“Now, what y'all wanna do?" - LESSON 5: Different Types/Styles of DJing

 
“Now, what y’all wanna do?
Wanna be ballers, shot callers, brawlers”
— Puff Daddy (It's All About the Benjamins, 1997)

Types of DJs

This isn’t really a comprehensive list of types of DJs, look at these five examples simply as avenues DJs can mix and match. Most of the DJs listed fit into more than one of the descriptions!

  • Club DJ

    • performing at clubs and festivals an reading crowds depending on location, promoter and often alongside other acts

    • Examples: A-Trak, DJ Cassidy, Jazzy Jeff, DJ Sober, any some of the awesome DJs you’ve seen

  • Mobile DJ

    • hired for weddings and corporate clients performing based on client expectations

    • Example: Mathias Carthen aka Curated DJ

  • DJ/Music Producer

    • Some DJs are great at creating original music (producing) and vice versa

      • Examples: Just Blaze, Swizz Beatz, Dr. Dre, DJ Premiere, Juls, Kaytranada, Calvin Harris, Disclosure

    • As of recent we’ve seem more and more producers (often EDM) whose careers are launched by songs they’ve made and use DJing as an opportunity to connect with fans and grow their audience

    • There are also artists playing and creating music live using different hardware and software to create all new sonic experiences.

    • Example: Marc Rebillet

  • Radio DJ

  • Turntabilist

 
 
Dj WayGOOD