I just re-read this thread and I can see how it comes across as all about females DJs and that certainly wasn’t my intention or sentiment. Lots of good points raised and I think ultimately longevity will be the acid test -If a Dj wants to stay in the scene and stays in the scene (through bookings etc...) for 5 years+ then regardless of opinion I reckon they can be seen to have made in in the scene and outlived the fad status
Great props to Havana Brown for where she has gotten herself whether that be because of her skills, her looks her management it doesnt matter shes doing her thing and if shes happy and content with where she is then good on her, and I mean alot of the hate going her way is ppl wishing they were doing wat shes doing anyway so let her be. I also think that being a female in the industry isnt easy yes you have an advantage to get gigs but u dnt purly get gigs cos ur a chick there has to be some skill behind it, and knowledge of music BUT we get scrutinized so much more than if it were a guy behind the console, people are just waiting for u to make a mistake so that they can say she only got the gig cos shes a chick.
A.K
for starters we are not hating on female dj’s or on havana brown as a person, as for havana brown i have seen her play first hand and i was sober i work in clubs as a mc i see all types of djs, scratch djs like dj eko, samrai, stanley, manny to dj’s like g-wizard(who uses cd’s) c-bu, moto, peter gunz and even the female djs dj d and dj fly girl tee who are really good djs if you read all posts and u can see that nothing but good things were said about them, we arent hating on gender of djs just there skill if u are going to call your self a dj then have the skills to back it up, i dont see how pushing play at the end of a track is djing, i dont wish im doing what she is doing cause i do my own thing,back to havana i was excited to hear her play had so many high expectations cause she was voted in the best dj catagory @ the uma’s and i got a push play set i even waited for her to redeem herself it didnt happen i didnt wait for a mistake i was hopping to hear some mad shit. this is not a bag out havana brown thread she was just mentioned first and we gave our opinion like if another dj was mentioned then our opinions will be said. as for male djs in sydney i know if they are shit they get bagged out, male or female if ur shit ur shit thats all
In what aspect of life these days does image not put you ahead in the biz? I can hardly think of any… Singers, Musicians, Djs, even every day work. Its becomes a part of life you have to deal with.
I pushed for 3-4 years to get a mix cd deal with a major and even with over 20,000(platinum) sales (unofficial and definately not sales that went into my pocket), I still couldnt get a deal. Havana comes along with great marketing and bammm deal with universal. It is a slap in the face(In saying that, definately no hating to her and congrats to her for doing what I couldnt), but at the end of the day, I book Havana for my nights myself because ill admit the crowd wants to see her, more than myself even I believe. Its something Ive learnt to deal with life in our time. No point getting mad about it, just gotta find a way around it or a way to make your offering and appeal greater.
Either way, Ive come to the conclusion that Djing in Aus (Melb) is going to get me no where in life except a dead end. Sure I can get gigs in Asia and Aus, but after all that, where is there to go? Found my new passion in writing/producing which has far more potential :D
Problem with labels (And this has been quoted so many times its not funny) is that the people calling the shots arent in the scene. Exec’s and A&Rs;that look at a proposal on paper or DVD and really have to gauge on who has a rep in the scene or who the main players are. Still baffels me that Moto hasnt got a deal yet. One of the major players in the scene, unofficially sold more units back in the days than Delta’s new album did and rather than them giving him a deal they slap him with a fine. Exact reason why I stopped Djing, the industry is really wack.
But like they say, if you cant beat em… join em :D
HARD OUT MAN, club joint smashed the mixtape game for years and if a label picked them up they would of went platinum they were big in nz as well as here, i remeber the days wen i was living in nz if u had a club joint cd it was gold and every one wanted it. industry is weak due to those reasons bro if the a&r;’s had faith in the urban scene things might change.
can u imagine if the record companies actually used dj’s with skills for there mixtapes?
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can u imagine the sales they would of made
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record companies dont care about the real djs
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instead they wanna use good looks to sell something that looks has nuthin to do with it
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i remember once some of us got pissed of bc we went to say “hey good set” to havana brown and it went in one ear and out the next
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fucken superstars, no dice
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its the way the dj scene is all over australia and prob around the world i guess, if u dont have any skill then other djs will talk about ya, if u can get mad props from ur fellow djs then u have made it but if all u get is bad comments then u will have a long way to go as a dj bc respect from other djs is the biggest thing to have
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btw good to have u on here AK and great to hear that ur gonna be practising on vinyl soon
NZ keep it real bro look at there superstar dj’s none of them are pretty boys with no skill hahahahahahah dj sir-vere dj cxl dj manchoo etc i dont need to metion p-money cause we all know he has the skill
That still doesn’t explain nino brown. Are people avoiding discussing him for any particular reason? The guy looks like turtle from entourage, he obviously isn’t getting by on “image”.
I want to know what makes him such a big name in the industry. I really do.
All I’ll say is that the first I heard about Havana Brown’s mix cd was when I saw the ad for it on TV. But in conversations with punters in Melbourne, one mix CD in particular always comes up in most conversations about mix cds and that was released god knows how many years ago, without any label backing.
I think the major distinction is Havana Brown’s rnb caters more to the pop rnb crowd, than the rnb diehards. I may be wrong, but that’s how I see it....
On the female DJ thing, I live with Shoop, who will be the first to admit her beatmixing isn’t brilliant, but you can bet your ass she plays real music, and has built a great rep on that basis, and plays at both rnb and hiphop/soul oriented nights.
poppa i think with the nino brown thing
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he has being around for a long time in the scene
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he has skill with mixing and he can also scratch
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im pretty sure over the years he has being djing he has made some mad contacts in the record companies
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btw pop djs wont make it in this scene and it will take alot longer then 5 years for someone wit not much skill as a dj to say that they have made it
On the female DJ thing, I live with Shoop, who will be the first to admit her beatmixing isn’t brilliant, but you can bet your ass she plays real music, and has built a great rep on that basis, and plays at both rnb and hiphop/soul oriented nights.
yes, my beat-mixing isnt great. i do it because i love music, im not out there trying to prove anything, i dont walk around boasting i am a dj, i like to think of myself more as a ‘selecta’, haha. i never planned on djing, i was given an opportunity to, and took it and have been happily doing so for 2 years now.
there are so many talented djs out there, australia just isnt the best medium for them to be acknowledged, recognised and appreciated.
i dont think its a gender thing - if havana brown was a dude, ripped to the max and bulging out of his shirt, djing topless and all oiled up, perfect hair and claiming to be australia’s #1 male rnb dj and couldnt back it up i would be saying the same thing, and more ppl would be more than willing to say it to their face whereas with a female u might be tryna tap that ass or scared that ull scar em for life by criticising them which is worse when its that time of the month. more ppl would be willing to be upfront with dude. nonetheless theyd probably still get a label deal.
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plus i can understand that there are some ppl who like be outspoken bout other ppl out of jealously, ive seen it before, but for myself im outspoken on the issue from an industry standpoint, not a commercial standpoint, hence why i feel its a negative for female djs in aus in saying that shes #1, alot of female djs have busted their asses over the last few years to get where they are and i dont even consider them female djs, i consider them a dj regardless of gender, gender really shouldnt be an issue cos its about the music and what u can do behind the decks, not how short the skirt is behind it. djs like that are looked up to by other female djs who want to break into the scene, maybe be the next D or tee, they role models “making in a mans world” as some may say, and theyre on even par with the boys. seriously if we are gonna start ushering in a generation of new havana browns, the scene will fucked beyond belief cos we all know how fucked the scene is now. dont think i just bag her out, i give her props for getting to where she is and whats she done so far, albeit i dont like the way its come about, but shes doin things alot of other djs still havent achieved and would kill to do, im not fussed if i end up doin the things shes done cos im happy doin my own thing, but she doesnt impress me - and to be honest she doesnt even leave an impression in my pants, she aint that hot… if she wants to impress me, stick the x-fader between her tits and cut shit up dmc style.
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hope shit made sense, at work and got food poisoning… aint feeling crash hot.
Ok guys some more questions (especially to the full time Djs out there)
Whats your life expectancy as as DJ?
What do you plan on doing Post DJ career?
I’m asking this cause the average Jo needs to plan on working for 40 years to maintain a life. Not too many Djs reach that (Lez Toth comes to mind, then maybe Kenny Ken has clocked up 25+ as a virtually full time DJ)
If you could double or triple you earnings during the the glory years then possibly you could retire earlier? I suppose its like AFL footy - Average player plays 7- 10 years, few elite play longer and even fewer make a transition into other careers.
I can see Havana hosting a show like Video Hits or something in years to come
