Photo courtesy of ILLADELL
DJ Illadel is a music mixer based in South Carolina. Illadel started mixing in his home as a virtual DJ. From there he ordered his equipment and began branching out to parties and other entertainment venues. He says he got his name from The Roots third studio album Illadelph Halflife.
Illadel wants to put South Carolina DJs on the map, and he thinks that they have the talent to do so. The master mixer spoke with rolling out about the type of music he combines, and what makes somebody a good DJ.
What kind of music were you mixing when you first started DJing?
We pull from everywhere in South Carolina. We get our music mainly from Georgia, Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Alabama, and Louisiana. We play all of that. Lil Boosie is a God here. Him and Webbie are good for life here. For me, I used to mix songs from Pimp C, UGK, OutKast, Goodie Mob, Trick Daddy, and Trina. Everybody who is a southern legend, I use to mix their songs. We play New York stuff too; it just depends on the vibe.
What makes DJs where you’re from stand out from others across the country?
We can DJ just as good as them, if not better. I’m not the most technical DJ like DJ scratch or Scratch Master, but I can do everything else. I think we’re good here. We have people who are on national stages, so it just depends on what’s your outlook on dee jaying. Are you trying to be big and do tours and festivals, or do you want to be a household name in your city?
What makes a person a respectable DJ?
In my opinion, you definitely got to know your music and read the crowd. A lot of people play for themselves in a sense, but you’re supposed to play for the crowd. It’s not a bad thing to do that, but at the same time, you kind of want to keep the party going, so you play what people want to hear, or at least what you expect them to want to hear. You still have to play different records, and we have to play the new songs.
You can’t just be playing ’90s and 2000s every time you go out, because that can get old quick. People will be like, “Oh, we already know when he’s going to play, we’re not pulling up to this party.” You have to know how to blend and transition well, but if you’re a club DJ, or you’re just doing parties, most people don’t care about that unless it’s like one of them events if you’re going to see Jazzy Jeff. Other than that, if you want to do parties, festivals, or you want to keep the party going, I will say mic work, emceeing, blending and transitions, and playing for your audience makes you a good DJ.
