Like, ‘Can you still play that song from a year ago?’ I feel like everyone’s just excited to be back outside, so they just want to hear any vibe that’s going to get them jumping. It’s tricky now because we’re testing out what music people know. City Girls’ project didn’t really get the club experience, and you needed the club experience for that.ĭid you have any worries that certain songs or albums might be considered “too old” because it came out during the pandemic? For example, I know Megan Thee Stallion and City Girls dropped their projects in the pandemic. I wouldn’t say a certain song, but there were certain artists that were hard to play inside. It did Diddy’s Love party when he first started it in L.A., in the beginning of May.Īre there any songs you were listening to/spinning at home that you were excited to play for a live audience? I felt like we were going to get back out, and I didn’t want to create a new box for myself to be online DJing.
I tried to do a few myself, but I struggled because trying to look at the screen and then DJ and then work out a vibe to nobody was hard. But I wasn’t really a fan of doing live music on IG just because I’m a vibes person and I need to feel the audience, I need to feel the crowd. But I did do a Live for them on their Instagram. I wanted to do a whole dinner, even delivering it to people was hard, so it was kind of a bummer. It was such a shame because it happened and then the pandemic hit. Just before the pandemic, I actually had a collaboration with him. But now that the guys are more highlighted, it’s like there are other artists and other songs in Afrobeats.ĭid you perform at any virtual events within the last year and a half? It was amazing just to see that now people are tapping into the sounds and as a DJ, when I’ve gone to past Afrobeats parties here, they usually only know like three or four songs. What was it like to celebrate two major Afrobeats stars, especially who have a major presence in your native U.K., in the States? Blige, Diddy.Ī post shared by King Bell DJed the official Afrolituation after parties following Wizkid and Burna Boy’s concerts in L.A. My dad was heavily into hip-hop, like Busta Rhymes and Nas, and then my mom used to listen to SWV, Mary J. They played a lot of old school ‘90s music. I think that was a big influence growing up, and also just having young parents. So growing up, it was very integrated, so that’s why we have the genre Afro. In the U.K., we have a heavy African and Jamaican, Caribbean culture. How have your roots/upbringing shaped the music you like to listen to and play live? He had a good project that he dropped in that time, too. R&B that I was listening to as well like Mnelia, Tamera, this artist called Scribz Riley. I had Snoh’s songs on repeat and Summer Walker Ari Lennox, I listened to her album Jazmine Sullivan. I love old school R&B, but I just listened to the newer R&B artists and producers that are out now. So when I’m inside, I listen to the opposite, like very chill. What music were you listening to a lot during quarantine?īeing in the club so much, I’m so used to listening to up-tempo music and music that’s going to make people dance. I’ve always been a traveling DJ, so I DJ wherever the vibe is really. I’ve been fortunate to DJ around the world. Pre-pandemic, where were you spinning usually? concerts this fall, and Bell was one of the select few DJs who helped them keep the night going by spinning at their after parties.īillboard caught up with Bell to talk about how she’s made her mark on the world of music, and her aspirations to spin all over the globe. native moved stateside during the pandemic to Los Angeles, Calif., so did the music: Afropop heavyweights WizKid and Burna Boy hosted their first major L.A. The internationally renowned DJ’s creative expression knows no borders, and neither does her musical taste, from old school U.S. Getting Back in the DJ Booth: Lala the DJ Talks Street-to-Strip Club Music and Why Working With…
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