title taken from "Life 101" by GBM Nutron
LL Cool Blaze's Infinity Rave
Folks have been asking why I would face my fear of flying just to go to Miami for one party. Well, when it’s an epic Caribbean style rave by one of my favorite Miami deejays, how could I not?
On April 29th, deejay/promoter LL Cool Blaze presented Inifnity Rave party at LMNCTY in Little Haiti. The party was initially an outdoor event similar to last year’s Electric Karnival, however, the party was moved indoors. Disappointing, yes, but Caribbean people still turned out due to the amazing deejay lineup.
One thing I love about Blaze’s parties is that I am guaranteed to hear soca - but in a way I’ve never heard it before. My favorite set of the night came from Jason Gilbert and Selecta Renegade, better known as Skorchbunit. Not only was the mixing on point, but they did everything I want deejays to do. The emcee only spoke enough to get the crowd hyped, they read the crowd and got folks moving, and then THEY DROPPED SICK MIXES!!! We got old and new soca but dubbed over dancehall and hip hop beats. I mean, now I only want to hear “Splinters” on the “Chun-Li” beat.
with Skorchbunit, GBM Nutron, and SocaSaySo
Not to be outdone was the Red Bull Thre3style champion DJ Puffy out of Barbados. He played multiple genres including soca favorites (almost venturing into what we call “the mix of death” or the typical old school soca playlist) and continued with some dancehall, to the delight of the Dancas in the crowd - yes, I saw you.
Toronto’s own Jester held it down with hip hop. If you’ve been following DysChick, you know I’m not usually a fan of this, but if anyone is going to get me to Milly Rock, it’s him. I’m sure he was also looking forward to being in the out of doors after the winter that Canada had. Next time, Jester.
Brooklyn’s own super deejay Kevin Crown closed out the night and surprised me with a whole Lucian segment. The Club Killa was dope as usual, but I wish he would have been moved to an earlier time slot. My battery was completely dead by the time he started so I have no video of this part. But I mean, I’ve provided you guys with so much footage of him, he should probably get a restraining order on me by now.
An added treat was the unannounced performance by Brooklyn’s Own GBM Nutron. When he first came out on the stage, it was clear that the audience did not recognize him. But once he started singing “Calypso” I could hear a few “Oh my goodness! It’s him!!!” and he was suddenly immersed in camera phone shine.
I'm 'bout dat life!
Yes, I am known for being willing to fly to fete, but only for can’t-miss events. I fully endorse those who are willing to step outside of the box to push soca in creative ways. LL Cool Blaze is definitely helping soca reach new audiences and push deejays to be more creative. As a fetaholic socaholic I am in the party scene often. It’s great when I hear a popular soca tune played in a new way or when I go to creative events. Let’s not get stagnant. Let’s keep pushing barriers and taking SOCA TO THE WORLD!
