Why are there no female DJs on DJ Mag's top 100 list?

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  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    batmon said:
    bassie said:
    lol - it's cool. I just had the 10th anniversary of my night where I play what I want, have the guests I want - a lot of whom ask to play the night - and I am as happy as a non-specific gender DJ can be!

    Edit - To be clear, my night is not some huge raging party. It's a really chill night akin to a basement record party with friends.

    "Your BPMs are way off."

    lol
    Yea, like the article, I've had dudes reach over to try to "adjust".

    (mind you - if it sounds hot or muddy or whatever in the room, I always appreciate being told so the sound can be fixed)

  • eliseelise 3,252 Posts
    bassie said:
    batmon said:
    bassie said:
    lol - it's cool. I just had the 10th anniversary of my night where I play what I want, have the guests I want - a lot of whom ask to play the night - and I am as happy as a non-specific gender DJ can be!

    Edit - To be clear, my night is not some huge raging party. It's a really chill night akin to a basement record party with friends.

    "Your BPMs are way off."

    lol
    Yea, like the article, I've had dudes reach over to try to "adjust".

    (mind you - if it sounds hot or muddy or whatever in the room, I always appreciate being told so the sound can be fixed)

    I had a guy try to "help" me once at a gig on NYE. He had to be high on something 'cause pulling cords out the mixer seemed like a good idea to him. It wasn't pretty. I do not miss that schitt at all.

  • I've seen Shortee kill it in the club.

  • Dj flight needs to be on that list. She is one of the best technical dj i have heard and her seection is on point for dnb.

    Ive seen kemistry and storm kill it before kemistry passed away and they killed it.

    I'd say female dnb djs are way better than other females in different genres.

  • Dolo76Dolo76 64 Posts
    ost said:
    Yeah seriously.
    EDIT: A dj should be able to mix & select first & foremost. Juggling is more of a novelty imo.



    Juggling isnt a novelty at all.

    Its a part of a skillset, used to seperate oneself from the huge majority of deejays, who are mediocre, at best.

  • sticky_dojahsticky_dojah New York City. 2,136 Posts
    Dolo76 said:
    ost said:
    Yeah seriously.
    EDIT: A dj should be able to mix & select first & foremost. Juggling is more of a novelty imo.



    Juggling isnt a novelty at all.

    Its a part of a skillset, used to seperate oneself from the huge majority of deejays, who are mediocre, at best.



    this. And I do dance. And when executed properly, some nice little juggles do add to the dance experience. Plus Cosign on Annie Mac, Shortee (who I've seen killin' it live on a big festival stage) and Kemistry (R.I.P.) & Storm. Just saw Storm last year in Leipzig and she was killing it too.



  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    Dolo76 said:
    Juggling isnt a novelty at all.

    Characterize it whichever way you want, it still has no place in a club that plays anything outside of hip hop & even then it is mildly entertaining for 2-3 minutes at most to turntablist nerds for the most part.
    You're not a good dj if you can't mix & do so properly. Most scratch dj's I've seen or heard suck at mixing. I've seen well respected, even DMC finalists or champs, djs bomb terribly.

    Its a part of a skillset, used to seperate oneself from the huge majority of deejays, who are mediocre, at best.

    Perhaps in the hip hop community this is true but you step outside of that & people don't care after you've fucked up the vibe.
    Nobody outside rap nerds give a fuck whether or not you did a triple disk orbit flare buttcrack scratch.

  • empanadamnempanadamn 1,462 Posts
    annie mac is playing with toddla t at drom on halloween in nyc if anyone is interested.

  • DuderonomyDuderonomy Haut de la Garenne 7,793 Posts
    (1) Somebody in the comments section of the article mentioned that almost every name in that top 100 list is also a producer. Male producers outnumber female producers by some way (I realise that male DJs also outnumber female DJs, but it gives you an idea of what the voting demographic considers when nominating choices).

    (2) There's no sexual equality in clubland, that's just a fact of life. Why don't nightclubs have nights where men get in free and the women have to pay?

    (3) Considering how technology has made it so easy to be a DJ (possible within hours now rather than years), I'm actually surprised that there aren't more female DJs out there. Surely when two DJs of equal talent, or lack of, want to get booked, hot chick would get it ahead of anorak-man every time.

    (4) I don't think that list has ever been a barometer of anything other than who can fling the most money or favours at the mag. Again, in the comments section somebody mentioned checking out Resident Advisor's equivalent if you want a better picture.

  • bassiebassie 11,710 Posts
    Duderonomy said:

    (2) There's no sexual equality in clubland, that's just a fact of life. Why don't nightclubs have nights where men get in free and the women have to pay?

    I guess places are trying to prevent a sausage party, but I think Ladies Free! Ladies Free B4 Midnght! is pretty lame.

    As a side note and somewhat unrelated - I bitch about this all the time and am surprised it still exists: "This one is for the ladies in the house" etc etc
    And it of course is some BS r&b-ice-cream-sound-worst-track-on-the-record joint.

  • what's next though guys? revising da four elementz of hip hop to include hair product and cute shoes? amirite?

  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    Duderonomy said:
    (1) Somebody in the comments section of the article mentioned that almost every name in that top 100 list is also a producer. Male producers outnumber female producers by some way (I realise that male DJs also outnumber female DJs, but it gives you an idea of what the voting demographic considers when nominating choices).

    (2) There's no sexual equality in clubland, that's just a fact of life. Why don't nightclubs have nights where men get in free and the women have to pay?

    (3) Considering how technology has made it so easy to be a DJ (possible within hours now rather than years), I'm actually surprised that there aren't more female DJs out there. Surely when two DJs of equal talent, or lack of, want to get booked, hot chick would get it ahead of anorak-man every time.

    (4) I don't think that list has ever been a barometer of anything other than who can fling the most money or favours at the mag. Again, in the comments section somebody mentioned checking out Resident Advisor's equivalent if you want a better picture.

    All of these but mostly (4). RA's list is no better, to be honest, and both are pretty shoddily compiled. Anyone who enters the DJ Top 100 competition is eligible to buy a trophy with their name on it no matter where they place in the running. That's how weighty this poll is.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Not to stereotype to much, but in general, women have greater empathy than men.

    A key to club djing is reading the mood of the room and playing what works.

    It seems, to me, that women should be better than men at this.

  • DanteDante 371 Posts
    Downstroke said:


  • Good thing she's using Serato plates - THOSE NAILS!!!

  • it's just a numbers game. there are many more male djs, bad and good.

    also, the only people concerned with the importance of juggling (as a club dj) are not part of a club's target audience. i don't think the maloof brothers have former turntablist enthusiasts in mind when they are designing the format of a vegas club.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    LaserWolf said:
    Not to stereotype to much, but in general, women have greater empathy than men.

    A key to club djing is reading the mood of the room and playing what works.

    It seems, to me, that women should be better than men at this.

    I see what your sayin but one needs to know music as well..imo.

    Reading a crowd and throwing softballls to them isnt rocket science.
    Developing your own sets and rocking your 'shit' takes some experience.

    Ive seen sisters come into the game playing nothing but easy access radio bangers on some mcdonalds shit to grow into having their own distinctive voice. And Ive seen sisters whove had their own voice balancing themselves with familiar shit and exposing the audiences to new shit that wasnt on the hot racks of the local record stores.

  • ost said:
    Dolo76 said:
    Juggling isnt a novelty at all.

    Characterize it whichever way you want, it still has no place in a club that plays anything outside of hip hop & even then it is mildly entertaining for 2-3 minutes at most to turntablist nerds for the most part.
    You're not a good dj if you can't mix & do so properly. Most scratch dj's I've seen or heard suck at mixing. I've seen well respected, even DMC finalists or champs, djs bomb terribly.

    Never said anything about mixing properly, that is obviously one of the top 3 things a dj needs to have mastered (mixing, reading a crowd/selection, and technical skill). I'm just pointing out that Juggling is far from a novelty. yes, there are plenty of scratch deejays who suck at doing stuff other than battling, who cares? lots of deejays suck at mixing, including house, trance, electro, dubstep, whatever. Juggling, when done right (in non-turntablilst environments), should be brief and cleanly executed to add to the experience.

    Ive noticed that people who are usually try to downplay scratch ability, juggling, etc are people who tried and failed at it, so they tend to be harsh in their critique of it, simply because they cant cut it, literally.



    ost said:
    Dolo76 said:
    Its a part of a skillset, used to seperate oneself from the huge majority of deejays, who are mediocre, at best.

    Perhaps in the hip hop community this is true but you step outside of that & people don't care after you've fucked up the vibe.
    Nobody outside rap nerds give a fuck whether or not you did a triple disk orbit flare buttcrack scratch.

    Let me guess, a turntabilist killed your father and raped your mother.
    No one gives a fuck about your stupid definitions about what is and isn't acceptable for deejaying.

  • On Topic, there are some good, and a few great, female deejays, but unfortunately there are a lot of shitty ones who simply got their gigs by having boobs and some songs loaded on laptop.

  • LaserWolfLaserWolf Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
    Dolo76 said:
    On Topic, there are some good, and a few great, female deejays, but unfortunately there are a lot of shitty ones who simply got their gigs by having boobs and some songs loaded on laptop.

    But if they can't rock the crowd they are replaced by someone who simply got the gig for having a cock and some songs loaded on laptop.

  • LaserWolf said:
    Dolo76 said:
    On Topic, there are some good, and a few great, female deejays, but unfortunately there are a lot of shitty ones who simply got their gigs by having boobs and some songs loaded on laptop.

    But if they can't rock the crowd they are replaced by someone who simply got the gig for having a cock and some songs loaded on laptop.

    touche!

    I imagine someday we will all complain about shitty robot deejays who simply got their gigs(abytes) by having Dual Intel Core5 processors and songs loaded onto their memory.


  • batmon said:


    Wasnt Beverley Bond the hot shit a minute ago?

    There are plenty of good female djs in the NYC area.

    i dont know how one comes up with any form of measurement to create a TOP list when it comes to DJing.

    Feelin' that Boxing Kitten dress.

  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts
    Dolo76 said:
    Ive noticed that people who are usually try to downplay scratch ability, juggling, etc are people who tried and failed at it, so they tend to be harsh in their critique of it, simply because they cant cut it, literally.
    Let me guess, a turntabilist killed your father and raped your mother.
    No one gives a fuck about your stupid definitions about what is and isn't acceptable for deejaying.

    Edit: I'm not going to gratify that with an in debt response because you are not worthy of one & you just proved your ignorance in this matter.

  • batmonbatmon 27,574 Posts
    no reason for the beef. when this discussion started i dont think we looked at good female djs as cats that can be on some turntablism shit. who can rock a party is the basic premise. If shorty can crab scratch fine, but the overall shit seemed to be on some overall dj steez thats not regulated by only Hip Hop based technical skills.

    kill that personal shit.

  • snosno 332 Posts


    The DJs in the above vid are making mad money from DJ'ing as well as their modelling gigs. Just saying.

  • lets be clear about the "dj mag top 100". it's voted online by their scumbag readers, and djs involved post on their facebook groups with a link to their 100,000 like-ers to vote for them. hence why it's not representative of much at all, and why it's dominated by terrible, terrible djs. it's a pissing contest, so unless you like tiesto more than david guetta you probably shouldn't be giving it a moments notice.

    a seperate issue is the female to male ratio in djing, which is definitely a problem. a big problem. you see the treatment some women get for their art and is really quite unbelievable. there are women out there that are challenging the mold though. best thing we can all do to help - avoid being a sexist asshole. judge people on their music not their chromosomes.

  • batmon said:
    no reason for the beef. when this discussion started i dont think we looked at good female djs as cats that can be on some turntablism shit. who can rock a party is the basic premise. If shorty can crab scratch fine, but the overall shit seemed to be on some overall dj steez thats not regulated by only Hip Hop based technical skills.

    kill that personal shit.

    agree. didnt want the thread to get derailed, but that kid came out his face a little when he replied, and i had to check it.

  • ostost Montreal 1,375 Posts



  • bassie said:
    StoneHands said:
    "DJ SHORTEE: The World's Premier Female DJ!"

    straight off her website. demonstrates the problem with this subject perfectly.

    Yes.



    On a personal note:

    The stuff that happens in the field is whatever. I am up there doing what I do, so that creates enough of a divide to be able to swiftly stop BS in its tracks and/or remove people from my proximity. Either you like what/how I'm playing or not. That's all that I care about rep'ing me.
    The scene/boys' club stuff is way more prevalent and "hurtful"/insulting/frustrating in my opinion. There are guys I have known for years; we came up together, bought records together, love the same music, I can stand shoulder to shoulder with them as far as playing goes, etc. but I will never be part of that inner circle - and there are definite circles. It used to really bug me - and it took a while to get over it - but I realized that I can't let that shit ruin what I love. The music is more important.

    some people criticize while others "do it". the same people who down-play the shortee videos would never make a video,don't know how to rock a crowd,and would get served pretty quick by just about anyone. i've followed shortee from back in the third world citizen days. the girl can hang with the best of them. to those who disagree,post your videos. oh,and while you're at it,list your dj resume so we can all be impressed.
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