March 19, 2019 |
Whodini

Whodini Is A Hip Hop Group That Was Formed In 1981. The Brooklyn, New York-Based Trio Consisted Of Vocalist And Main Lyricist Jalil Hutchins; Co-Vocalist John Fletcher, A.k.a. Ecstasy (Who Wore A Zorro-Style Hat As His Trademark); And Turntable Artist DJ Drew Carter, A.k.a. Grandmaster Dee.
Coming Out Of The Fertile New York Rap Scene Of The Early 80s, Whodini Was One Of The First Rap Groups To Add R&B Twist To Their Music, Thus Laying The Foundation For A New Genre - New Jack Swing. The Group Made Its Name With Good-Humored Songs Such As "Magic's Wand" (The First Rap Song Accompanied By A Video), "The Haunted House Of Rock" (Rewrite Of "Monster Mash"), "Friends", "Five Minutes Of Funk" And "Freaks Come Out At Night". Live Performances Of The Group Were The First Rap Concerts With The Participation Of Breakdance Dancers From The Group UTFO. Russell Simmons Was The Manager Of The Group In The 80s.
The Group Has Released Six Studio Albums. 14 Singles Of The Group Hit The Charts Of The American Magazine Billboard. 3 Albums Of The Group Were Certified Gold By RIAA, And One Of Them Was Certified Platinum Due To Their Loud Single "Friends" That Hit Billboard Hot 100.
Whodini Was Among The First Hip Hop Groups To Cultivate A High-Profile National Following For Hip Hop Music And Made Significant Inroads On Urban Radio. They Were Contemporaries Of Other Hip Hop Groups Such As The Fat Boys, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa And Warp 9. The Group Signed With London-Based Independent Record Label Jive Records In 1982; They Enjoyed A String Of Hits For Several Years, Mostly Charting On Urban And R&B Radio Stations. The Bulk Of Production On Their Releases Was Done By Larry Smith, A Bass Player Who Also Handled Much Of Run-D.M.C.'S Early Work.
In 1982, Whodini Made A Rap Story With Their Debut Single "Magic's Wand", An Ode To Rap Radio Pioneer Mr. Magic, Which Became The First Rap Song To Receive A Music Video. Synthpop And Electropioneer Thomas Dolby Helped Produced This Single. "Magic's Wand" Also Has The Distinction Of Being One Of Whodini's Most-Sampled Songs.
On July 8, 1983, The Group Released The Self-Titled Album Whodini On Vinyl And Audio Cassettes. On CD, The Album Was Released In The United States Only In 2010. The Second Single, "Haunted House Of Rock", Was Released In Time For Halloween, 1983. Whodini Combined The Goofy Fun Of The Fat Boys With The Virtuosity Of Run-D.M.C. To Create What Is The Rap Equivalent Of Horror Movies. Heavy On The Sound Effects, The Song Is Full Of References To Various Famous Monsters And Boogymen - Dracula, Bloody Mary And The Invisible Man All Show Up.
By 1987, The Group Had Earned Its Share Of Gold Singles And Albums. With The Fourth Album Open Sesame, Its Final Release Of The 1980s, The Group Had Turned Away From Their Once-Playful Simple Beats And Catchy Rhymes Of The Old School And Instead Became Vocally More Harder And More Instrument-Driven, With Guitars And Horns And Bells. They Even Began To Sample, As A Snippet Of Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real" Is Heard On The Song "Now That Whodini's Inside The Joint". Larry Smith Produced The Entire Album Except For Two Tracks, "Be Yourself" And "I'm Def (Jump Back And Kiss Myself)", Produced By Sinester.
This New School Style Had Been Similarly Done Almost A Year Previously On The Multi-Million Selling Debut Albums By L.L. Cool J And The Beastie Boys, As Many Groups Had Already Turned To The Kind Of Rap And Rock Music That Crossed Over Easily, And Open Sesame Failed To Produce Any Real Hits.
Although The Group Was Still Obligated To Jive Records, For The Next Few Years The Band Eked Out Its Tenure By Occasionally Only Releasing Singles, Including “Anyway I Gotta Swing It” For The A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child Movie Soundtrack.
In The 1990s, The Band Made An Attempt At A Comeback, And In That Same Year The Group Signed With MCA Records And Released The Fifth Album Bag-A-Trix In 1991, Which Failed To Have Commercial Impact, As It Tried Again To Reinvent Using The Then-Current Sound Of New Jack Swing. Larry Smith Produced 6 Tracks On The Album, Two Of Which Co-Authored With The Band Major Jam Productions, Which Separately Produced The Other 4 Tracks, And Fresh Gordon Made Music For Other 4 Songs.
In Mid-1994, The Group Scored A Hit Single With "It All Comes Down To The Money", Which Was Co-Produced By Public Enemy DJ Terminator X On His Album Super Bad.
Talks With Def Jam Recordings For A New Deal Stalled, And In 1996, The Group Was Signed By Jermaine Dupri (Mentor-Producer Of Kris Kross And Li'l Bow Wow) To His Then Columbia Records-Distributed So So Def Recordings Imprint. As A Child In The 1980s, Dupri Did A Brief Stint As A Dancer For The Group.
Their Sixth Album Six Produced One Single, "Keep Running Back", And Appeared Briefly On The R&B Chart. The Album Was Fully Produced By Jermaine Dupri, Except For Three Tracks, Which Were Created By Dave Atkinson And Andy "Red Spyda" Thelusma.
Since The Six Album, The Group Has Not Released Any New Music, But Its Older Songs Have Been Featured In Many Various Old School Compilations And Three Greatest-Hits Collections Have Been Released: The Jive Collection, Vol. 1 In 1995, Rap Attack In 2003, And Funky Beat: The Best Of Whodini In 2006, Which Featured The Seven-Minute "Whodini Mega Mix", Which Was A Medley Of Some Of The Biggest Hits.
In Recent Years, Whodini Still Tours Occasionally, And Its Old Records Still Surface On Pop And R&B Radio, Especially During Old-School Mix Shows. The Group's Records Have Now Become Sample Sources For Contemporary Emcees Such As Nas, Master P, Prodigy, And MF Doom.
In October 2007, Whodini Was An Honoree At The 4th Vh1 Hip Hop Honors.
In March 2012, Whodini Was Featured In Season 5 Episode 3 Of The TV One Hour-Long Music Documentary Series Unsung.
In August 2012, Whodini Was Presented With The Icon Award By The Underground Music Awards.
In October 2012, Whodini Was Inducted Into The 4th Annual Long Island Music Hall Of Fame.
On August 16, 2018, The Group Was Awarded The Hip-Hop Icon Award At The 3rd Black Music Honors Ceremony Held At The Tennessee Performing Arts Center In Nashville, Tennessee.
Coming Out Of The Fertile New York Rap Scene Of The Early 80s, Whodini Was One Of The First Rap Groups To Add R&B Twist To Their Music, Thus Laying The Foundation For A New Genre - New Jack Swing. The Group Made Its Name With Good-Humored Songs Such As "Magic's Wand" (The First Rap Song Accompanied By A Video), "The Haunted House Of Rock" (Rewrite Of "Monster Mash"), "Friends", "Five Minutes Of Funk" And "Freaks Come Out At Night". Live Performances Of The Group Were The First Rap Concerts With The Participation Of Breakdance Dancers From The Group UTFO. Russell Simmons Was The Manager Of The Group In The 80s.
The Group Has Released Six Studio Albums. 14 Singles Of The Group Hit The Charts Of The American Magazine Billboard. 3 Albums Of The Group Were Certified Gold By RIAA, And One Of Them Was Certified Platinum Due To Their Loud Single "Friends" That Hit Billboard Hot 100.
Whodini Was Among The First Hip Hop Groups To Cultivate A High-Profile National Following For Hip Hop Music And Made Significant Inroads On Urban Radio. They Were Contemporaries Of Other Hip Hop Groups Such As The Fat Boys, Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Afrika Bambaataa And Warp 9. The Group Signed With London-Based Independent Record Label Jive Records In 1982; They Enjoyed A String Of Hits For Several Years, Mostly Charting On Urban And R&B Radio Stations. The Bulk Of Production On Their Releases Was Done By Larry Smith, A Bass Player Who Also Handled Much Of Run-D.M.C.'S Early Work.
In 1982, Whodini Made A Rap Story With Their Debut Single "Magic's Wand", An Ode To Rap Radio Pioneer Mr. Magic, Which Became The First Rap Song To Receive A Music Video. Synthpop And Electropioneer Thomas Dolby Helped Produced This Single. "Magic's Wand" Also Has The Distinction Of Being One Of Whodini's Most-Sampled Songs.
On July 8, 1983, The Group Released The Self-Titled Album Whodini On Vinyl And Audio Cassettes. On CD, The Album Was Released In The United States Only In 2010. The Second Single, "Haunted House Of Rock", Was Released In Time For Halloween, 1983. Whodini Combined The Goofy Fun Of The Fat Boys With The Virtuosity Of Run-D.M.C. To Create What Is The Rap Equivalent Of Horror Movies. Heavy On The Sound Effects, The Song Is Full Of References To Various Famous Monsters And Boogymen - Dracula, Bloody Mary And The Invisible Man All Show Up.
By 1987, The Group Had Earned Its Share Of Gold Singles And Albums. With The Fourth Album Open Sesame, Its Final Release Of The 1980s, The Group Had Turned Away From Their Once-Playful Simple Beats And Catchy Rhymes Of The Old School And Instead Became Vocally More Harder And More Instrument-Driven, With Guitars And Horns And Bells. They Even Began To Sample, As A Snippet Of Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real" Is Heard On The Song "Now That Whodini's Inside The Joint". Larry Smith Produced The Entire Album Except For Two Tracks, "Be Yourself" And "I'm Def (Jump Back And Kiss Myself)", Produced By Sinester.
This New School Style Had Been Similarly Done Almost A Year Previously On The Multi-Million Selling Debut Albums By L.L. Cool J And The Beastie Boys, As Many Groups Had Already Turned To The Kind Of Rap And Rock Music That Crossed Over Easily, And Open Sesame Failed To Produce Any Real Hits.
Although The Group Was Still Obligated To Jive Records, For The Next Few Years The Band Eked Out Its Tenure By Occasionally Only Releasing Singles, Including “Anyway I Gotta Swing It” For The A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child Movie Soundtrack.
In The 1990s, The Band Made An Attempt At A Comeback, And In That Same Year The Group Signed With MCA Records And Released The Fifth Album Bag-A-Trix In 1991, Which Failed To Have Commercial Impact, As It Tried Again To Reinvent Using The Then-Current Sound Of New Jack Swing. Larry Smith Produced 6 Tracks On The Album, Two Of Which Co-Authored With The Band Major Jam Productions, Which Separately Produced The Other 4 Tracks, And Fresh Gordon Made Music For Other 4 Songs.
In Mid-1994, The Group Scored A Hit Single With "It All Comes Down To The Money", Which Was Co-Produced By Public Enemy DJ Terminator X On His Album Super Bad.
Talks With Def Jam Recordings For A New Deal Stalled, And In 1996, The Group Was Signed By Jermaine Dupri (Mentor-Producer Of Kris Kross And Li'l Bow Wow) To His Then Columbia Records-Distributed So So Def Recordings Imprint. As A Child In The 1980s, Dupri Did A Brief Stint As A Dancer For The Group.
Their Sixth Album Six Produced One Single, "Keep Running Back", And Appeared Briefly On The R&B Chart. The Album Was Fully Produced By Jermaine Dupri, Except For Three Tracks, Which Were Created By Dave Atkinson And Andy "Red Spyda" Thelusma.
Since The Six Album, The Group Has Not Released Any New Music, But Its Older Songs Have Been Featured In Many Various Old School Compilations And Three Greatest-Hits Collections Have Been Released: The Jive Collection, Vol. 1 In 1995, Rap Attack In 2003, And Funky Beat: The Best Of Whodini In 2006, Which Featured The Seven-Minute "Whodini Mega Mix", Which Was A Medley Of Some Of The Biggest Hits.
In Recent Years, Whodini Still Tours Occasionally, And Its Old Records Still Surface On Pop And R&B Radio, Especially During Old-School Mix Shows. The Group's Records Have Now Become Sample Sources For Contemporary Emcees Such As Nas, Master P, Prodigy, And MF Doom.
In October 2007, Whodini Was An Honoree At The 4th Vh1 Hip Hop Honors.
In March 2012, Whodini Was Featured In Season 5 Episode 3 Of The TV One Hour-Long Music Documentary Series Unsung.
In August 2012, Whodini Was Presented With The Icon Award By The Underground Music Awards.
In October 2012, Whodini Was Inducted Into The 4th Annual Long Island Music Hall Of Fame.
On August 16, 2018, The Group Was Awarded The Hip-Hop Icon Award At The 3rd Black Music Honors Ceremony Held At The Tennessee Performing Arts Center In Nashville, Tennessee.
Treme Funk: Corey Henry’s Universe

“We do our own style of New Orleans Treme funk, that consists of funk, New Orleans brass band music, a little bit of hiphop–inspired music, a little bit of soul and R&B.”
Trombonist Corey Henry continually celebrates all that it means to grow up in a musical family and in the rhythmic and melodic incubator that is New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood. It was a spot where a musically curious and lively young man could catch brass bands rolling down the streets and share the experience with his equally eager young friends.
“I was living right next door to my cousin Kabuki [trumpeter Derrick Shezbie] on Treme Street and with the whole Rebirth family—Miss Frazier—lived on the next block,” Henry explains. “You can imagine what that two or three block radius was like. It was crazy. The whole of St. Philip Street was like a party every day.”
The world of brass band music and traditional jazz remains inherent in Henry’s style even as he has moved on to incorporate other grooves as leader of his own Treme Funktet, which just released its hard-hitting debut CD, Lapeitah. (More about the title’s special origin later.) The trombonist also brings his own sound when blowing with the jam/funk/rock band Galactic.
As a teenager, Henry had the opportunity to play with and listen to some of this city’s greatest musicians. So early on the trombonist understood the importance of musicianship and the tonal quality that today defines his mastery of the instrument.
“When I was probably 15 or something like that, Unc [his uncle, drummer Benny Jones] took me into the Treme Brass Band and I think that was one of the biggest things that could ever happen to me. I was surrounded by super, super bad musicians, some of the baddest musicians in the world—saxophonists Frederick Sheppard, Fred Kemp, Roger Lewis and Elliot ‘Stackman’ Callier. During the ’90s he threw me out there with all those bad cats.”
Henry, who celebrates his 41st birthday on July 14, began playing drums like his Uncle Benny and grandfather Chester Jones. At about age 10, he and a couple of his friends would head to the French Quarter to perform together or by the side of the great Anthony “Tuba Fats” Lacen in Jackson Square.
“When we first started out we were little kids just kind of hustling for tips,” Henry remembers. “It was almost like going to a university playing with Tuba Fats. You’d be sitting out there learning so much music. He’d call so many songs that you probably never even heard of but he was doing it on purpose because he wants you to learn them—it’s part of the learning process. He’s just dropping more and more information. We have no idea what we’re doing, but we were trying and learning at the same time. He always gave us little tips about playing and would encourage us as little young musicians to keep going in the right direction and [tell us] that we were doing a good job. It was an honor and inspiration to be playing with Tuba Fats.”
Henry was aware of Lacen even before he got to know him better in the Quarter. One of his uncles (his father’s brother), Michael George, played bass drum with Tuba Fats’ Chosen Few Brass Band.
“It was pretty often I got to see Tuba Fats in my neighborhood whether he was playing music with his band or the Olympia Brass Band or just hanging out,” Henry recalls. “He was this 500pound man, so that was a big attraction for a little kid.”
Trombonist Corey Henry continually celebrates all that it means to grow up in a musical family and in the rhythmic and melodic incubator that is New Orleans’ Treme neighborhood. It was a spot where a musically curious and lively young man could catch brass bands rolling down the streets and share the experience with his equally eager young friends.
“I was living right next door to my cousin Kabuki [trumpeter Derrick Shezbie] on Treme Street and with the whole Rebirth family—Miss Frazier—lived on the next block,” Henry explains. “You can imagine what that two or three block radius was like. It was crazy. The whole of St. Philip Street was like a party every day.”
The world of brass band music and traditional jazz remains inherent in Henry’s style even as he has moved on to incorporate other grooves as leader of his own Treme Funktet, which just released its hard-hitting debut CD, Lapeitah. (More about the title’s special origin later.) The trombonist also brings his own sound when blowing with the jam/funk/rock band Galactic.
As a teenager, Henry had the opportunity to play with and listen to some of this city’s greatest musicians. So early on the trombonist understood the importance of musicianship and the tonal quality that today defines his mastery of the instrument.
“When I was probably 15 or something like that, Unc [his uncle, drummer Benny Jones] took me into the Treme Brass Band and I think that was one of the biggest things that could ever happen to me. I was surrounded by super, super bad musicians, some of the baddest musicians in the world—saxophonists Frederick Sheppard, Fred Kemp, Roger Lewis and Elliot ‘Stackman’ Callier. During the ’90s he threw me out there with all those bad cats.”
Henry, who celebrates his 41st birthday on July 14, began playing drums like his Uncle Benny and grandfather Chester Jones. At about age 10, he and a couple of his friends would head to the French Quarter to perform together or by the side of the great Anthony “Tuba Fats” Lacen in Jackson Square.
“When we first started out we were little kids just kind of hustling for tips,” Henry remembers. “It was almost like going to a university playing with Tuba Fats. You’d be sitting out there learning so much music. He’d call so many songs that you probably never even heard of but he was doing it on purpose because he wants you to learn them—it’s part of the learning process. He’s just dropping more and more information. We have no idea what we’re doing, but we were trying and learning at the same time. He always gave us little tips about playing and would encourage us as little young musicians to keep going in the right direction and [tell us] that we were doing a good job. It was an honor and inspiration to be playing with Tuba Fats.”
Henry was aware of Lacen even before he got to know him better in the Quarter. One of his uncles (his father’s brother), Michael George, played bass drum with Tuba Fats’ Chosen Few Brass Band.
“It was pretty often I got to see Tuba Fats in my neighborhood whether he was playing music with his band or the Olympia Brass Band or just hanging out,” Henry recalls. “He was this 500pound man, so that was a big attraction for a little kid.”
Raj Smoove

Roger Donald Dickerson, II is your typical New Orleanian…growing up between the East and Gentilly, graduating from McDonogh 35 and Dillard University, and still living and working in this wonderful city we call home. But somewhere in the midst of all that New Orleans living, Mr. Dickerson came to be known by another name…a name that when spoken aloud, brings a smile to people's face. A name that when you hear it, you simply shake your head with the knowledge that everything’s gonna be all good.
Raj Smoove gives us that feeling…that feeling of (pardon the cliché) tonight’s gonna be a good night. When you know that Mr. Raj Smoove is going to be at a party or event, you’re prepared to enjoy yourself the WHOLE night.
For those of you don’t know who Raj Smoove is (and we can’t imagine there are more than two of you who don’t), through music, he is the “voice” of a generation of New Orleanians. From Jubilee and Partners ‘N’ Crime to Notorious BIG and Dr. Dre to Sean Paul and Mr. Vegas to Beyonce and Kourtney Heart, Raj Smoove is like a walking history book on the music and art of DJing.
Unlike many of us, Raj Smoove has had the opportunity to have one job for his whole life. No working at the neighborhood snowball stand or grocery store. No waiting tables or answering phones. Raj has always been a DJ, perfecting and honing his craft as the years have passed.
“I was a big fan of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and I always gravitated towards the DJ when I was younger,” Raj said. “I remember listening to Jazzy Jeff live at Union Square and he was hyping the crowd. Jeff was scratching and performing and I was like, ‘Man, that’s shive! I can do that!’ After that is when I think I really got bit by the DJ bug. I needed a mixer, crossfader, and a turntable, so I started getting my parents to buy me equipment for Christmas and birthdays and stuff.”
As an eighth grader and huge fan of hip-hop and DJing (one of his favorite movies is the 1984 hip hop drama Beat Street), Raj, or Roger as he was still known to many, needed a name. “Back in the day, everybody was like Jazzy Jeff or Mannie Fresh, so you had a first and last name as a DJ,” he said. “I went through a couple of different names, but Smoove just kinda stuck. Everybody in my family always called me Raj so that one was natural. So I put the Raj with the Smoove around my freshman year in high school and got Raj Smoove.”
And Raj has never looked back. From performing at the Jazz Fest with his crew, Psychoward (a collective of DJs, rappers, and producers in the early 90s), as a sophomore in high school, to making it to the finals in the Guitar Center DJ Battles in New York, to working with Lil Wayne on his first mixtape Lil Weezy Ana, Raj has obviously had some major accomplishments. “I kind of feel like I’ve done it all. I’ve been on radio and tours and I’ve done the mixtape thing as well as DJed consistent club nights for years. I think my biggest accomplishment is that I’ve been able to make a living off of DJing. You know, a lot of people moonlight with DJing on the weekends and they have regular jobs. I’ve never had a regular job; it’s always been playing music and rocking the clubs.”
Raj Smoove gives us that feeling…that feeling of (pardon the cliché) tonight’s gonna be a good night. When you know that Mr. Raj Smoove is going to be at a party or event, you’re prepared to enjoy yourself the WHOLE night.
For those of you don’t know who Raj Smoove is (and we can’t imagine there are more than two of you who don’t), through music, he is the “voice” of a generation of New Orleanians. From Jubilee and Partners ‘N’ Crime to Notorious BIG and Dr. Dre to Sean Paul and Mr. Vegas to Beyonce and Kourtney Heart, Raj Smoove is like a walking history book on the music and art of DJing.
Unlike many of us, Raj Smoove has had the opportunity to have one job for his whole life. No working at the neighborhood snowball stand or grocery store. No waiting tables or answering phones. Raj has always been a DJ, perfecting and honing his craft as the years have passed.
“I was a big fan of DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince and I always gravitated towards the DJ when I was younger,” Raj said. “I remember listening to Jazzy Jeff live at Union Square and he was hyping the crowd. Jeff was scratching and performing and I was like, ‘Man, that’s shive! I can do that!’ After that is when I think I really got bit by the DJ bug. I needed a mixer, crossfader, and a turntable, so I started getting my parents to buy me equipment for Christmas and birthdays and stuff.”
As an eighth grader and huge fan of hip-hop and DJing (one of his favorite movies is the 1984 hip hop drama Beat Street), Raj, or Roger as he was still known to many, needed a name. “Back in the day, everybody was like Jazzy Jeff or Mannie Fresh, so you had a first and last name as a DJ,” he said. “I went through a couple of different names, but Smoove just kinda stuck. Everybody in my family always called me Raj so that one was natural. So I put the Raj with the Smoove around my freshman year in high school and got Raj Smoove.”
And Raj has never looked back. From performing at the Jazz Fest with his crew, Psychoward (a collective of DJs, rappers, and producers in the early 90s), as a sophomore in high school, to making it to the finals in the Guitar Center DJ Battles in New York, to working with Lil Wayne on his first mixtape Lil Weezy Ana, Raj has obviously had some major accomplishments. “I kind of feel like I’ve done it all. I’ve been on radio and tours and I’ve done the mixtape thing as well as DJed consistent club nights for years. I think my biggest accomplishment is that I’ve been able to make a living off of DJing. You know, a lot of people moonlight with DJing on the weekends and they have regular jobs. I’ve never had a regular job; it’s always been playing music and rocking the clubs.”

He added, “A good DJ knows what to play at the right time. It’s a lot easier said than done because you really have to play to your crowd. You have to know who you’re DJing for because DJing for a bunch of high school students is very different than DJing for a 25 and up crowd which is different from 50 year old birthday parties or wedding receptions. You really have to be aware of who your audience is and then tailor what you play to your audience.”
And if you have ever been to an event where Raj Smoove was DJing, you know that is exactly what he does!
Being a student at Dillard University played a huge role in Raj’s ability to cater to different to kinds of audiences. “Dillard is a school that’s made up of a lot of out of town people. The composition of the audience was so diverse that by me doing events on campus, I had to cater to a wide range of musical tastes of what people were familiar with. I had never heard of some of the music before, but they were bringing it to me.”
He continued, “I really learned how to cater to a wide range of people and be able to go different places with my musical selections, and make it so that everybody has a good time. I can play some Stevie Wonder and Pete Rock, and still play Rick Ross or Lil Wayne, Drake, or DeBarge and Maze. I can do it in a way that everybody enjoys it and it’s like, ‘Man, we went on a musical journey tonight.’”
In addition to DJing, Raj is now working in the production and management sides of the music industry. “I want to find and develop artists, and get them deals. That’s my goal as of right now. I think there is kind of a vacuum in New Orleans right now. No Limit is non-existent, Cash Money transplanted to Miami, and there’s no real outlet or channel for artists from here to get into the corporate structure of the recording industry. I think once I’m able to break out a couple artists from down here, we can get the corporate budgets and attention and I can create a channel to funnel the talent that’s down here out.” Currently, Raj has been working with local artists, such as Kourtney Heart, Kris Batiste, and Dizzy, among others.
Raj concluded, “From the DJing side, I’ve done it all. I’ve done what a lot of people have wanted to do and I’ve done it at a very high level. It’s not like starting from square one because I’ve done the production and management thing concurrently with my DJing. It’s just that now it’s more serious and there’s a lot of other obstacles and hurdles that you have to get over. I feel like I’m challenged again and I have a renewed vigor. I’m excited about being successful on this side.”
And if you have ever been to an event where Raj Smoove was DJing, you know that is exactly what he does!
Being a student at Dillard University played a huge role in Raj’s ability to cater to different to kinds of audiences. “Dillard is a school that’s made up of a lot of out of town people. The composition of the audience was so diverse that by me doing events on campus, I had to cater to a wide range of musical tastes of what people were familiar with. I had never heard of some of the music before, but they were bringing it to me.”
He continued, “I really learned how to cater to a wide range of people and be able to go different places with my musical selections, and make it so that everybody has a good time. I can play some Stevie Wonder and Pete Rock, and still play Rick Ross or Lil Wayne, Drake, or DeBarge and Maze. I can do it in a way that everybody enjoys it and it’s like, ‘Man, we went on a musical journey tonight.’”
In addition to DJing, Raj is now working in the production and management sides of the music industry. “I want to find and develop artists, and get them deals. That’s my goal as of right now. I think there is kind of a vacuum in New Orleans right now. No Limit is non-existent, Cash Money transplanted to Miami, and there’s no real outlet or channel for artists from here to get into the corporate structure of the recording industry. I think once I’m able to break out a couple artists from down here, we can get the corporate budgets and attention and I can create a channel to funnel the talent that’s down here out.” Currently, Raj has been working with local artists, such as Kourtney Heart, Kris Batiste, and Dizzy, among others.
Raj concluded, “From the DJing side, I’ve done it all. I’ve done what a lot of people have wanted to do and I’ve done it at a very high level. It’s not like starting from square one because I’ve done the production and management thing concurrently with my DJing. It’s just that now it’s more serious and there’s a lot of other obstacles and hurdles that you have to get over. I feel like I’m challenged again and I have a renewed vigor. I’m excited about being successful on this side.”