Chuckie's Response to DJs Struggling With the Touring Lifestyle: "A Lot of People Need to Man Up"

In a recent interview with the Guardian, Moby said he experienced anxiety, depression, and insomnia while touring. The traveling lifestyle was so hard on Avicii, he’s hanging up his headphones at age 26.

But not Clyde Sergio Narain, a DJ you probably know better as Chuckie. “So many artists had no career and no one cared about them, and now they’re complaining that it’s too much stress. A lot of people need to man up. You have to stay fit and find balance. Only the strong survive,” he tells us.

Last year, the Dirty Dutch Records boss took more than 450 flights. On August 1, he played in Croatia. He’ll be at Story tomorrow and finishes August with stops in Ibiza, Montenegro, Las Vegas, and even Cleveland. 

Narain is quick to credit David Guetta for growing the Dutch sound and making dance music more mainstream. “Guetta took the Dirty Dutch sound to the main stage with his 2009 album One Love. It helped guys like me, Sidney Samson, and Afrojack. I’m a house head at heart, and growing up in Amsterdam I was listening to a lot [of] breaks and drum and bass from London. Then, I started going to record stores and buying music from Detroit and Chicago... Through the years I created my own sound, which is a mesh of drum and bass, house, hardstyle — and I was one of the first to sample my own voice like I did on 'Who Is Ready to Jump.'"

Chuckie’s first trip to Miami was in 2007, and everywhere he went he heard his track, “Let the Bass Kick in Miami Bitch,” a coproduction with LMFAO. Millions of “I’m in Miami Bitch” T-shirts have been sold since that first trip, and Chuckie keeps coming back. He’s branched out from LMFAO too, working with several Miami-based artists like Craze, DJ Affect, and local producer Landis. Chuckie and Landis coproduced the track “Miami Bounce” in 2015.

“I like working with Landis, and I really enjoy working with unknown artists and helping them along. I was unknown once, and I was hoping the established guys would play my music. Uplifting other artists is more gratifying for me at this point in my career,” he adds.

Chuckie’s sound and Miami are a good fit, and fans at Story can expect to hear hardstyle, reggae, drum and bass, techno, hip-hop, and house. Last year, Chuckie released a four-track EP called Traphall, a hybrid of trap and classic dancehall that sounds surprisingly "Miami" for a nonnative. 

“I will play till David Grutman drags me off the controls. I don’t care if there’s only 40 people left standing on the dance floor. I’m a DJ, and my job is to serve the dance floor.” 

Chuckie. 11 p.m. Thursday, August 5, at Story, 136 Collins Ave., Miami Beach; 305-479-4426; storymiami.com. Tickets cost $30 plus fees via flavorus.com.