Ah, Jersey club. In recent years, the sounds of Newark, New Jersey, have taken over the clubbing landscape on an international scale, leaving us all spending our nights out dancing to the bump-bump-bumpbumpbump-bump-bump of refixes of our favorite R&B and chart tracks. In London, where I’m based, there are a few DJs here playing Jersey and putting on Jersey nights, but after years of listening a taste of the real deal was in order. So we got in touch with none other than the scene’s biggest star DJ Sliink and asked him for a mix, just so we had a better idea of what it’s really all about.
DJ Sliink Guest Mix tracklist:
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1. Gwen Stefani – Hollaback Girl Stevie G Remix (Sliink Vip Edit)
2. Fetty Wap – Jimmy Choo (Sliink Remix)
3. Rihanna Ft Drake – Work (YK Remix)
4. Beyonce – Formation (YK Remix)
5. Kanye West Feat Vic Mensa & Sia – Wolves (Gutta X Sliink Remix)
6. Goldlink – Dance On Me (Caramack Remix #3)
7. Manolo Rose Ft Fame School – Run Ricky Run (Sliink X Nadus Remix)
8. Jay Z – Tom Ford – (YK Remix)
9. Desiigner Ft . Kanye West – Panda (Ronaissance Remix)
10. YK – Do It Like Kaylin’
Nadus: What’s your favourite oil scent from Umar in downtown Newark?
DJ Sliink: Black Butter, It attracts everybody around the world. I can go to Paris and people ask me what I have on. I even had DJ Benzi ask me to bring him some and I hooked him up with a few oils. The Obama, Black Butter & Amber White.
DJ Sliink: How would you explain your music to God?
Nadus: Damn, that was one of my questions. That’s a good one, though. Even though my catalog is somewhat all over the place, it’s all a refection of me and my livelihood during whatever period it’s made. It’s me, good or bad. Whether it makes you feel, whether you wanna dance or cover your ears cause you’d rather not hear it, it’s me.
Nadus: In what moment did you know music could/would be your career?
DJ Sliink: The first time I knew that music would be my career is when I found out I had fans in Europe. I thought to myself if my music could get there it could get anywhere. I started to take things serious and stepped back to perfect my music. I started studying other genres of music and studying the successful. I got into a business mindset and put the pieces to the puzzle. I had to go hard everyday, I didn’t want any other job. I had one job in my life and that was at a wine packing company. I didn’t like the way I was treated and had to go for my own. I don’t get people today, they think everything comes easy. The internet messed up the drive and work flow in people. Nobody wants to go for it!
DJ Sliink: If you could change one thing in the music industry today, what would it be?
Nadus: All of it.
Nadus: Do you consider yourself a Jersey club producer or a music producer from Jersey? And why?
DJ Sliink: Early on I considered myself as a Jersey club producer. After I started to see how big the world was I considered myself a producer from Jersey. I felt like I was limiting myself, I felt like people were putting me in a box. I felt like my music after a while went on to other styles and broadened. In my heart I’m a Jersey club producer but to the world I’m a producer from Jersey. I feel like it goes hand and hand as well.
DJ Sliink: What song did you ever hear that you wished you produced?
Nadus: It’s a list for that one… But more recently “All Of The Lights” by Kanye West felt like I heard myself all over that record. MBDTF as a whole, I wish I produced that record. But “All Of The Lights” specifically. Not just the beat, but the instruments, the voices that went into that record. It was beautiful, for real. Kanye is my biggest influence. Production wise, the way he works with a ton of other artist and producers and promotes his credits as such. But on this day, and almost any other day, it’s Sinjin. Not because I know him personally but even in his music you can hear and tell he’s a student of all forms of music, all cultures. He gets it and he thinks out the box A LOT like I’d like to think I do as well.
Nadus: What’s next?
DJ Sliink: I’m looking forward to a highly anticipated EP on OWSLA. I have so much respect for them for believing in me and my culture. I feel I stand out a lot on the roster. I think every artist stands out. My last solo EP was in 2012 was on BODYHIGH. I’ve had so much weight on my back since and I know everyone is waiting. I had hundreds of tracks, but timing is everything. I have faith in myself and team to put out the right content for this day and age. I also have a B2B world tour coming up with Brenmar that I’m looking forward to!
Nadus: Name one artist who you really wanna work with right now.
DJ Sliink: I think it would have to be GoldLink. I like his and I think it would compliment my as well. I want to work with a lot of artists in his caliber even though I feel like he is one of a kind.
DJ Sliink: What’s next for you?
Nadus: Just working on good music, and not just my own but music I believe in. Aside from working on my new release on Pelican Fly this year, I’ve been slowly piecing together Thread the label for the last year or so with the team, and musically the future is bright and I’m excited. But outside of that I’ve just been working on myself, my music and being able to do and sustain all of this on my own terms, musically and not so musically. I’m excited for whatever is next though.
Follow DJ Sliink on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter
Follow Nadus on Facebook // SoundCloud // Twitter