A decade ago, Tracy Young broke out in a big way when she mixed songs for the Queen of Pop herself, Madonna. At the time, Miami's party people were psyched because Young was a resident of our beat-heavy city.
Today, Young no longer lives in South Florida, calling New York City home, but she visits often. And she'll be at Mansion this Sunday, hosting Genesis IX, the ninth edition of her massive New Year's Day party, alongside special guest Deborah Cox.
We spoke with the sweet, candid DJ about Genesis, her undying love for Miami, and 2012.
New Times: Genesis starts at 8 a.m. Is it more of an afterparty than a morning party? Do people actually wake up and come out?
Tracy Young: Typically, people go to sleep. They do their toast in their houses at midnight and they're in bed by 12:15. That's including me. Then I get up at 7 a.m. and I'm at the club.
I lived in South Beach for 12 years and I got tired of running around trying to be somewhere when the ball drops and parking and the whole craziness that South Beach packs on New Year's Eve. So I was like, "Let's have all of this excitement during the day."
The first year, I was expecting 300 people. It was an experiment, like, "Let's do something for our friends so we don't have to deal with all of this." When I pulled up, the line was down the street, around the block. I was like, "Shit, I'm onto something!"
You are now living in New York. How do you feel about Miami these days?
I think Miami is the greatest nightlife scene in the United States. It beats New York. Miami has the greatest DJs [and] talent. Of course, [there's] Winter Music Conference [and] Ultra Music Festival. And this is simply my opinion. I'm biased, because I still consider Miami my home. Nothing compares to Miami now.
You have spots [that are] over-the-top, and you throw the napkins and you have the red carpet and the VIP and the bottle service. But there are clubs like Mansion, Cameo, and Space, where they're really music-driven.
Yes, everything is staged. But at the same time, Miami brings in the greatest talent. [This city is] always on the forefront of finding new talent. To me, Miami has the greatest club spaces, definitely in the United States, and I would go so far as to say most of Europe. I think Miami is really on the forefront of nightlife.
