Nightlife

DJ Mel DeBarge teams up with Rev Run for On the Record’s one-year anniversary

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Mel Debarge hits On the Record on January 17.
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Mel Debarge is known for being a DJ to the stars. If there's a swanky party or fashion show, he's often the one setting the vibe. So it makes sense that the New York native would supply the grooves during On the Record's one-year anniversary week. The Weekly caught up with Debarge to talk about his DJ partnership with the legendary Rev Run and which classic tracks never go out of style.

How does playing a set in New York differ from spinning in Vegas?

New York is also a destination like Vegas is. Sometimes it's touristy, but depending on the night you'll have both locals and industry people. Right now, it's very New York hip-hop. There's a lot of new hip-hop coming out, and New York tends to like the new stuff, so if the song came out yesterday, it'll probably be a hit in the clubs and people will already know it before it becomes super-mainstream.

Vegas is more of a party destination where people just really want to have fun. You go to Vegas with the mentality that the energy has to be at a level the whole time. The DJ has to tell a story, and it has to be a fun story, not, 'Let me play an obscure 1984 hip-hop record.' That's the way I look at it. But On the Record, I think, is a little different, It gives you a little wider a platform. It's a place where you can run a little more wild with your music selection, and the crowd accepts it.

What's been really resonating in your sets? Aside from hip-hop, reggaeton. It's been around for a while, but the growth in it has been immense. And also other rhythms from Africa, like Afrobeat and Brazilian funk.

Your uncle was a disco DJ. Do you find yourself incorporating disco into your sets? I totally do. Disco is one of my favorite genres of music. I try to incorporate that as much as I can, depending on where I am. I do a lot of events where I run wild with the funk, boogie and disco.

What's a classic track or artist you wish more people knew about? When you try to show a crowd new songs or open them up to new sounds, you have to do it tastefully. There's this duo from the '80s called The System, and they have a [song] called "You Are in My System." It has a really good beat, and usually people come up and ask what it is.

Another one is The Crusaders' "Street Life." It's been in so many songs and commercials throughout eras, so people have heard it but they don't know what it is. When they hear it in the club, it usually gets a huge reaction.

You're known for being a DJ for celebrities. What's one of the crazier parties you've DJ'd? Last year I did a party at a club in Dubai called Base. It's like an outside club; we don't really have them here in America. Think of it as a mini-stadium, but it's a club. I was hired to do an event with J.Lo, because she was releasing a song, and even though we were so far from the Western world, people still knew all the songs.

Style is a big part of a night out. What's your advice for getting ready for a club? I think people need to be more comfortable. These days, everyone takes it so seriously. Everyone wants to look good and be their best when they're out, but they don't think about comfort. They wear the wrong shoes, or a dress that might be too long. As a DJ, I see a lot of no-shoe-wearing people, and I don't think that's good (laughs). You should always keep your shoes on.

In terms of production, what will you be working on in 2020? I'm really focusing on learning more orchestration—how I can incorporate more instruments into my production. [I'm] working on doing movie scores, and it's a little intricate because it incorporates more music theory and how every instrument talks with each other, and that's been a little bit of a challenge because I'm not a musician by nature. [And I'm] learning all the new rhythms that are out, like dembow, which is not new, it's out of the Dominican Republic. It's like reggaeton, but a little faster. Learning all these new rhythms is super-exciting, because everything has so much culture in it.

How did your partnership with Rev Run come together? We share a manager, and we've been doing this together for probably seven years now. He has such a live spirit, and I get to play all these songs that normally I wouldn't play. The crowd he brings out tends to be more reflective of things that are classic. The best part for me is traveling with him and asking him questions about how the '80s and '70s were.

Who does what during your sets? I play the records, because he's on the microphone, but it's a set we put together mutually. It usually changes depending on the crowd, but he trusts me with where to go. He does some scratching, but he's mostly on the mic, and I'm controlling the music.

Mel Debarge with Rev Run. January 17, 10:30 p.m., $20-$30. On the Record, 702-730-6773.

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