for a lot of it, the production is top notch (i.e. neptunes, timbaland etc.).
Honestly, a lot of it is repetitive but you can use them in blends with acapellas, you can rock doubles and mix the vocal into the instrumental so you can mix to another track with a longer blend... In 2x4 situations, me and wood often line up 3 or 4 instrumentals and mix them under an acapella...
All of these are basic hiphop techniques but since a lot of top40 is mainstream rap anyway it all applies.
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I did Top 40 up north.. I found the best way to mix it is to leave your crossfader and bpm settings alone and just blend with volume controls. I didn't think about it at first, and I started beatmatching tracks and made an effort to keep the beat completely continuous.. and it actually got me complaints because I was "fucking up their favourite songs."
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I could tell you about the top40 gig i got fired from cause i "mixed too much" but yea, going overboard with the blends can piss off the uninitiated ("just play the song!"). Still, i think the crowds up north are going to be a little less open minded than city folk here. But yea, a good chunk of top40 DJs suck and don't mix (and don't need to), but the ones that do are pretty good.
Some of the best DJs technique-wise i've seen are top40/hiphop djs playing music I can't stand. But again, that just goes to show how much harder it is being a top40 dj cause the good ones can mix seamlessly, between many genres and bpm, while *actually mixing* and still impress a cynical mix dj like myself with their skills and keep the crowd going. Granted, most of these guys tend to be hiphop djs first and foremost...
Oct 03, 06
