Stirling has experimented in combining violin playing with hip hop and dubstep. Stirling’s collaborations with other musicians and singers have included Shaun Barrowes (on “Don’t Carry It All” – The Decemberists), Jake Bruene and Frank Sacramone (on “Party Rock Anthem” – LMFAO), Tay Zonday (on “Mama Economy”), Peter Hollens (on “Skyrim” and later with “Game of Thrones”), Alisha Popat (on “We Found Love”), John Allred (on “Tomb”), Kurt Schneider and Amiee Proal (on A Thousand Years), Megan Nicole (on “Starships”), and The Piano Guys (on “Mission Impossible”). She has also collaborated with the Salt Lake Pops orchestra and Alex Boye. Stirling’s debut album was released on September 18, 2012 in conjunction with a North American tour that same month.

Lindsey Stirling Cover Macklemore Thrift Shop Music Video

This is hysterical! I appreciate such a passionate and talented musician like Lindsey Stirling can make such a  fun and playful video.

What do you think of Lindsey Stirling and her music? What Lindsey Stirling song did you like best?

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & Boston DJ

Your Party, Your Music, Your DJ

973.908.8147

DJMysticalMichael@gmail.com

 

 

DJ Urban and Old Skool Mix 2010

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A friend of mine was Security at a small club in a country club in Freehold, NJ I was professional DJ during the Winter of 2010/2011. He seemed to not appreciate most of the DJs there but we became friends quickly. He shared that I was the one professional DJ he heard during his eighteen years as Bouncer and Security at many clubs that the professional DJ understood the concept of diversity in music to build a good client base at a club. I used to laugh when he said this, because it seems so obvious to me but not to many professional DJs. I do not say this with arrogance, I truly just don’t get it why so may DJs clutch to one genre so fiercely.

 DJ Urban and Old Skool Mix 2010

      Urban & Old Skool Mix 2010 - DJ Mystical Michael

Before I left the club, I made him a mix of his favorite songs and think it is a fun mix of music from that year including R&B, Dance, Hip Hop and Pop with some old classics as well. That was the basis for the DJ Urban and Old Skool Mix 2010.

Fun Rhode Island Multicultural Wedding DJ Urban and Old Skool Mix 2010

Let me know what you think of The DJ Urban and Old Skool Mix 2010.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)

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The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)is a classic song and The Beastie Boys are legends that have left a legacy across genre and generations.  I remember when I was the professional DJ at a graduation party for a friend of mine. Halfway through the night, my friend Mark came up and handed me a record and said, “Play this”.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Don’t worry, just play it”.

Fun Rhode Island Wedding DJ The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)

It was his party so I played it. It was The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party). I was hooked. Very few artist have been as experimental and creative with their bold attempts to try few things for themselves and for all musicians simultaneously like The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party).

The Beastie Boys (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party) Music Video

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan

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I have been playing Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan as a DJ for a while and it continues to grow on me. I find myself chanting Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan while walking around going about my day sometimes. As a Multicultural Wedding and Party DJ in New Jersey, I hear a lot of music and listen to a very diverse mix of grooves and jams. This one has taken over lately.

 Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan

      Fun-Da-Mental - Ja Sha Taan (Transglobal Underground Karachi Deathcult Mix)

If you are not familiar with the group Fun-Da-Mental, they are a British group that are often considered radical for their political views and music. They are a diverse group of musicians that typically produce Islamic World Fusion with Asian and Afro-Cuban beats and rhythms. They have gone through several reformations of their musicians but continued to create powerful, conscious music to dance and raise awareness about the treatment of Asian and Afro-Carribean British populations. I think it is important as a professional DJ we need to support artists that are willing to create music that stands for the rights of people who are marginalized or discriminated against like Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan.

“Fun-Da-Mental is a British-based multi-ethnic hip-hop–ethno-techno–world fusion music group formed in 1991. The group is notable for its energetic fusion of Eastern and Western musical forms, for its outspoken political stance, and for its strong Islamic affiliation and advocacy. Fun-Da-Mental’s political stance has led to the group earning the label “the Asian Public Enemy“. The group’s work has led to international attention and collaborations with artists from Pakistan, South Africa and Siberia.” Wikipedia

Beautiful Woman Dancing at Rhode Island Multicultural Wedding DJ Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan

Listen to Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan and crank it up! Just make sure you have enough room to move, this is forceful and addictive. You have been warned.

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Janet Jackson If

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This past Saturday night I felt inspired to put together a Janet Jackson medley while mixing at a professional DJ gig that began with Janet Jackson If. I am surprised she is not played more these days. Her music is so well designed for dancing and creative movement. Her vocals are soft and somehow forceful and sensual simultaneously.

Dancing at Rhode Island Wedding with Rhode Island Wedding DJ Janet Jackson If

Janet Jackson is the first and only artist in history to produce seven top five hits from one album, Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814. In addition to receiving recognition for the innovation in her records, choreography, music videos, and prominence on radio airplay and MTV, she was acknowledged as a role model for her socially conscious lyrics.

 Janet Jackson If Music Video

I remember driving kids in the van we used to pick them up from school to the program I was coordinating at the time. They played Janet Jackson If again and again, and the girls would practice all her dance steps every day while we were getting ready to begin. I got to know every beat of Janet Jackson If without ever choosing to play it or listen to it:) As a long-time fan of Diana Ross and The Supremes and a professional DJ, it inspired me to hear her sample beats from them along with the powerful guitar chords that introduces the Janet Jackson If.

Janet Jackson If Story

“Janet Jackson If deals with a female narrator’s fantasies of being someone’s girlfriend. The track contains a sample from Diana Ross & the Supremes‘ 1969 song “Someday We’ll Be Together“, and is built on a heavy metal guitar riff heard throughout the song. The combination of heavy hip hop/new jack swing beats with an electric guitar and a trip hop sound was a relative departure in sound for Jackson, and an extension of styles she developed on her previous album, Rhythm Nation 1814. A remix of “If” entitled Brothers in Rhythm House Mix appears on Jackson’s 1995 remix album janet. Remixed. The single contains a B-side called “One More Chance”, a cover of a song her brother Randy wrote, produced, and performed for The Jacksons‘ 1984 Victory album.” wikipedia

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Dance School With A Mission

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Tonight I had the opportunity to enjoy a dance performance by The Everett Company Stage School in Providence, Rhode Island, A Hip Hop Holiday. It was fun seeing local youth dance with such passion, commitment and purpose.  Unfortunately, the media often portrays Hip Hop Culture as something bad and violent. Those who know better, are aware of the historical roots of Hip Hop as a Social Movement.

Fun Dance Party with Rhode Island DJ

“By 1989, hip-hop had long since graduated from its humble, thrilling origins as innovative party music in the Bronx in the late 1970s. Hip-hop had become a movement, a collective platform for African-American youth to voice frustration and inspiration alike. It had spread through inner cities and as far as suburbia, but was still seen as a sort of underground and lacked the big pop stars and cash flow of genres like R&B or rock.” (Dead Prez)

For me, it was a means of those who needed a voice to find one and speak their minds through music, verse and poetry.  It was possibly the next wave of social movement after the Sixties.

Dance Saved My Life

Time, money and the record industry have shifted a significant majority of the popular mainstream Hip Hop artists message and style to meet the needs of White, suburban culture. Hip Hop often does not resemble the sound and voice of its humble beginnings as social movement for change.

 

Fortunately, there are many excellent dance schools like Everett that are keeping it alive and sharing it with youth of all shapes, colors and sizes. The dancers echo the deep commitment of their Creative Director, Sokeo Ros

 

 

It was a pleasure to support such a valuable piece of dance, education and culture for talented youth!

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Jay-Z Turns 43 Today!

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Generally, when I focus a spotlight on an artist, they are someone that has had a successful musical career over several decades but Jay-Z is a unique talent and deserves special attention. Born Shawn Corey Carter, Jay-Z is one of the most popular Rappers in the world. He has brilliantly expanded his financial interests into fashion, record producing, sports, real estate and sports bars. He was raised in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn, NY and struggled in school and with the law. His father left him and his siblings, and in 1982, he shot his brother in the shoulder for stealing his jewelry. His mother has spoken about Sean banging beats on the kitchen table as a kid late night and keeping his brothers awake.

 

Jay-Z has been known for his support of President Barack Obama, global water shortages, same sex marriage, Hurricane Katrina and young voter turn-out. He has been criticized along with his wife Beyonce Knowles, for not being more politically active at times, most notably by Harry Belefonte who said they, “have turned their back on social responsibility”.

 Jay-Z has Collected Fourteen Grammy Awards

Jay-Z has collected fourteen Grammy Awards, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the Billboard Top 200 with eleven,  four number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and has sold over 50 million albums worldwide. Many consider him one, if the not the greatest Rapper of all time. He is a favorite by any professional DJ who specializes with music from R&B, Hip Hop, Rap and Pop.

“Shawn Corey Knowles-Carter(né Carter; born December 4, 1969),[2] better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. In 2012, Forbes estimated Carter’s net worth at nearly $500 million.” Wikipedia

Party on Wedding Dance Floor with DJ Mystical Michael Jay-Z

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Jagged Edge Featuring Run-DMC Let’s Get Married

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Jagged Edge Featuring Run-DMC Let’s Get Married is one of my favorite remixes ever! How bad can it be to have Run DMC beats and vocals with Let’s Get Married lyrics and Jagged Edge doing his thing? It is easy to not pay homage to Run DMC since they seem to have become the forgotten pioneers. It is too bad because they found the beauty in simplicity and staying true to what they wanted to say and produce beats that were danceable, strong and hard to ignore. They never veered from the roots of Hip Hop as a movement, not just a musical genre. Social awareness and sharing the The Struggle were what they did best and did not really feel the need to re-invent themselves as something different.

“Every turning point in American music has its originator, its progenitor, its King.  The blues had W.C. Handy and jazz had Louis Armstrong.  Swing had Benny Goodman and bebop had Charlie Parker.  Rhythm and blues had Ray Charles and rock and roll had Elvis Presley.  Punk rock had the Stooges and disco had Barry White.  And hip-hop had Run-DMC – and always will, with their uncompromised vision and attitude, as laid out on their formative albums and singles, serving as the DNA of rap music for more than two decades and counting.”  Run-DMC Website

As a professional Wedding DJ, Jagged Edge Featuring Run-DMC Let’s Get Married is one of the Wedding Introductions songs that is most fun to play. It is high energy without being over-the-top, gets everybody rockin’ and has the wedding message right there for all to hear.  I am glad that when I recommend Jagged Edge Featuring Run-DMC Let’s Get Married to Brides and Grooms, they often get excited if they happen to appreciate Hip Hop and R&B.

Jagged Edge Featuring Run-DMC Let’s Get Married Music Video

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

One Republic Featuring Timbaland Apologize

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One Republic Featuring Timbaland Apologize. I was in a small night club in the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Osh is the second largest city in Kyrgyzstan and sits on the border next to Uzbekistan. I was out having fun with a young lady who is from Bishkek I met the night before at a wedding of one of her cousins.

 

We were dancing to the grooves of the DJ with a mix of Kyrgyz pop, American pop and dance and some current Russian hits.  We barely sat down the first hour we were there with her sister and a friend.  We decided to enjoy some nice fresh cold pineapple juice and catch a breather. Then One Republic Featuring Timbaland Apologize came on and she grabbed my hand as if I did not have a choice but to join her on the dance floor. It was the song we connected the most throughout the night and as someone who had not stepped foot on American soil in well over a year at this point, it was refreshing to hear something that reminded me of home.

 

“OneRepublic is an American alternative rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado.[1] Formed in 2002 by Ryan Tedderand Zach Filkins, the band achieved massive success on MySpace, becoming the most prominent unsigned act on the website then. They signed onto Mosley Music Group in 2006, and released their debut album, Dreaming Out Loud in 2007. OneRepublic made radio history when with their first single, “Apologize“, received the largest amount of airplay in history with 10,331 plays in one week.” Wikipedia

Nice song with the contrast of gentle beats and voices with the passion needed to grab and hold all who listen. Enjoy! Every professional DJ can play One Republic Featuring Timbaland Apologize and it is great for segueing different genre including Pop, Hip Hop, Dance, R&B, House,slow and up-tempo, really, it mixes well with most music!

One Republic Featuring Timbaland Apologize Music Video

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ

Lupe Fiasco Superstar

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I was turned on to Lupe Fiasco when I was participating in a training for youth educators on utilizing Hip Hop in the classroom. The training was incredible. The teachers were excellent! I was able to use some of the techniques in the middle school that I was coordinating an after-school program for at-risk youth. The kids loved it. The funny part is I think I got more from the training, than the kids I brought the stuff back to. But that is not anything new for me. Lupe Fiasco Superstar was one of the songs we dissected and praised.

“To intervene and provide effective affordable assistance, the Hip-Hop Education Center (HHEC) was formed to fully promulgate and explore the potential of Hip-Hop pedagogy. Officially launched in June 2010 under the auspices of the Metropolitan Center for Urban Education at New York University, and a generous donation from the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

The mission of the HHEC is to cultivate and support Hip-Hop scholars, teaching artists, cultural workers and activists, and social entrepreneurs to professionalize the field of Hip-Hop Education and inform the larger education sector. It achieves this through research and evaluation of programs, development of standards and best practices, documentation and archiving, community outreach and programming, leadership and teacher training, teacher placement, policy and advocacy development, and social enterprising.”

 

I find Lupe to be an inspiring writer and has the gift of being able to write and perform often hard-core songs with a light, Top 40 appeal and sound. Lupe Fiasco Superstar is an excellent example of this.

 

One of the last nights of the week-long training, the group of instructors decided they were all going to check out Lupe Fiasco, since he was in town performing not too far away. I passed. I wish I had taken their advice and gone to the show. Enjoy!

Lupe Fiasco Superstar Music Video

DJ Mystical Michael Rhode Island DJ & NY DJ