The State of the Superstar DJ

Nappy posted this up on Facebook, due to a conversation we had been having on the phone tonight: "I rarely pull out the race card. But count the white acts. Then count EVERY other race. There's pictures, if you need assistance. A multi-billion dollar industry with the equality of a 1960's public school system. PLUR, indeed". We started kicking knowledge on that subject due to the line-up for this weekend's EDC in NYC. And it's something that can be a hard pill to swallow. When you think that a boatload of the origin of Electronic Dance Music stems from tracks that come from Black culture, be it Drum & Bass, dubstep, House or the like, it seems that it's more acts like Diplo, A-Trak, Skrillex, David Guettaand the like that hit that "superstar" status in terms of DJ acceptance. Why is that?

And before you go on a rant about it not being about race, I don't think mine is a matter of "oh it's not enough niggas out there", it's just the fact that, from the radio stations (both stateside and abroad), the label heads and the biggest names to pop off are white - or associated with white. You've got guys like Skream & Benga. I could see Skream having his own show on BBC Radio 1 - but I don't know if Benga could pull that off, and they both have equal percentage of their main mainstream vehicle, Magnetic Man. Most hipsters wouldn't/weren't fucking with a Gucci Mane until Diplo put his stamp on it. And don't even get me started when it comes to Drum & Bass - aside from Bailey, the majority of the DnB presence on terrestrial radio is white. And they're dope DJs, don't get me wrong, but are there not more talented producers / DJs of color to put into those positions?

How many of the large EDM festivals are headlined by a producer/DJ of color? Why are there producers of equal (or greater) talent than some of these big name DJs not getting the same recognition? Where are the vodka and BlackBerry spots for guys like Steve Aoki or DJ Craze? Am I the only one seeing this?

And who is to blame - is it a major corporation thing, only wanting to highlight a certain style of producer, or is it something else? Why would music that's definitely of black origin not get shine from the prominent Black producers?

I've been enamored with and following the EDM scene since the mid-'90s, and have always loved the fact that guys like Goldie, Shy FX, Carl Cox, Mala and others could bring their particular sounds to the masses. It just feels that they get pushed to the wayside. For scene(s) that pride themselves on making sure you know your history, it's hard to stomach how far the representation of the scene can move from it's origins. And if you don't believe me, go to any EDM forum and find a thread about why BBC Radio 1Xtra highlights "music of black origin" or "street music". I've seen arguments fly about the stations branding themselves with where they came from, which I never understood.

Just my $0.02. Say I'm pulling the race card or what you will, just know that I see it everytime I see a large bill for a festival or a night, and I hear it when I listen to how the scenes have evolved over the last decade.

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