It's 2 a.m. on a Sunday at Space. College kids and club crawlers, thugs and lovelies, Latinos, Keys rats, and tourists from every country with an airport are all losing themselves en masse to the thunder of DJ Radamas. "I love this!" Radamas shouts over a wicked mix of vintage Biggie. "Nobody poses at Space. They dance!"
That they do — dance until the sun is high in the sky — and have been doing so at the club for a decade. Radamas has been on hand for all the action since night one. He's the cat who makes sure Space stays street-tough, and no matter what he drops, the crowd rocks right along with him.
But this Bronx-born, Queens-raised hip-hop heavyweight doesn't just handle the action at Space; right now he's also calibrating the beatitude at AeroBar, Dream, and Ink. But it's at Space where this kingpin has the most freedom to reign.
"AeroBar is generally Top 40," he explains, "and Dream is definitely my most urban night. That crowd isn't asking for shit they hear on the radio, though; they wanna hear album tracks. And Ink is by far the most hard. But at Space, I can play anything and they'll go nuts."
With 15-plus years in the game, Radamas knows a thing or two about people going nuts. At one time or another, he has held forth everywhere there's been a turntable. He counts a resumé full of long-standing residencies at legendary clubs, including B.E.D. (six years), the late Liquid (five years), and Privé (four years). He's been Diddy's go-to guy in Miami (back when Diddy was known as Sean Combs), and he clocked hundreds of airtime hours on the now-defunct 103.5 the Beat. In other words, Radamas is no rookie.
Nevertheless, he continues to put a new spin on that thing known as DJing, be it by finding a new way to kick the classics or boasting play that's just making waves. Right now, Radamas has Lil Wayne's "We Steady Mobbin," Usher's "OMG," and Gucci Mane's "Wasted" on his hit list. Come back in a week or two, though, and he'll be poppin' a whole new set of now.
Perhaps Radamas gets a lot of that go-go from his family. His pops was a Latin jazz cat from way back, and his cuz is DJ Sassy, who's a bit of a queenpin across the pond in Merry Ol' Blighty. Then again, maybe that go-go springs from his smarts — after all, no dummies are walking around with BAs in business and communication and MAs in science.
Radamas is also just about to put out some product that's guaranteed to get the going gone, baby, gone. The act is called Bo Nasty, a bi-city MC who's been hovering around the radar for a hot minute but is dead set on bringing it all on. The rapper is so lethal that no less a mouth than Busta Rhymes stepped up to join in on the track "Handz in da Air" after hearing Radamas play it at Privé. And if Busta still knows how to call it (and we think he just might), it's a cinch a whole lot of somebodies out there are going to dig Radamas's discovery.
The DJ is also getting into the gear game, teaming with his gal Katherine Eastman for a wow called Truffle, a "high-end, handmade" line of swimwear, lingerie, and formal attire. The two launched the label when April started showering, yet they've already built something of a sexy rep among those who go for that particular brand of goods. Don't believe it? Hit the Newport Hotel on Saturday night and see for yourself. While your eyes are at it, keep your ears open, because that'll be Radamas on the decks while the gals are hitting the catwalk.
And if you're the type of cat or kitten who's truly in the know, you most likely have already heard word about Radamas kicking in for the relaunch of a little party called Fat Black Pussycat. Details are still secret, but pedigreed types will be well aware that this is a Monday thing, and it'll take place somewhere very secret.
So yeah, the DJ's name is Radamas. He's hip-hop, he's heavy, and he's right here ensuring the M.I.A. stays that way. If you haven't gotten jacked by this cat, you best get to it.
DJ Radamas's top five hard hip-hop tracks:
1. "Shook Ones," Mobb Deep
2. "Warning," the Notorious B.I.G.
3. "Represent," Nas
4. "Reminisce," Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth
5. Any break by DJ Mark the 45 King
