DJ Cassidy may be a world-famous DJ now, but once upon a time he was a relative unknown until a chance meeting with Diddy changed the trajectory of his career.
The DJ stopped by The Breakfast Club for a conversation on Wednesday (May 17), where co-host DJ Envy asked how he was discovered by the Bad Boy mogul. In explaining how they met, DJ Cassidy also revealed the words that Diddy said to him that night that ultimately ended up being some of the highest praise he’s ever received.
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“Puffy had a profound effect in my life,” he began. “I was 19 years old, DJing at a club in New York called Lotus on 14th Street and 9th Avenue. And it was the hottest club in New York and I had just got a night there. But it was like, the wack night in the basement. And I was playing the wack room on the wack night on a rainy night. It was like three in the morning and I’m playing the soul classics of the ’70s and ’80. So for those who don’t know what that means – Michael Jackson, Prince, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, Chaka.
“And Puffy comes out of the corner of the room and starts dancing by himself. And for a 19 year old at that point in the year 2000, that’s like God just walked to the dance floor. The king of New York, the king of all parties, the king of Hip Hop. And I remember him dancing past 4am and the manager of the club coming up to me and saying, ‘I assume you wanna keep going?’ I’m like, ‘Yes.'”
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He continued: “He walks out around five in the morning, walks by the DJ booth and says, ‘Who’s the DJ?’ I said, ‘I’m the DJ.’ And he said, ‘Who’s been here all night playing all these old records?’ I said, ‘Me.’ So he looked at me crazy like, ‘What?’ And he wrote down his name and number. Puffy and a 917 number on a napkin and said, ‘Call me tomorrow.’ I was a freshman at NYU. I was so nervous to call. I made every excuse not to call. Finally I called and I got a voicemail that said, ‘God is the greatest. BEEP!’
“I stuttered through this message. I don’t know what I said. It was the most inarticulate message I’ve ever left in my life. So I said, you know what? He’s not gonna call back but alright, it’s a start! So I went back to class, came out of the next class and I had a voicemail from an assistant saying, ‘Hi, I’m calling for Sean Puffy Combs. Please call us back.’ So I took the train back to my mom’s. I locked myself in my room and called back.”
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“I said, ‘Hi it’s DJ Cassidy.’ And they said, ‘Hold on please.’ And he came right on the phone and he’s like, ‘Yo, what’s up playboy? And I’m like, ‘What’s up Puff?’ You know, I had no idea what to say. He’s like, ‘How old are you?’ I was like, ’19.’ And he said, ‘How do you know how to play those records like that?’ And I said, ‘Like what?’ And he goes, ‘Like you lived them.’ And I didn’t know at the time what that meant and now in retrospect, probably one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received.”
He concluded: “What I think he meant now is – a DJ plays records differently when you lived through them. When you lived through a record coming out and you live through its hottest moment and you remember what you played after that record or before that record contextually. I had no idea what he meant but it was one of the greatest compliments. But anyway, a few months later I played his 32nd birthday. A few years ago I played his 50th. He’s been a major part of my life since. He saw something in me before anyone else did.”
DJ Cassidy is gearing up to bring back his popular pandemic series Pass The Mic Live to celebrate 25 Hip Hop icons for one night only. The event will feature an all-star line-up of legendary Hip-Hop stars, including some of the genre’s most influential figures and goes down on July 21 at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
There are expected to be performances by Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Rakim, and Slick Rick, among others. In celebration of Hip Hop’s 50th anniversary, the event’s aim is to bring it back to its roots.
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Presented by Martell Cognac in partnership with the Black Promoters Collective (BPC), the event will also feature rap pioneers such as Roxanne Shante, the Sugarhill Gang, Monie Love, Kurtis Blow, Kid ‘N Play, and other surprise guests among them.
