(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
Loading...I’m sure the question is on everyone’s mind – “What went down at the DJ Clay Mixtape Release Party?” Well I have to tell you I wasn’t sure what to expect either, as this was my first “mixtape release party.” And I’ve got to say – I had a hell of a night.
Alan and I made our trip from Buffalo to Cleveland in a little over 3 hours with little incident other than some heavy downpours as we crossed into Ohio. Upon arriving at the venue we met up our homies Insane Eric, who was on the bill for the evening, and Phatty L, who would be hyping him on stage. After chilling with them, we went up inside the club. Now I’d been to Peabody’s numerous times, but this was my first time upstairs in Rockstar. Immediately upon entering you could feel the heat inside the place, and as more people filled in the temperature rose drastically. It had to have been 90+ degrees in there, there was even one Juggalette who I saw passed out and carried out from the heat! After some milling about and conversating, the night got under way. The original set time was to start at 9pm, but the first act entered the stage at about quarter to.
The first performance of the night was by A Filthee Sound, who in my opinion were quite good. They were a blend of punk/screamo/rap that really helped set the energy for the evening. You see some short footage of them below.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/Cp3l2ATVC5I[/youtube]
After A Filthee Sound finished there was a short break, then Insane Eric got up on stage along with Phatty L for support. They got the crowd moving with an energetic set, which included a brand new track. They closed their set with “Let’s Do This!” which you can peep a snippet of below.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7LEfKl3LwM[/youtube]
After InsaneE and another short break, Steel Rotten performed next. Their music was quite good, however they seemed to be short a few mics. Other than that aspect, they were quite enjoyable, and they did get the crowd moving a little bit. You watch a clip of their set below.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/o7C97Kc-jQ0[/youtube]
Rounding out the live performances for the evening was Fisty Cuffs. Unfortunately due to the heat I had to duck outside for a few minutes, but I could hear this ninja from outside and he was definitely holding it down up there. I even notice some of the smokers outside bobbing to the beat.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/Kxt8fUlRgQ8[/youtube]
Now it wasn’t long after Fisty Cuffs that the man of the night hopped on stage. The moment we had all been waiting for, the revelation of his new mixtape, had arrived. He spun the record from beginning to end (minus two skits), and stayed up on stage hyping the whole thing, giving us background info on the different tracks. He paused the music a couple times throughout to talk to the crowd, and also to give away two sets of tickets to ABK’s Summer Jam 2 Tour.
The crowd definitely loved the mixtape, the entire room was moving within the first few tracks. I should also mention that by this point the venue was sold out, or close to. I think the biggest crowd reaction was at the end of the mixtape, when he played “SKREEEM!” When that hook dropped, the place went nuts! Here’s a few videos of Clay throughout the night.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/sZpXrtcA-ao[/youtube][youtube]http://youtu.be/v1zJtfiiIas[/youtube][youtube]http://youtu.be/YZtyXeUZpng[/youtube]
Now you would think that the end of the mixtape would mean the end of the night, right? Not at a DJ Clay party! The energy in the room was so potent he pulled out a mic and started into a solo set of his own. Now this was exciting for me, I had never seen him perform live like that, and I was surprised. The entire room was alive when he started spitting! He performed my favorite track by him, “Just a Little Song I Wrote,” which you can view the FULL song below:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du-jZKoz0mA[/youtube]
Now afterwards I had a chance to meet up with DJ Clay and talk with him for a few minutes. We were originally scheduled to do a video interview, however due to some unforeseen circumstances, the venue had to close up not long after the show ended. Nonetheless, DJ Clay and I agreed to conduct the interview the following day via email. Now I have that entire interview posted in our Interviews section, but here’s a few highlights pertaining to the evening:
Polmar: ‘A World Upside Down’ drops June 4th – how hype are you for this record?
DJ Clay: Not sayin’ that the mixtapes I put out before were better or not as good as A World Upside Down but this is what I’d call a more “Epic” project that I’ve done out of my entire discography so yea man I’m Hype on a whole different level , I’m on the moon wit this one .!!!
P: Now you played the entire mixtape, from beginning to end, at the release party. How do you feel the crowd’s reaction to it was?
DJC: When I played it , as soon as the intro started I could already feel it in me that they were gonna love it from top to bottom, and it was mad overwhelming as it got deeper into the tape when I seen how everyone genuinely liked it and were wilin’ out like it was a concert and it was to songs that they were hearing for the 1st time !!!
P: You had a pretty decent turnout at the release party, do you feel the night was a success? Are you happy with how everything turned out?
DJC: 100% it was a success, the club was sold out over capacity, sold some records, partied with the fam, and everybody was turned up . If that ain’t a successful night than I don’t know what is .
P: When you finished playing the mixtape, you surprised us all by performing a set of your solo stuff (which was fresh, by the way). What gave you the inspiration to bust that out?
DJC: I had to man, that bitch was so packed and all the energy I was feeling from the crowd made me be like “fuck it” even though it was like 110 degrees in there.
You can read more of that fresh interview here:
All in all, the night seemed to be a hit. There was great energy, positive vibes. There was a much larger turnout than I had expected. Mad props all around to DJ Clay, his management staff, the performers, everyone who was involved in putting together such a solid event.
We have a plethora of pictures we took, which can be viewed at the Gallery here:
‘A World Upside Down’ Mixtape Release Party Gallery
Location:
- Rockstar Cleveland
- Ohio
- United States
Guests:
- Fisty Cuffs; Steel Rotten; Insane Eric (w/ Phatty L); A Filthee Sound
Record Label:
- Psychopathic Records / Hatchet House
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