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Playing/Not playing songs with certain lyrics
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Playing/Not playing songs with certain lyrics

James D1 1:16 PM - 16 May, 2019
Hello all. I am relatively new to the DJing world, so hopefully this isn't too dumb of a question. I currently work at a DJ company. They had me playing at a high school prom in town. During the peak of the night, I decided to play Mo Bamba. The crowd absolutely loved it. Probably the best song of the evening. I have the clean version, but needless to say, they filled in all the lyrics. The guy that was DJing with me was not too happy as we "shouldn't be playing those kinds of songs, even if we have the clean version." I personally have attended, as a student, plenty of school dances where we have "filled in the lyrics." I just would like to get the community's feedback on this! Do you all play songs like this and Get Low, etc.? Thanks.
Ollie 6:58 PM - 16 May, 2019
It's a dope song but there's some music that emphasizes on the dirty lyrics. Usually for school functions especially involving kids< 18yrs or professional events where you're looking to get rehired and they want you to keep it clean, i would steer away from those songs.
577er 9:42 PM - 16 May, 2019
For these kinds of events I video the dance floor and if parents complain I send a clip of all of the kids SHOUTING the naughty bits. That usually ends that conversation. But I also tell them ahead of time that they need to look at how many of the top 100 songs have explicit lyrics and that unless it’s explicitly forbidden and I’m just playing EDM type stuff with minimal lyrics that the kids will want popular music that is trashy AF.

Just be brutally honest with folks from the start.
DJ Reflex 3:50 AM - 17 May, 2019
Tough one. I did a prom myself a few weeks ago and Mo Bamba was my "regret song" for the night. Same situation.
I mixed out as soon as I could and kept the party alive, but I could have rocked the place without it. Some songs aren't worth the headache.
Gio Alex 7:31 PM - 17 May, 2019
Quote:
Some songs aren't worth the headache.


Agreed. It's a tough one.

Even at adult events there's just certain songs that bring a certain kind of vibe/energy and super negative words- I try to avoid if/when I can.
SUBSTANCE 8:03 AM - 25 May, 2019
Mo Bamba is the new Mony Mony lol