I get asked from time to time, “Michael, what is a Rhode Island Multicultural DJ?” And this is the conversation that typically follows.
I smile and reply, “A Rhode Island Multicultural DJ is a professional DJ that is well-versed in the many cultures and traditions that a diverse area like Rhode Island demands for great Weddings, parties and Events.”
“Yeah, that sounds great but what does that mean in real life for me hiring a good Wedding DJ for me and my fiancé for our Wedding? We are from two different cultures and want our families and friends to have a great time and fit together well.”
That is exactly what a good Multicultural DJ does!
“A good Multicultural DJ has a vast library across many cultures and genres to meet the needs of a diverse population like yours. We are very comfortable with both taking direction and guidance from you as to what your cultural traditions and music demand, and taking over when you need someone to make sure everything goes exactly the way you wanted it. In short, a good Multicultural DJ is ready for whatever happens at your Wedding. That is what a good Rhode Island Multicultural DJ is. Make sense?”
“Yes, I think I get it now. You are saying that a good Multicultural DJ knows a lot about different cultures and is confident enough to let their ego get in the way of me teaching the about my culture for my Wedding. Do I have it correct?”
“Yes, I should hire you to be my marketing guru!”
We both laugh and start talking about the details of their Rhode Island Multicultural Wedding and cultural traditions…
I get excited for every one of my Brides and Grooms Weddings. Each Wedding has its own flair and uniqueness that make them personal to that Bride and Groom specifically. I find Multicultural Weddings are typically a little more unique, since the Bride and Groom come from different traditions and bring with them those traditions to create something that is new and fresh together. But I have not previously had the opportunity to perform as Multicultural Wedding DJ at an Indian and French-Canadian Wedding before. It was so much fun!
It was such a pleasure participating in the melding of two very distinctly different cultures for an amazing Multicultural Wedding in Edison, New Jersey at The Mirage.
“At Mirage, your wedding and other social events are carefully created to surpass all expectations, with gracious seating for 450, or cocktails for 750. Savor the best of cocktails and our lip-smacking appetizers in the foyer while you still get to keep the surprise element in the ballroom reserved for a grand entry. International cuisines tempt indulgence with perfect presentations graced by flawless service.”
Although the atmosphere was Indian, I do not want you to get the impression that the French-Canadian culture was not represented throughout the evening. The Bride and Groom hired a translator to share the Indian elements with the French-speaking friends and family, as well as translating the French elements with the Hindi-speaking friends and family. Everyone was included from the Ceremony, the live performances, the dinner, dancing and toasts/speeches.
The Groom Dancing at Fun Rhode Island Multicultural Wedding
The First Dance had that look as if it was straight from a movie scene with the Bride and Groom dressed in amazing colors and textures, happy and smiling.
The dance floor was packed from the minute we were able to play dance music for the Multicultural Wedding Party.
We were able to sneak in a few slow dances along the way to make certain everybody was included in the Multicultural Wedding.
Of course, there was the impromptu Conga Line that filled the whole room of over 350 friends and family. It was quite an exhibition. Nobody was left out regardless of age, race or cultural, just the way a Multicultural Wedding is supposed to be.
What a fun Multicultural Wedding with friends and family coming from India, France, Canada and all over the United States of America to right here for their Rhode Island Wedding!
This was one of those Multicultural Weddings that even the Rhode Island Wedding DJ had trouble staying away from the party on the dance floor.
I am so grateful I get to work with such fabulous Brides and Grooms!
With all the attention and focus on Brides, many Grooms these days feel left out and a desire to be more involved in the wedding process. Several Grooms have expressed their interest in participating further in their wedding than they are given credit for. It us iot that they wantto take any of the attention fromthe Brides, they just feel left out sometimes in their own wedding and would like to contribute.
Happy Groom During Beautiful Wedding Ceremony
Grooms have alway had the unique experience of being one half of the wedding equation but typically end-up just showing-up at their wedding without really knowing what or how it all was put together. This was partially based on the fact that Bride’s mothers were the primary wedding planners until recent years. Now that Brides have taken control of their wedding planing and coordination, Grooms also want to experience the whole event from, beginning to end. Other factors int he shift of whom is planning weddings has been the increase in weddings happening at a later age and Brides and Grooms paying for their wedding themselves. Women’s rights also plays a part int he shift as well. Women today are not as willing to just be ‘the good little daughter’ and let their mothers plan the whole process. Today,women want a voice in the wedding process and often plan the whole event from their computers at work! As a professional Wedding DJ, I am aware that most of my contact through email and even phone with Brides is experienced while they are at work. As we move even further forward in our technological advances, this trend can only increase. Many Grooms want this too!
It is fairly common for the Groom to be the one who is responsible for finding, hiring and working with the Wedding DJ. I find they are very willing and excited to co-create the music and entertainment for their wedding. Of course, many Brides and grooms have very contrasting tastes in music. This may even be more on display when Brides and Grooms share their individual vision of what the post-diner partying and dancing music will sound like and what songs they want for the First Dance, Father-Daughter Dance, Mother-Son Dance, Cake-Cutting, Bouquet Toss and Garter Toss. We are always able to find a nice mix of both their tastes and styles to create a fun and unique wedding experience for them and their friends and family together. This is one of m favorite aspects of being a professional Wedding DJ, the planning and coordination along with the Bride and Groom.
Grooms, I encourage you to let your Bride know that you want to contribute more in your wedding.
Brides, I invite you to let them and take some of the responsibility off your shoulders. Remember, it is their wedding too.
A couple of weeks ago, I was MC & DJ for a Wedding in Westchester County, NY. The Bride and Groom had chosen Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home as a Bridal Party Dance Song after their First Dance. It was so much fun! Everybody of all ages ended up dancing, whistling and singing on the dance floor! It was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had as a professional Wedding DJ in quite a while. I will recommend this song for future events now that I know even folks that are not interested in this particular musical style will be able to join in and have fun.
Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home Music Video
How Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home Came To Be
Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros is an American band led by Alex Ebert, who is also a vocalist of the power pop group Ima Robot. Their first show as a full band was played July 18, 2007 at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California. Their first full-length recording, Up from Below, was released digitally on July 7, 2009 and physically on July 14, 2009 on Community Records. Their second full-length album, Here, was released on May 29, 2012.
Ebert began work on a book about a messianic figure named Edward Sharpe after breaking up with his girlfriend, joining a 12-step program for addiction, and moving into a house with his lifelong friend Nicholas Raymond Kellen. According to Ebert, Sharpe “was sent down to Earth to kinda heal and save mankind…but he kept getting distracted by girls and falling in love.” Ebert later met singerJade Castrinos outside a downtown Los Angeles cafe.
What do you like best about Edward Sharpe and The Magnetic Zeros Home?
I really enjoy music from varied cultures and places throughout the world, one of the reasons I appreciate travel as much as I do. However, I find the term, ‘World Music’ annoying and condescending. It speaks to The American mindset that there is the American way and everybody else is one big category called ‘other’. In India alone, there are enough musical genre to make this an obsolete term. The same is true for the continents of Africa, South America and Asia. It is sad to me that we glop them all together as one genre, ‘World Music’. Unfortunately, it is some of my favorite sources of music and I do not have a better name for the DJ World Music Party Mix.
DJ World Music Party Mix
mp3j track= “World-Music-Party-Mix.mp3”]
I am a true fan of music from many places globally, some I have had the opportunity to visit, others I hope to make it there someday soon. This particular mix of music includes music from India, The Middle East, Bulgaria, Northwest Africa, Japan, Latin America, Jamaica and other great sources of music. Let me know what you think of the DJ World Music Party Mix!
Here is what Wikipedia has to say about World Music:
“World music is a musical category encompassing many different styles of music from around the world, including traditional music, quasi-traditional music, and music where more than one cultural tradition intermingle. World music’s inclusive nature and elasticity as a musical category pose obstacles to a universal definition, but its ethic of interest in the culturally exotic is encapsulated in fRoots magazine’s description of the genre as “local music from out there”. The term originated in the late 20th century as a marketing category and academic classification for non-Western traditional music. Globalization has facilitated the expansion of world music’s audiences and scope. It has grown to include hybrid sub-genres such as world fusion, global fusion, ethnic fusion and worldbeat.”
I have been playing Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan as a DJ for a while and it continues to grow on me. I find myself chanting Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan while walking around going about my day sometimes. As a Multicultural Wedding and Party DJ in New Jersey, I hear a lot of music and listen to a very diverse mix of grooves and jams. This one has taken over lately.
Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan
Fun-Da-Mental - Ja Sha Taan (Transglobal Underground Karachi Deathcult Mix)
If you are not familiar with the group Fun-Da-Mental, they are a British group that are often considered radical for their political views and music. They are a diverse group of musicians that typically produce Islamic World Fusion with Asian and Afro-Cuban beats and rhythms. They have gone through several reformations of their musicians but continued to create powerful, conscious music to dance and raise awareness about the treatment of Asian and Afro-Carribean British populations. I think it is important as a professional DJ we need to support artists that are willing to create music that stands for the rights of people who are marginalized or discriminated against like Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan.
“Fun-Da-Mental is a British-based multi-ethnic hip-hop–ethno-techno–world fusion music group formed in 1991. The group is notable for its energetic fusion of Eastern and Western musical forms, for its outspoken political stance, and for its strong Islamic affiliation and advocacy. Fun-Da-Mental’s political stance has led to the group earning the label “the Asian Public Enemy“. The group’s work has led to international attention and collaborations with artists from Pakistan, South Africa and Siberia.” Wikipedia
Listen to Fun-Da-Mental Ja Sha Taan and crank it up! Just make sure you have enough room to move, this is forceful and addictive. You have been warned.
I heard Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi Chiayya Chiayya first during the opening and closing of the film The Inside Man with Denzel Washington. It blew me away immediately and searched online from South Korea, where I was living at the time, for the Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi Chiayya Chiayya to download. It has since been one of my favorite songs to dance and move to. As a professional DJ, I do not have many events where this song can make its appearance.
Chaiyya Chaiyya Inside Job Clip
Like many Indian hit songs, it initially was from the film, Dil Se, and gained popularity from the great music video on the train. The lyrics are based on a Sufi folk song, originally in Urdu named “Thaiyya Thaiyya” by the poet Bulleh Shah.
Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi Chiayya ChiayyaMusic Video
The lyrics below are in both English and transliterated for English readers. Beautiful stuff!
Sukhwinder Singh and Sapna Awasthi Chiayya Chiayya Lyrics
Jinke Sar Ho Ishq Ki Chaaon
He whose head is in the shadow of love
Paanv Ke Neeche Jannat Hogi
Will have heaven beneath his feet
Jinke Sar Ho Ishq Ki Chaaon
Whose head is in the shadow of love
Saare Ishq Ki Chaaon Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya
Saare Ishq Ki Chaaon Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in heaven
Paanv Janat Chale Chal Chaiya Chaiya
Paanv Janat Chale Chal Chaiya Chaiya
Walk in the shadow
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in the shadow
Saare Ishq Ki Chaaon Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya
Saare Ishq Ki Chaaon Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in heaven
Paanv Janat Chale Chal Chaiya Chaiya
Paanv Janat Chale Chal Chaiya Chaiya
Walk in the shadow
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in the shadow
Woh Yaar Hai Jo Khusboo Ki Tarah
There’s a friend who is like a sweet fragrance
Jiski Zubaan Urdu Ki Tarah
Whose words are like poetry ( Urdu , the language of poetry )
Meri Shamo – Raat Meri Kaynaat
Who is my evening , my night , my existence
Woh Yaar Mera Saiyyan Saiyyan
That friend is my beloved !
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in the shadow
Gulposh Kabhi Itraye Kahin
Sometimes ( My beloved ) flirts like a flower
Mehke To Nazar Aa Jaye Kahin
So fragrantly that you may see her scent
Gulposh Kabhi Itraye Kahin
Sometimes ( My beloved ) flirts like a flower
Mehke To Nazar Aa Jaye Kahin
So fragrantly that you may see her scent
Taabeez Banaa Ke Pahnoo Use
Having made it into an charm , I will wear it
Aayat Ki Tarah Mil Jaaye Kahin
She shall be obtained as a miracle is obtained
Taabeez Banaa Ke Pahnoo Use
Having made it into an charm , I will wear it
Aayat Ki Tarah Mil Jaaye Kahin
She shall be obtained as a miracle is obtained
Gulposh Kabhi Itraye Kahin
Sometimes ( My beloved ) flirts like a flower
Mehke To Nazar Aa Jaye Kahin
So fragrantly that you may see her scent
Mera Nagma Wahi Mera Kalma Wahi
She is my song, my declaration of faith ( Kalama: the Muslim confession of faith , as in , “La ilaaha il Allah” – “There is no God but Allah” )
Mera Nagma Wahi Mera Kalma Wahi
She is my song, my declaration of faith ( Kalama: the Muslim confession of faith , as in , “La ilaaha il Allah” – “There is no God but Allah” )
Woh Yaar Hai Jo Imaam Ki Tarah
My friend is like a priest to me
Mera Nagama Nagama
My song…..
Mera Qalama Qalama
My declaration of faith…..
Yaar Misaale Os Chale
She moves like the dew
Panv Ke Tale Firdaus Chale
She walks with the garden of heaven beneath her feet
Kabhi Daal Daal Kabhi Paat Paat
Sometimes through the branches , sometimes amidst the leaves
Main Hawa Pe Dhoondho Uske Nishaan
I shall search the wind for her trail !
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in the shadow
Main Uske Roop Ka Sedaai
I trade in her beauty
Woh Dhoop Chhaanhon Sa Harjaaii
Fickle , she flits shamelessly from sun to shade
Woh Shokh Rang Badalta Hai
She changes her bright colors
Main Rang Roop Ka Saudaai
I negotiate that as well
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Chal Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya Chaiyya
Walk in the shadow
Woh Yaar Hai Jo Khusboo Ki Tarah
There’s a friend who is like a sweet fragrance
Jiski Zubaan Urdu Ki Tarah
Whose words are like poetry ( Urdu , the language of poetry )
Meri Shamo – Raat Meri Kaynaat
Who is my evening , my night , my existence
Woh Yaar Mera Saiyyan Saiyyan
That friend is my beloved !
Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come. Sam Cooke born Samuel Cooke 1931-1964. Since I posted the Otis Redding video and review the other day I asked, “Why Otis Redding, why not Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come?”
Answer was simple, “I was motivated to write about Otis due to the release of the Kanye and Jay-Z song as a professional DJ.” Then it occurred to me, “Why not Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come too!”
His contribution in pioneering Soul music many believe led to the rise of Aretha Franklin, Bobby Womack, Al Green,Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and popularizing the likes of Otis Redding and James Brown. Cooke had 29 top-40 hits in the U.S. between 1957 and 1964. Cooke was also among the first modern Black performers and composers to attend to the business side of his musical career. He founded both a record label and a publishing company as an extension of his careers as a singer and composer. He also took an active part in the American Civil Rights Movement.
On December 11, 1964, Cooke was fatally shot by the manager of the Hacienda Motel at the age of 33. At the time, the courts ruled that Cooke was drunk and distressed, and that the manager had killed Cooke in what was later ruled a justifiable homicide. Since that time, the circumstances of his death have been widely questioned.
Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come was Released Posthumously.
Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come was played upon the death of Malcolm X, and was featured in Spike Lee’s film Malcolm X. Rock star Rod Stewart once revealed to VH-1 that as a teen in the UK, he would lock himself in his room and spend hours studying Cooke’s vocal phrasings.
In 1986, Cooke was inducted as a charter member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.]
In 1999, Cooke was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and in 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him #16 on their list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
In 2008, Cooke was named the fourth “Greatest Singer of All Time” by Rolling Stone.
Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come Music Video with A Powerful Slideshow
There are enough names and recognition included in this post to not add my appreciation for him personally. I would like to say that some of my favorite and most influential artists, film-makers and leaders seem to be connected to Sam Cooke and his legacy. That would be plenty to include him in our music video archive but his music is what moves me the most, especially Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come and its message.
