2020 was a brutal year for DJs. Professional DJs make their living performing live, and live events essentially came to a halt in 2020. One of the few silver linings of 2020 was that DJ connoisseurs found their favorite DJs more accessible than ever through live streams. Arguably, 2020 contained more mixing content than any other year EVER. So much so; I simply lost track of much of it. My ears can only consume so much; so I just settled on a handful of high quality shows/streams (see below) and regularly listened.
Point of Clarification
Only mixes that were clearly intended to be a thought-out "mixtape" made the list. There are some DJs that are so good, their live streams sound like a thought-out mixtape. However, none of such mixes were considered for the list.
A Challenge Moving Forward
The DJ community is a small, but elite group. Mixes are the canvas that DJ's brush on. My challenge to all of you moving forward is to take it to another level. With your future mixes, try to do for mixes what Donuts did for the beat tape. You'll likely fail, but try! I'm not going tell to anyone how to be creative. That would defeat the purpose. However, if you're not understanding the Donuts metaphor; then you're reading the wrong blog.
As I've written previously, our artform is dying. To be honest, it will be a deserved death IF we don't do something more creative to reinvent it. The foundation will always be blends, cuts, and tricks. But, we must be more willing to take risks with the mixes that we make. What does that mean? I'll leave that to all of you. I look forward to listening to all of you try.
Top Mixes of 2020
Top Mixes of 2020 (Not Publicly Available or Behind a Paywall)
Breaks Samples and Goodies - J. Rocc
Paul's Boutique Tribute - J. Rocc
The Sauce - Omega:NYC
Pressure Cooker - Omega:NYC
The Blick - Omega:NYC
The $300 Mix - DJ Kutmah
Pandemic Awards (DJs Who Have Both Streamed Their Asses Off & Provided Undeniable Quality)
J. Rocc
House Shoes
DJ Melo-D
Mandatory Listening/Watching Award
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