Fri, Jan 27 – Grant MacEown University w/ Skratch Bastid & Sir Lancelot on 4 Turntables [Edmonton, AB]
Sat, Jan 28 – Fogos [Oakville, ON]
Thu, Feb 02 – Century Room [Toronto, ON]
Sat, Feb 04 – Muzique [Montreal, QC]
Thu, Feb 09 – Ottawa Convention Centre (Private Event) [Ottawa, ON]
Fri, Feb 10 – F-STOP [Toronto, ON]
Sat, Feb 11 – Private Event
Mon, Feb 13 – Toronto Convention Centre [Toronto, ON]
Wed, Feb 15 – Sheridan College [Brampton, ON]
Fri, Feb 17 – Tryst [Toronto, ON]
Sat, Feb 18 – Fogos [Oakville, ON]
Sun, Feb 19 – Six Degrees [Toronto, ON]
Thu, Feb 23 – Westin Harbour Castle [Toronto, ON]
Fri, Feb 24 –  Tryst [Toronto, ON]
Sat, Feb 25 – Revival [Toronto, ON]
Fri, Mar 2 – The Mod Club [Toronto, ON]
Thu, Mar 8 – Garfinkles [Whistler, BC]
Fri, Mar 9 – Republic [Vancouver, BC]
Sat, Mar 10 – Republic [Winnipeg, MB]

Playing Wetbar in Toronto tonight! Arrive early, it gets packed quick up there.

RIP Ms. Etta James.. Sad to say but it’s only now that people will realize what a beautiful voice she had.. If you didn’t know, AVICII sampled this song on his hit record ‘Levels’…. Educate yourselves and pay respect to where the music you listen to comes from.

I’ll be playing the Wale concert in Toronto this evening w/ Sir Lancelot..

To View The Photos From The Night  Continue Reading »

On Tues, Dec 6th I played a set at NYC’s exclusive Boom Boom Room (located on the 18th floor of The Standard Hotel) alongside DJ’s Sean Glass & Brendan Fallis. The room itself was beautiful with an amazing view of the city, and there weren’t that many people there.. The vibe was really laid back and musical and we had fun with it. Thanks to everyone that came through..

Drake Feat. Rihanna – Take Care (Gizzart Club Refix)
Burns & Fred Falke – You Stopped Loving Me (Treasure Fingers Remix)
Michael Jackson – P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)
Ben E. King – Stand By Me
Prince – When Dove’s Cry
Human League – Don’t You Want Me Baby
S.O.S. Band – Take Your Time (Do It Right)
Earth, Wind & Fire – Brazilian Rhyme (Starting From Scratch Remix)
Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell – Ain’t No Mountain High Enough (SFS Remix)
Duck Sauce – aNYWay (Aristocrat Edit)
Bone M. – Gotta Go Home
Debbie Harry – Rush, Rush
Rick James – Super Freak
Shiela E. – Glamours Life
Michael Jackson – Off The Wall
Cordova – Paradigm
Chromeo – Needy Girl (Zdar Dub Mix)
Drake Feat. Alicia Keys – Fireworks (Tom Wrecks Remix)
Alyus – Follow Me
Lil’ Louis – I’m Hot For You
Crystal Waters – Gypsy Woman
Cece Peniston
Jomanda – Got A Love For You
Phil Collins – Sussudio
Michael Jackson – Rock With You
Nu Shooz – I Can’t Wait (Original Vocal Long Dutch Mix)
Grandmaster Flash – The Message
Roy Ayers – Life Is Just A Moment
Silver Connection – Fly Robin Fly
Rufus & Chaka Khan – Ain’t Nobody
Cheryl Lynn – Encore
Cameo – Candy
Cameo – Single Life
Mark Ronson & The Business – Band Bang Bang (U-Tern’s Disco Dub
Oliver – All Night
Those Usual Suspects – Together (DCUP Remix)
Consequence Feat. John Legend & Kanye West – Whatever You Want (One Disco Edit)
Foster The People – Houdini
Jade – Don’t Walk Away (Mad Again Remix)
Love & Laughter – I Surrender
The Gap Band – Outstanding
Midnight Star – I’m Curious
Al Green – Let’s Stay Together
Janet Jackson – Go Deep
Mary J. Blige – You Bring Me Joy
Lauryn Hill – Doo Wop (That Thing)
Brandy & Mase – Top Of The World
Soul IV Real – Candy Rain (Remix)
Aaliyah – Back & Forth
Mary J. Blige – You Remind Me
Mary J. Blige – Real Love
Mase & Total – Tell Me What You Want
R. Kelly – Fiesta
Madonna – La Isla Bonita
LL Cool J – Doin’ It
Guy – Tell Me What You Like
The Notorious BIG Feat. R. Kelly – (You To Be) Happy
Mary J. Blige – Be Happy
Michael Jackson – Human Nature
The Fugees – Killing Me Softly
The Fugees – No Woman, No Cry
Mos Def – Ms. Fat Booty
Usher – Bad Girl
Teena Marie – Ooh La La La
Stevie Wonder – Part Time Lover
Morton Stevens – Hawaii Five-O
Charles Wright & The Watts 103rd Street Rythm Band – Express Yourself
Jean Knight – Mr. Big Stuff
Rick Ross Feat. Drake & Chrisette Michele – Aston Martin Music
Biz Markie – Just A Friend
Freddie Scott – You Got What I Need
The Notorious BIG – Big Poppa
Bill Withers – Lean On Me (SFS Remix)\
The Five Stairsteps – Ooh Child
Drake – Marvin’s Room
Rick James – Mary Jane
The Luniz – I Got 5 On It
Dr. Dre Feat. Xzibit & Eminem – What’s The Difference
Rick Ross Feat. Curren$y & Wiz Khalifa – Super High (Remix)
Lionel Richie – Do It To Me
Sade – The Sweetest Taboo
The Jackson 5 – I’ll Be There
Grover Washington Jr. & Bill Withers – Just The Two Of Us
The O’Jays – For The Love Of Money
Eric Clapton – Change The World
Stevie Wonder – Superstitious
Lisa Stansfield – Been Around The World
Phil Collins – Another Day In Paradise
Andre 3000 – Pink & Blue
Sting – Englishman In New York
Toto – Africa
Michael Jackson – Man In The Mirror

In August 2011 I completed my second European Tour with stops in Belgium, Norway, Amsterdam, Zurich, and London.

This is the live 3 hour and 30 minute recording from the world famous CLUB JUICY party in Oslo, Norway – brought to you by Patski Love & Chris Stallion.

My man Patski Love was rocking the mic for me, but the audio didn’t capture it as he was plugged into another mixer.. This is a raw set, where I played whatever I wanted to..

Halfway through the night, shit got wild and someone spilled their beer all over the turntables and mixer – you’ll hear the music completely cut out for a bit. After that, I was pretty much on one turntable but we made it work.

This was a really fun and refreshing night to play and I must say that the people of Oslo know their music and know how to party and have a great time.. The vibe in there was amazing.

Thank you again to Patski & Chris and the entire JUICY crew. You guys have truly built an amazing night with a great crowd who enjoys and appreciates MUSIC of all genres.

I cannot wait to be back.

Also posted in the podcast section. Make sure to subscribe!

The Europe Tour 2011 continued throughout Oslo, Norway and Zurich, Switzerland.. I didn’t have any idea of what to expect from either city as I had never been to any of them before, so as always I arrived with an open mind! The party I was played in Oslo, Norway was the world famous Juicy Party. When I say world famous, I mean it literally.. Other guests that have played this night include Jus Ske, DJ AM, DJ Scratch, Egyptian Lover, Ryan Leslie, Too $hort, Diamond D, DJ Premier, Kid Capri, Biz Markie, Diplo, Nick Catchdubs, Steve Aoki, The Bloody Beedroots, Sammy Bananas, Benzi, Jayceooh, Mick Boogie, Skratch Bastid, Green Lantern, Questlove, Stretch Armstrong, Ross One, Neil Armstrong, The Cool Kids, Camp Lo, Three Six Mafia, and the list goes on..!!  Huge shouts to Patski Love and Chris Stallion at Juicy for bringing me down – it was an honour to rock with you guys and this night is still one of the most fun times I’ve ever had dj’ing in my 7 years of doing this! You can listen to my set from the night via my my podcast, or on soundcloud! Interesting fact about Oslo.. The starting meter on a taxi there is $20 USD.. Yes, just to get in it. Regardless, I still love that city and look forward to being back there soon! Next up was Zurich, Switzerland.. Another beautiful place. The extended family DJ Cruz picked me up from the airport and showed us around the city. Later that night, I rocked at the legendary Kaufleuten! The club is a 20 year old theatre that has been the number one venue in Zurich for two decades – pretty impressive. The vibe and party was great and I’m looking forward to being back there as well! Unfortunately, just like Oslo, I was only in Switzerland for the night.. The next morning, it was off to London, England!

To view the rest of the pics.. Continue Reading »

This past September, 2011 Toronto celebrated the 5th anniversary of THE MANIFESTO. This is one of the most beautiful festivals to take place in the city; a true gathering of art, music, film, food, and culture.

This footage is from the ‘Live At The Square’ event on Sunday, Sept 25 at Dundas Square which I DJ’d.

Performers included 9th Wonder & Phonte, Zaki Ibrahim, Raekwon & JD Era, Rich Kidd, Kid Capri and Rakim, Freedom Writers, and many more..

It was definitely a historic evening.. Let me know your thoughts!

MANIFESTO FESTIVAL OF COMMUNITY AND CULTURE
11 days. 13 events. 100+ artists. One city.
September 15th-25th, 2011
Toronto. Canada. 

I’m really excited about this one! The Manifesto Festival is such a beautiful thing and I was upset that I was out of town for last year’s festivities.. This year’s line up is incredible and includes Rakim & Kid Capri, 9th Wonder & Phonte (reunited for the first time since Little Brother split up), ZULU Nation, Mad Decent, Blu & Exile and so many more.. I’m honoured to be playing the main stage between 5:30pm – 7:30pm! Toronto, please come out and support this beautiful celebration of art, music, and culture.

Press Release & Full Information Below

Continue Reading »

It’s hard to believe that it has already been 10 years since Aaliyah’s passing.. My birthday is on August 25th and I can remember turning 16 and hearing the terrible news that one of my favourite artists of all time at died.. Every time I hear her beautiful voice, I am reminded of how much I love and miss her music.

My brother Mensa just released an amazing tribute mix.. See below..

Today marks the 10th year of the passing of our beloved Aaliyah.

For everyone that came up with her music, this one especially hurt.

Following her career was watching a flower in bloom. Aaliyah’s sultry voice, mature demeanour, and provocative lyrics at so young an age captivated millions. Hers was the archetype for so many teenage women coming into their own. She encountered controversy early in her career, and shrugged it off with remarkable grace, and emerged with a new sound, identity, and stronger resolve. Her track record remained virtually flawless. As Aaliyah grew up, so did we.

It was never hard to find something you could love in Aaliyah, someone who had lived in the spotlight from day one. She was a regular girl even while walking down the red carpet. Aaliyah could turn on the star power at will, but found pockets of fun in a business that took itself so seriously. She kept her circle devoid of hangers-on and yes men. Her family was her main priority and support system. The spoils of celebrity were a bonus but not a priority. Aaliyah kept herself balanced because she was in her element as an entertainer.

Aaliyah’s life was tragically cut short at the height of her fame, and is comparable with Kurt, Jimi, Janis, and now Amy as artists who we all knew had long thriving careers ahead of them, but now we can only speak of beautiful fleeting moments we had during their time with us.

This is a mix of her key singles and album cuts. Songs that became anthems for us while we crushed on someone heavy, were in the midst of infatuation, embroiled in argument, or were dealt the crushing blow of love lost. Aaliyah explains her mindset at the different times of her artistry and career throughout the mix.

Forever with us. Rest in peace, Babygirl.

Intro
Hot Like Fire
Down With The Clique
A Girl Like You (with Treach)
Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number
Loose Rap
More Than A Woman
If Your Girl Only Knew
I Need You Tonight (with Junior M.A.F.I.A.)
Are You Ready
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright
I’m Down
Back In One Piece (with DMX)
Rock The Boat
Try Again
Back & Forth
No One Knows How to Love Me Quite Like You Do
The Thing I Like
One In A Million
4 Page Letter
The One I Gave My Heart To
I Don’t Wanna
Best Friends (with Missy Elliott)
My Body’s Callin’ Remix (with R. Kelly)
Choosey Lover
Heartbroken
Up Jumps Da Boogie Interlude
Are You That Somebody? (with Timbaland)
We Need A Resolution (with Timbaland)
At Your Best (You Are Love)
I Miss You

Download “Babygirl: An Aaliyah Retrospective”
(right click on PC, ctrl+click on Mac):
http://www.djmensa.com/mixes/djmensa_babygirl.mp3

That’s right ladies & gentlemen, this Saturday is the 1st Annual BASTID’S BBQ – we’ll be illin’ & grillin’ at the fantastic Steam Whistle Brewery in the centre of downtown Toronto! We’ll be firing up the coals at 3PM and shutting it down around 10PM. 255 Bremner Boulevard. Look for all the green signs. Advance tickets are available at Soundscapes, Rotate This, Play De Record and Ransom Holding Co., or online through Paypal. Tickets will be available at the door subject to availability. Don’t be left hungry or sad, scoop one up now! Consider yourself invited…
*I’ll be playing approx 5p-6p

—————-
After eating some amazing barbecue and playing some great summer tunes alongside a listing of dope DJs, I’ll be heading to The Beachclub Festival (5000+ person outdoor party at Canada’s biggest water park with 2 stages) where I’ll be playing approx 8p-9p w/ JB Allen & Sir Lancelot before heading to Skybar. There are a lot of DJ’s on this bill and it should be another dope event.. Don’t miss out!