House Party 1992 Thursday’s at Webster Hall with DJ Yamez.
The Source had the opportunity to interview Dj Yamez, one of the DJs setting the vibes for House Party Thursdays 1992 at Webster Hall. He controls the entire basement, where party-goers vibe out to EDM Trap music throughout the night. Yamez also djs for Red Bull Music Academy. Check out the interview below:
What is your definition of a DJ?
DJ Yamez: My definition of a dj is somebody who can move the crowd depending on whatever the crowd is. Whether it’s in a bar or hip hop, a universal dj is being able to rock the crowd wherever you go, being able to read the crowd, go with the flow and make people dance.
How is touring with a rapper different from touring with an R&B artist?
DJ Yamez: Touring with Trey Songz and Miguel crowd wise is different. An arena with about 25,000 people it would be about 95% women. It flows a lot better, smoother, less drama, and less dudes. There were probably more guys in our band and crew than the audience. I would definitely suggest if you’re a guy dj to tour with an r n b artist, go for it. There’s beautiful women everywhere, great food in the green room. One show we did in LA a chick through her pants onstage, not panties.
Describe one mix you have done that describes yourself.
DJ Yamez: I like to take a mixture of different genres that you probably think wouldn’t fit together, and put them together in a sense where you would be surprised. Music you might not listen to, mixed with music you might listen to, and music you are really familiar with. Then your like ‘Oh sh*t dude, I never heard of this.’ It’s in a format that you may be more comfortable to listen to. Sometimes you get introduced to new music and you’re not really feeling it, but if your introduced to it with something you’re familiar with and it’s mixed well you can f*ck with it. I like my stuff to be fluid, I want people to enjoy it and feel like they are on a journey. I like to take people to different places ‘I’m the pilot and your on my ship lets go for a ride’.
What has changed with DJs over the time?
DJ Yamez: As a dj, the whole point is to break new artists, to introduce the audience with music that they’re not familiar with. That kinda got lost in the process now. Everybody thinks they’re a dj, they have a cool ipod collection. I was put on by the turntables X-Ecutioners like Roc Raida (R.I.P.) , Boogie Blind, and Rob Swift. I’ve always respected the art form of djing, but now it’s getting out of hand with digital djing. I think the whole concept of djing is different to different people. Somebody now just may be doing it because it’s cool, you get free tickets, bottle tickets and you meet girls. If you talk more than you dj over the mic, your trying to hide your lack of skills.
How is it DJ’ing at Webster Hall?
DJ Yamez: I never thought of having a residency there. It’s an awesome party. The way it’s curated is awesome, each room has its own theme. Our floor is trap, edm and club music.Vashtie’s floor is the throwback; 80’s, 90’s hip hop. Then you got Just Blaze’s floor which is Hot 97 meets your regular bottle service people. Then the reggae room with Jasmine and Melo. The vibe of the party is dope, you don’t have to stay in one place. One dj doesn’t have to sit there and play all those different genres. Playing edm trap, you don’t really get a lot of requests. You can be a lot more creative with the music where you don’t have too many lyrics. The crowd is a little bit more energetic than a straight hip hop room. I’m a downtown kid, this is totally my scene like SWAY mondays.
Tell me about a time when you expected the crowd to respond one way, yet reacted another towards your music.
DJ Yamez: In Japan, a club called Club 9. It was a navy crowd, I didn’t know what that meant. I started dropping Biggie and got booed. Half the crowd was this mid west, down south crowd and they wanted to hear Lil Webbie and Lil Boosie and this was ’07. So I switched it up and played some David Banner. That was one of the first times I’ve experienced that. I thought Biggie went everywhere.
You can catch Dj Yamez at Webster Hall every Thursday for House Party 1992 in the studio basement. Check out his new mix:
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Tiy Hampton, @_tiy_
