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Oh yeah, so I started by blog two weeks ago, called "Behind The Wheels." I will be posting every Wednesday on djrtistic.tumblr.com - each post will be about different topics from a DJ's standpoint. I'm going to have guest DJ's post as well, so definitely let me know if you're a DJ and you're interested!
Today's post is "Why DJ's don't like taking requests"...here it is written out. The previous posts are "25 random thoughts I get throughout the night" and "Setting the mood."
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“So, can you play that Fetty Wap “Trap Queen?” What do you mean you’ll play it later, why can’t you play it now? Play it next!!”
“Can you play something that I can dance to? I don’t even know this song that’s on right now, how can I dance to it? Put on Drip Drop from Empire!”
“Since it’s my friend Caroline’s birthday, can you play Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” for her? Wait, you don’t have that song? How do you call yourself a DJ and you don’t have that song?”
“Can you play any song from Beyonce?” *FIVE MINUTES LATER* “Why didn’t you play anything yet? Oh, you played “Get me bodied,” that’s old…how about Dangerously in love?”
“Can you play something more Ratchet? Just, anything, Ratchet. We want to turn up!”
“Why haven’t you played any Calypso music? What do you mean this crowd won’t like it? How do you know if you don’t play it?”
“Can you play “Shoot the club up?” Why can’t you play it? Not even as the last song?”
These are all the types of things DJ’s tend to hear all night, in the case that we’re DJing a club or party where the club goers have the ability to walk up and talk to us. I’ve heard a variant of each of those quotes…and the one about “Sweet Caroline” actually happened to me, while DJing at a bar. Dude was actually mad too, like he was going to revoke my DJ license for not having that song.
So…why don’t DJ’s play certain requests right away, if at all? Why do some DJ’s actually hate requests as a whole? Regardless of how much DJ’s are seen as celebrities, we’re still in the service industry, and our main job is to please the customers and patrons. However, unlike a chef, who’s job is to specifically serve each individual in attendance…our overall job requires us to please the entire crowd, along with the stakeholders (club owner, promoter, client that hires us) and not just individuals.
With that, I’m going to list some reasons that DJ’s may not respond to a person’s requests.
1. In many cases, we plan to play the song that is requested, but we know that it won’t have the same impact if it’s played too early. Most of us wait until the climax of the party to drop the biggest songs, because they’re guaranteed to get the best reaction at this point. Playing a song too early will not incite the same reaction, and we always prefer playing these songs once we know that the party has the peak number of occupants. Also, some song requests are for great songs, but they have to fit in with a specific set.
What’s hilarious is when someone will ask for the absolute hottest song out, and tell you, “I bet the crowd will get HYPE if you drop that!” And when you drop it, they come up to you like “SEE! I told you it would get the crowd hype!” Good DJ’s will always know what the hottest song is, but we realize that the timing is most important.
2. Some songs that are requested just don’t fit the direction we are headed for the night, even when they are great, classic songs. There are songs that we personally love, yet we realize that they aren’t meant to be played at the specific party or event. In these cases, we are happy to hear that someone has the same taste in music that we have….but it still doesn’t mean it’s worth playing, since we’re there to please the entire crowd and not just ourselves.
For example, If I’m on a 2015 Trap set, I’m not going to jump straight into 2Pac “I get around” for my next song. I may get to it in 15 minutes, or 90 minutes, but surely not right away unless Pac himself walks in the club.
In some extreme cases, people may ask for songs that completely clash with the mood of a party or event. Imagine someone asking for Tevin Campbell “Can we talk” at a high energy Sports event…or asking for C-Murder “Down for my N’s” while we’re playing a slow jam set. As bizarre as it sounds, many people want to hear what they want to hear, when they want to hear it…so they’ll completely disregard the crowd and mood and ask for the song of their choice.
3. Some songs are just too inappropriate for the crowd, even when it’s the clean version. One of the wildest experiences I can remember was going to a very upscale party in High School held by Jack & Jill, where it was all teenagers who were dressed semi-formal, and there were just as many parents in attendance. The DJ decided to play Snoop’s “Ain’t no fun”..and this was in L.A., back in 1999…so that’s like a crowd favorite. He thought he was smart by just cutting out the volume at the cuss words, but this gave the complete opposite reaction from what he intended, because this made all of us sing the cuss words extremely loud! I remember when the lines came on that said “So you gave me all ya….” and the ENTIRE crowd sang in harmony about the revered cat, in derogatory terms. And when Kurupt’s part came on…yeah…the DJ just had to abruptly cut it and go into Biz Markie “Vapors.” The damage had been done though…ALL the parents looked shocked at a room full of private school/charter school kids singing those words that were banned in their household. Oh well.
4. If we’ve played a song already, chances are, we’ll avoid playing it again. Playing a song twice in one night is like hearing the same joke twice at a comedy club…it's not going to have the same effect. This relates to #1…we will save a hot song until the time is right, to avoid having to play it twice. Yet, there are people who won’t get to a party until the last hour, and will still ask for these hot songs, and they won’t understand why we don’t want to play it twice.
5. Some DJ’s are too arrogant to realize that some requests may actually make sense. I’ve seen memes and plenty of Tweets from DJ’s who seemingly “hate being told how to do their job.” I’ve seen DJ’s respond to requests by saying “if you worked at McDonald’s, I wouldn’t tell you how to make fries, would I???” But this is surely the wrong attitude to have, and it creates a disconnect between many patrons and DJ’s. I’ve seen DJ’s turn down requests that would actually make the party live, solely because they were too jaded to realize it. DJ’s are a lot more sensitive than people would ever realize, mainly because we have to keep a confident face on at all times in order to maintain control of the crowd.
6. When it comes to most clubs and events, the DJ doesn’t have as much control as you would think. Sure, we do have the library of music, and we likely have 90% of the songs that are requested…but if the person who hired us gives us specific instructions on what and what not to play, we may not be hired again if we don’t follow their direction. In my early days of club DJing, I hated that promoters would make me play ALL R&B for the first hour, and then for the last 30 minutes…but after years of working clubs, it makes a lot more sense.
Although it shouldn’t be a surprise, many club owners and promoters will tell us not to play “too much Rap,” especially in the case that they don’t want the crowd to become too Bl…especially in the case that they don’t want to turn off those in the crowd who may not love Rap as much.
Also, when a DJ is playing for a private event, many clients actually tell us not to play certain songs. Whether it’s a Wedding, Birthday Party, Divorce Party, or whatever it may be…many clients just don’t want us to play certain songs that might actually work great for the crowd. Surprisingly, one of my best friends demanded that his DJ didn’t play “The Wobble” at his Wedding. This can make it challenging for the DJ, especially when we know all the aunties are going to hate us for not playing it.
7. Many of us realize that even if 2-3 people are requesting a song, it doesn’t at all mean the entire crowd wants to hear it. If I played even half the requested songs that I may get in a specific night, people would look at me crazy. The wild thing is when people ask for songs, and then say, “man, I PROMISE the whole club will go wild if you play it!” There have actually been cases on both sides where these requests have worked great for me, and horrible for me, after taking a gamble and playing a song that I wasn’t sure about.
8. Every club night has a different format. Although modern commercial music is always the most common, the format or theme may be 80′s/90′s, or Rare Grooves, or EDM/Electro, or Reggae Night, or Throwback Hip Hop classics. Whatever the case may be, the DJ may not be open to playing songs that don’t fit the format. It can be confusing, especially since most clubs have a different format every night. When songs don’t match the format, it can be difficult or even impossible to slide them in the mix for the night.
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Now….when do we play requests? Does this mean that you should never request a song, ever? How can you ask for a song without being offensive? Every DJ is different, but there are a good number of us who don’t at all mind requests, as long as they’re made in a courteous manner. Here’s a few examples of what most of us find to be reasonable.
“What’s up! You’re rocking it for real! When you get a chance, can you play anything from Rihanna?”
“Man, it’s my boy’s birthday, and he would go nuts if you played Meek Mill “Dreams and Nightmares!” If you can get that in, we’ll appreciate it!”
“If you happen to get into a Reggae set, can you play Gyptian ‘Hold yuh?’”
“I see you’re playing Biggie ‘Get money’…could you possibly get ‘All about the Benjamins’ in there too?”
Any variant of those works, along with plenty others. Just as with anything else in life, DJ’s respond best to positivity. Telling the DJ that you don’t like the song he’s playing, or constantly begging him for the same song over and over will likely annoy us, and you may not hear your song until you get into your car and play it on your iPod. In this era of social media, you can also use Twitter or Instagram to make requests. Some clubs use hashtags, and the DJ’s can quickly search these hashtags or just check their own mentions to see what is requested.
Oh….and by the way, I downloaded “Sweet Caroline.” I guess I’ll play it if I ever DJ at a 50year class reunion for Simi Valley High School. Otherwise…… ------------------------------
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