Setting Up DJ Equipment

Series Summary

Have you ever found yourself in the club—moving to the music, making eye contact with other young, hip people around you—and wondered how the DJ does it night after night? Entertaining a crowd of music-conscious party animals is not an easy thing to do; just a few false moves and you’re out of favor…and out of a job.

Hip hop music has a unique ability to get people bobbing their heads, feeling the groove, dancing to the beat. A DJ’s job is to keep that beat seamless and uninterrupted all night long. You can tell a master turntable artist not by his highly technical scratching skills, but rather by how well he mixes beats and songs together, creating the perfect playlist for a night out on the town.

In this free hip hop DJ music video series, you'll learn what equipment you need, like turntables, a two-channel mixer, record needles, headphones and more. DJ Shy will show you how to set up DJ equipment, and show you how to do a soundcheck to make sure you're ready to start the show. Put it all together, practice, and go out and get a DJ gig!

Video Transcript

"Hello everyone. I'm DJ Shy here with Expert Village to try to get you started on how to DJ. And we're going to explain to you what equipment to get and how to set it up. But first I'd like to tell you a little about myself. I'm the first female on our mixer at one-oh-two point seven, KISS FM here in Los Angeles. And I've spun at nightclubs all around the world. Mostly in Asia, Canada, United States, here in Hollywood, Palm Springs, Vegas. Here and there. So I am very excited to show you, you know, how how to DJ. And try to get you to be a touring DJ like myself and I'll tell you how I did it. So can't wait to explain it to you. I am going to show you where to buy your equipment, how to set it up and show you how to get started. So why don't you stick around while I demonstrate this for you?"