🔥 LT: What was your ASSpiration for this mix?
📣 BT: Well, I haven’t made a mix in like, 5 years so this was a bit of an emotional journey for me. My mixing ears were rusty, my ableton key command memory is gone, I had to reload my old DJ laptop through wifi. It took two days! I felt a lot of internal emotional resistance but knew I needed this for my soul. Big shout out to Rich Nines and Crystel Clear for providing me with some folders of tunes, inspiration and motivation to get my shit back together and make this mix!

 

I eventually left DJing because I felt called to do more, to keep going and growing in new ways. I feel deeply accountable to using my access, advantage, creativity and abilities to their extremes. I started Venn Agency Inc. as a means to execute my bigger visions for the world, but it’s definitely changed my relationship to music.

 

Due to the gruelling schedule demands of growing a start-up, I’ve had to outsource discovering new music to machines in the clouds for the last few years. This maybe sounds bad, but it’s not.

 

My relationship with Spotify is pretty serious. Every Monday I take a long hike and listen to my Discover Weekly drop all the way through. Then I save and follow artists I like, and add songs to different playlists I’ve created around moods or vibes. It’s a whole process. The algorithm is my child, I’ve raised it by hand, and I am very attentive to what I feed it.

 

I’m an opinionated and energetic person and I use music as a tool to match my energy and opinions. It’s how I feel seen and heard. It’s almost like therapy in some ways.  

 

It also means that when I’m feeling stuck or down, the algorithm can get stuck feeding back low energy music. We were in a real slump til I binge watched Insecure and shazamed every track. All credit to Issa Rae and Melina Matsoukas for their amazing taste in turn-up! They brought me back to life through this pandemic and connected me with local activists in the BLM movement here in Los Angeles, too.

 

For the mix, I wanted to throw in little nods to my favourite rappers and producers, stuff that I don't get sick of. Some throwbacks to old tunes I made way back that are still fun to play, like my ace of dougie mashup.

 

I was thinking about all my friends having the perfect day at wreck beach or flossing on a boat. My guiding lights were…

 

“But is this TOO annoying?”

“Would SouthEast twerk to this?”

“Would KushNugz be stoked?”

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🔥 LT: What kind of butt do you have?
📣 BT: I used to have a jello butt like this birthday cake my mom made me one year, but now I have a weightlifter booty. Perfectly tanned hamburger buns, just need a lil sprinklin’ of sesame seeds.