Nu-Mark Live at Do-Over (6/3/12)



Update: A very spirited conversation has been brewing the last few days surrounding Nu-Mark's recent Do-Over set.  When I originally posted the set I thought I was simply posting a dope live set by one of our favorite deejays.  Little did I know that this video would serve as a lightening rod of discussion.  I decided to sticky the post for a few days in case more of you want to chime in.

We all love these Do-Over video for two reasons. One, we get to see our favorite deejays perform pretty ill live sets. Two, we love to analyze the crowd and get on our judgmental soapboxes to thumb our noses at trendy, Hollywood idiots that are just way too easy to scrutinize. I'm personally going to abstain from judgement on this video because if I was in that crowd listening to Nu-Mark's set I would be acting the fool as well. J. Rocc is the undisputed most Stan'd deejay on the blog, but I think Nu-Mark deserves consideration to be our undisputed #2 deejay. Frankly, if you're not bringing to the table the kind of set Nu-Mark brings in this video, you should just go back to the bedroom and not come out until you can. Random thought, will girls still be singing their hearts out to Mary J. Blige's "Real Love" 20 years from now? Also, anybody know what Nu-Mark is using for his effects? What is that little thing? Parts 2-4 after the jump.




43 comments:

Anonymous said...

Look like Dicers... fun little gadgets.

http://global.novationmusic.com/dicer

pete said...

any chance of audio download

The Dynamic Hamza 21® said...

Damn shame! Nu-Mark is pretty decent deejay but yet he became complacent and doesn't dig for his music. I mean, seriously who can't rock a crowd with radio hits of 80's & 90's? I miss the old days when 80% of what a DJ plays was new/or unknown tunes. There's plenty of solid Hip Hop release in last 10 years that is just as good or better than 90's Rap radio hits. Deejays,especially the more known ones ,need to step up their game.

pipomixes said...

You can't rock a crowd playing unknown music. You can throw in an obscure gem here and there, but people ultimately want to hear what they are a accustomed to hearing. Most people just want to have a good time and dance and that is usually accompanied by music they are familiar with. The real challenge of a party rocking dj is mixing music people are familiar with while playing music they don't normally hear (basically what Ztrip use to do).


Also, can't believe you called Numark complacent. Of all deejays, he's one of the last ones that should be characterized as complacent

The Dynamic Hamza 21® said...

That's not true Pipo. Too many deejays have fallen off and refuse to play unknown music so the public expects to hear the same songs over and over again. If more deejays still had balls, they would play more lesser known music and change the perception of the deejay. Nowadays,let's face it, most deejays,even the well known ones, are nothing but human jukeboxes. The pioneers like Bam,Jazzy Jay,Herc, etc used to always play unknown music. Bam sometimes used play the same song three times in row and make people like a particular song. Today most DJs are trying grab a check, they don't care about skills or digging. They either play radio hits from the past or follow whatever trend is happening at the moment.There's no integrity.

Nu-mark isn't complacent when it comes to other music but for a Hip Hop crowd he doesn't dig. He plays radio hits. He doesn't even play remixes of the songs, or even make his own remixes,he just plays the same songs every bottom of barrel wedding dj spins. That's pretty sad in my view.

pipomixes said...

So what did you think of the Mr. Sandman transition to Buddy? I was pretty impressed by it.

To your larger point: I hear what your saying but I guess we will just have to agree to disagree. I'll just say that the job of a club dj is to get people dancing and have a good time. Unfortunately, most people only dance to music that they know. With that said, any deejay worth his weight in salt has to be willing to empty the dancefloor (in the words of our hero, Puff Daddy). However, there is a fine line between clearing a dancefloor and never getting anyone to dance. Great deejays know how to walk the line, wack deejays sit at the different extremes we've been debating (playing all radio hits or playing nothing but obscure stuff). Now, you may prefer a deejay who plays obscure music. But I imagine you're not going out to dance your ass off.

I'll let you have the last word

Godzilla Jr. said...

^^^^ to Hamza

The Dynamic Hamza 21® said...

Nah you got my opinion all wrong Pipo I'm not talking about obscure music, just lesser known tunes and spinning tunes in a different way. Instead playing the same old songs how about dropping a break over the top of the tune to make it sound different or using the acapella of the song and using it over a different instrumental or rocking a great bootleg remix. Also how about finding a great track that sounds just as good as well known and rocking that? I can think hundreds of songs that are as good as the radio hits of past. Most of the deejays today,Nu-mark included, don't do any of this they just play the same radio hits time after time. That's just pure laziness in my view.

pipomixes said...

Now I get it and agree with you Hamza

Anonymous said...

a dj is not a jukebox !

Anonymous said...

headphone from star wars ? c-3pio

Anonymous said...

response to Hamza's comments...
You bring up a good point about the typical (almost predictable) track selection of most hip hop sets.Take into consideration the venue and the crowd that will be there. Party,in store event,album release,etc... For that set i think NuMark killed it (look at the crowd response)
when you rock a party, it is just that.. rockin a party.. try to rock a party with obscure records if you want to, you will see 300 people w/ cellys in hand waiting for something better to jump off.
As bad as i hate it too, long gone are the days of BAM,HERC,JAZZYJ,GMF's innovation and record breaking (Or at least until i cop a time machine)To NuMarks defense check out his other mix sets (toy set ups, hands on, latin and brazilian joints)
To call him savvy would be more fitting for knowing his crowd..
I also too appreciate your view on the subject
-peace

Eric Nord said...

I see nothing wrong with Nu's set or the crowd. It looks like everyone was having a great time, including the DJ. I'm gonna call it how I see it: player hate. There are lots of serious problems in the world: Nu-Mark's deejaying is not one of them.

Rudy Martinez said...

It's the Do-over, what are you expecting? people go there to dance horribly and be seen, not to hear innovative mixing. This was a good set to dance horribly to. I would of joined in if i was there too!!

Anonymous said...

I feel Hamza about the hip-hop, especially the lack of contemporary underground stuff as well as some rarities, remixes, etc. (though I'm a stan for the classics, regardless). That said, doesn't the diversity, knowledge and innovation Numark brings in terms of both other genres and aspects of djing/producing give him some cover here? Maybe I'm just awed by the name but the mixing is still dope to me. One thing I would say, and I think Hamza's comment points a bit in this direction (not to put words in Hamza's mouth, though), is that the fetish of obscure breaks, etc. (which are generally dope) often dominates sets not meant for popular listening, while those geared for party-rocking are often made up of recognizable classics and sure-fire crowd pleasers, squeezing out the middle ground of lesser or unknown hip-hop records. Just a thought. Peace

lightningclap said...

Funny this inspired a discussion. I was thinking on first listen that it was a well-put together selection of party jams. If I was staring out at that crowd, that is exactly the stuff I would pick.

I know from his other work he has the depth of knowledge and crates, but this was not a record nerd trainspotting gig- you gotta play whatever is appropriate for the particular setting.

In this case, he f#cking nailed it!!

Anonymous said...

Dope set ...Period

Anonymous said...

Dope set..period

The Dynamic Hamza 21® said...

People just don't get it! There comes point when you reach a certain level of skill that certain things become beneath you...this set is beneath Uncle -Nu's skill. I heard this kind of set back in 80's by mediocre wedding dj's.Harsh but true.

For example take his playing of Mary J Blige's Real Love Nu could have:

- Dropped an instrumental or funk break over the track creating a live blend.

- Used the Real Love acapella another instrumental track

- Drummed over the track. I know Nu's drumming technique isn't world class like Qbert's but he's decent enough.

- replace Real Love with another lesser known, but just as good track, like 2Mex's Green Grass,Fly Moon Royalty's Lemonade or hundreds of other great songs.


Nu-mark didn't do any of this. He made a standard set any deejay who has a year's experience can do. That's not how a person with Nu's experience should spin.

Too many have said the crowd loved it...so! Playing to crowd is easy just spin the same 200 songs every hack deejay plays and you'll win the crowd over. This is moblie/wedding dj mentality. Nu- like myself as not mobile deejays, we're Hip Hop deejays. We don't play to the crowd we play for crowd.We don't follow the crowd, the crowd follows us. We listen to alot crappy music to find that choice jams to give to the people! We don't allow radio,the crowd or what's trendy to determine what we play. Our wealth of musical experience tells what is top jam or not, not the crowd. We make "hits", we don't play them. Radio plays hits.


I don't know who was the fist deejay play it, but the joint "I Believe In Miracles" by Jackson Sisters became a party anthem because some deejay find that rare joint and started spinning it and other deejays picked up on it. That's DJ culture. That's how it's supposed to be, not this pedestrian bullshit where you play nothing but radio hits from the past and because people dance to the tunes you somehow spun a great set.

Too many deejays nowadays have this mobile/wedding dj mentality where their job is to be nothing more a human jukebox. They don't take inspiration from the greats of past and aspire to one of them,they just trying "rock the crowd". Those of you who have that line of thinking you can have it,I'm not on that vibe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFFfkT6-qMQ#t=03m44s

Eric Nord said...

stay positive... it suits you much better.

Rudy Martinez said...

Hamzas right. The last wedding I was at, the Dj played Can I kick it, Buddy, Shimmy Shimmy Ya and They want Efx.

Anonymous said...

Was it a good wedding? Or did all the heads just play the wall, annoyed that songs they once liked but are now passe are being danced to by bride's maids?

NSTYNEIGHT said...

Good to see so many in the spirit of debate.
But didnt i see this on an episode of the time haters (dj version) Could you imagine what they would say about cats like Duplaix, or PaulyD, or any poser behind the wheels.of steel #fakinthefunk....
Just a thought to ponder
-peace

Manifest Worldwide said...

wow! such a debate going on. i agree with both sides though. this is the do over, basically a "tmz there to be seen" crowd... not the dmc championships. those kids there probably don't even know good hip hop if it hit them in the face. i'm sure there's a few that know the classics from the golden age but they don't go past that. but with that said, you want those people to dance and have a good time so you play what the crowd knows. if he starts playing the last apollo brown album, i bet the floor would clear. it's a great album but it isn't on the radio and that seems to be what that crowd knows. but if he goes to a ughh.com party, i'm sure he'd mix it up for sure. just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Perhaps he just puts together a set that will entertain this plastic pretend Hip Hop crowd. Its all bullshit anyway because if an unknown DJ played the same set as a famous DJ no one cares, it seems the rep of the DJ moves a crowd more than the playlist.

Eric Nord said...

I think people are generalizing about the crowd. It looked like most of the people up front knew the lyrics.

Anonymous said...

This attitude toward this set is a big part of the problem in hip hop and its fan base. The music is considered throw away and unimportant in a very short time frame. As someone who has spent half his life DJing and performing with groups I was part of, along with being 40 years old and living in NYC during the so called "golden era" we have to change this attitude toward the music. A good song is a good song, especially if its mixed and cut well. I think a lot of these records mean different things to different people depending on their age and experience with hip hop. We really have to ask ourselves how much of that backpacker rap would we like if others knew about it? Is it just us trying to pretend there are things only we know about and nobody else is cool enough to have access to. Good music is timeless. I've heard Stairway To Heaven played at weddings as well, doesn't mean its a bad song. People complain constantly about the state of music but really don't want the things they listen to to have mass appeal. Some of us remember a time when records like the ones Nu Mark rocked were on the radio and represented a totally different time in the world and hip hop, there is lot of nostalgia for a lot of us from these songs. By the way Pipo, thanks for posting my Underground Railroad mix a while back!!!! Longest running hip hop show in NYC!!!!
DJ C Reality

pipomixes said...

Oh shit C-Reality! I remember and love that mix. Do you have a link to where I can find more of your mixes.

BTW, 45 King's 900 Number was played at the processional of my wedding. I hope my wife and I aren't responsible for the that beat being considered wack.

In a nutshell, the highlight of Nu-Mark's set (for me at least) was him playing Tina Turner's "What's Love." For some of you, that may be the low point of his set. But for me, seeing Nu-Mark mix that song (and how well it played) gives every deejay license to do the same. In the end, isn't that what dope deejays do? Mix music that other deejays are too afraid to mix only to be copied later by all the nutless deejays (I would even include myself in the bunch of nutless deejays).

Here are few other examples that I'll never forget seeing live.

- Grandmaster Flash mixing Phil Collins "Air in the Night"

- 45 King mixing that Dido song before Eminem song came out.

- DJ Premier spinning "Don't Worry Be Happy" with Chuck D in the same club (and dare I say singing along)

- The first time I saw Z-trip live my jaw just hit the ground witnessing all the corny songs he was mixing, but somehow it didn't sound so corny with him mixing it.

- Doesn't sound all that groundbreaking, but I'll always remember hearing J. Rocc play De La's Saturday. Obviously, it's a well known party jam. However, you really had to hear the way J. Roc mixed in that quick little break at the middle of the song to appreciate it. Also, it made me feel good because hearing J. Rocc mix that song made him seem human and super human all at the same time. He took a song that every deejay plays (particularly on Saturdays) but just mixed it better than anybody else. I guess you just had to be there.

Patrick Nathan Crowell said...

you would give Nu Mark a break, if you could only see how many fedoras are in that crowd.

Crump said...

I have to disagree strongly with the haters and was blown away by this set.

There are plenty of examples of him being very creative and doing his own blends. Chill Rob G acapellas are no way common in todays nightclubs or weddings!!. I agree with Pipo that Tina Turner track was the highlight, the way he mixed it between the heavy Hip Hop. Part of the DJ art is presenting previously thought of "naff" tunes to sound great and shock the audiences expectations of your taste.

Saying that anyone could bust this set out after a year on the wheels is laughable IMO.

Ultimately a DJ's job is to please the audience and not themselves (especially if being paid). Many times I have wanted to play a certain new tune, but was not appropriate for that particular party / crowd.

Sadly in the net era music heads don't need to listen to DJ's on the radio or in clubs to hear the new tracks, that job is now filled by a million blogs and websites feeding peoples micro genre interests in real time. We just have to face facts on this one. As for the golden era of Herc / Bam / Flash etc breaking new records, didn't they cover up and refuse to reveal the titles?? Of course playing lesser known gems is vital to a great set and the reason (alongside creative mixing) DJ's will never be replaced by Ipods, but you have to strike a balance.

Certain music styles like Deep House and Techno etc are all about playing the unknown and that's what people going to these parties want and expect. Not surprisingly mostly trainspotter men. This does not apply to a young do over crowd.

I read an interview with Tho Parrish where he says if he recognises more than 4 tunes in a set he's not feeling it. This just made me feel sorry for him as to me going out is all about the communal experience (like going to see a comedy film at the cinema) and the best nights are when the majority of the crowd can get down together and have a good sing / shout along.

It would be great if Pipo could get the full audio to this set, as his previous do over set in 2009 had sections of obscure breaks alongside the hits. Whoever uploaded these videos are just showing biggest crowd reactions and well known tracks maybe?

Anonymous said...

Hamza's argument is moronic. Numark's playing to the Do-Over crowd, and he's doing a great job blending well-known classics with latin, soul, breaks, etc. Exactly the same thing that other world-class DJs like J.Rocc, A-Trak, DJ Day, etc do every time they play this venue. The Do-Over crowd loves it, job done.

For Hamza to say Numark ought to be playing whatever he deems to be lesser-known, equally good or better tracks, etc is such a facile and subjective argument it's disappointing so many people rose to the bait and responded.

Eric Nord said...

i'm disappointed that "anonymous" is disappointed that I'm disappointed that Hamza was disappointed. ;-)

Thomas said...

I think we also need to consider the crowd's point of view.

Yes, YOU might know every single one of these songs. At least half are classics that everyone knows. But the balance might be new to a large % of the crowd. Something the crowd might be familiar with, but never listened to intentionally, and certainly never danced to.

Anyone who's on this blog probably knows a lot of music. Don't assume that the crowd has the same knowledge.


I also agree with Hamza to some extent.

The crowd SHOULD want to hear some more recent and/or obscure tracks. Perhaps this is a bad indicator about the current state of hip hop and/or the nature of our appreciation of hip hop.

I have to believe that the crowd would have liked this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO-94u6SQUw

lightingclap said...

Take this shit to Pitchfork! I know some new hot artists but you prob never heard of em before.

I know every song he played. I loved it, every song a solid classic. Shot after shot, presented with style.

Where can I hear this Hamza "This is how it should be done" mix?

Eric Nord said...

While I might disagree with him on this particular topic, Hamza definitely represents for the culture.

http://www.domeshotsandfatlaces.com/

The Dynamic Hamza 21® said...

Where can I hear this Hamza "This is how it should be done" mix?

I'll have that mix for you next month! Until then you can enjoy my True school Beatdown series:

http://www.domeshotsandfatlaces.com/search/label/True%20School%20Beatdown

Or The Producer's Journey series.
http://www.mixcrate.com/hamza21

Anonymous said...

To add fuel to the fire of an already lengthy and heated debated, head over to the Huffington Post where DJ A-Trak weighs in on the said subject....http://www.huffingtonpost.com/atrak/dont-push-my-buttons_b_1694719.html. Enjoy!

Anonymous said...

I think comparing this set with J Rocc's provides some valuable insights, not the least of which is the fellow wearing a Clippers Jersey at J Rocc is the same guy wearing a Knicks jersey at Nu Mark! Think about it.
One thing is for certain, we elected J Rocc funky president, while Nu Mark's namesake will always strangely sound like a DJ equipment company. The movie ends with Mothra finally ridding Tokyo of King Geedorah, and Paris Hilton pretending to DJ. I'd sure like to fondle her CDJs, but I wonder if she has been tested.
Stay safe.

lightningclap said...

Oh hell yeah, thanks for the links. Listening right now. Gotta say it proves the point that there is incredible slept-on stuff out there. I have some catching up to do.

This debate reminds me of Reggae legend Rodigan playing in the U.S. He's the king of rarities and "specials" but I heard he rocked a bunch of "hits" and some heads were disappointed.

OK, I know who Hamza is now...

Rudy Martinez 33 year old on Callie ln in Sacramento said...

I just listened to a bunch of Hamza mixes on mixcrate, and I have to say I expected a lot better than what I heard. Basic run of the mill mixes. Basic transitions, basic cuts, basic snare double-ups and thats about it. The blending was on beat, so that was cool I guess. Other than that, uhmm, yeah

The Dynamic Hamza 21® said...

@ Rudy Martinez 33 year old on Callie ln in Sacramento

What you hear is classic Hip Hop mixing,that's my style. I'm not a scratch nerd nor a battle DJ beatjuggling every tune in the mix. My style is classic and clean. As well my mixes are based around theme, it's not about turntable tricks, it's about the tunes. 80% of a good mix is the track selection. With good tracks less is more.

I guess you're expecting my style to be more like BB Famous but that's not style. Never was never will be. Too much DJ techniques disrupt the flow of the music in my opinion. The DJ techniques should add spice to mix not become the focus of it. The focus should be the music.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm on the wrong side of the atlantic to get it but is that really what hip hop clubbing has come to in the US? A bunch of piss*ed students in sunglasses staggering around to serato? I'm sure those do over places make a ton of money but there not exactly cutting edge and it doesn't even look like they're having a wild time to be honest - unless you count posing and pouting as a good night out.

Rudy Martinez said...

Honestly, your stuffs boring.

I grew up on 80's/90's dj's so i'm very familiar with "classic Hip Hop mixing", and your stuff isn't close to being on par. Nu-Marks mix is a prime example of "Classic Hip Hop Mixing," thats what everybody has been saying on here.

Guess thats my opinion though.

I don't even know who BB Famous is, and I don't like over the top shit either, but damn, just do something to break the monotony every once in a while. Maybe it's the track selection of your mixes, they just lack energy.

And yes I know what real Hip-Hop is, or I wouldn't be on blogs like this one.

Keep doing your thing, but damn, stop calling out Real DJ's for not being REAL