Do I need to know hip-hop?

[lethal_pizzle]

You only need to learn hip hop if you're going to play hip hop. And, as you don't like hip hop, you're only going to play hip hop if you're playing at a club that requires you to play hip hop.

So, do you want to play music you don't like, in a club that doesn't want to hear the music you do like? If the answer is yes, learn to play hip hop.

[Cybertrash]

just play what you like to play and market yourself at clubs that play the music that you like, no need to play crap you dont want to unless you need the money really bad

This times > 9000

[diezdiazgiant]

this is by no means an absolute but if youre playing shit that doesnt move you - people are going to pick up on it. dont force it, because if you arent feeling it, i think its hurts how much other people are feeling what youre doing. if you dont like hip hop what chances do you have of picking good tracks for the mix?

i remember knowing this ponce who had some shit band that he played guitar in and sang, and watching his live show was just painful because he just tryed so fucking hard. nothing about it seemed sincere, it seemed like a paint by the numbers process, just watching him on stage it looked like he was doing chores... and then he would wonder why he couldnt get a crowd excited. just find places that cater what you want to dish out dude.

[Patch]

Yes make sure you get 90's hiphop classics, you will get a good reaction with these

honestly can't tell if that was genuine, or utterly sarcastic...

Listen to some 90's Hip-Hop (NOT Puffy...) and make up your own mind...

[OlsenV]

He's right I thing....to good at your profession you should know hip-hop for best orienting in this field.

[DJ ATX]

A good friend of mine (a dj) told me today that since I'm just getting started, and want to (ultimately) be a club dj, I have to learn to play hip-hop, because so much club music is remixed top 40 and top 40 is (often) rap/hip hop/r&b.

Any truth to this? I never much cared for "urban" music, and love EDM (and some downtempo stuff) - to be SUCCESSFUL do I need to bend over a little bit here?

(If it makes a difference, I am currently living in the Philadelphia area)

Been a club DJ off and on since 1994. The answer to you question is YEEESSSSSS. Open format DJ have to know a bunch of genres. However, if you know the basic of mixing. Beatmatching, counting bars and phrasing, this will not be a problem.

I love House, Prog House most of the EDM out (except dubstep). But EDM DJ here in DFW and when I was in CA is saturated. Promoters and club owners know this so they pay em shit. The big clubs are open format, that is where you can make $250-$500 a night. So guess what, my ass is playing open format, even though I don't like hip-hop.

But when I am at home mixing and practicing, I never touch hip-hop. But the basics of mixing applies to it, so at this point I really do not need to practice it. At least in my opinion. I'm not trying to be a battle DJ.