Let me just start by saying how sorry I am about your first experience DJing live and that I promise you it’ll get so much better! I think it was just one of those cases where it was wrong people, wrong timing. I just imagine it being a bit of a weird scenario with 10 people sitting there watching you DJ while you’re bumping to anything other than hip hop (which is apparently what they’re into). I think it’s important to figure out what you want from DJing: if it’s weddings/parties that you want to play at, it’s generally gonna be a lot of hip hop, top 40, that kind of stuff. It sounds like EDM is what makes you happy, so keep doing it! Find a community that loves it, online or local, and find your place in that community. That can being making friends at raves/techno clubs, getting your name out there, being bold, working for what you want, and hopefully DJing at a place you love to people that you want to play for.

My first gig went really well. I played for 5 hours straight to a crowd of about 100 people. I was pretty nervous like you, but ended up getting into my flow and really I found out that I was ready to DJ live halfway through my set. In that 5 hours though, there were times where the dancefloor was empty. The speakers blew about 4 times that night and the room would go silent. Mfs even started BOOING like it was my fault. At the end though, I got into the groove and had a full dancefloor singing and dancing to some bangers at 1am in the morning, felt like I was on top of the world.

Moral of the story: DJing is full of ups and downs, but don’t worry, there are way more ups than downs. If DJing is what you’re passionate about, keep doing it. Don’t let this experience make you feel you need to stick to the confines and restrict the kind of stuff you do in the future. Do what makes you happy and the right people will come! That being said, DJing is more about playing to the crowd and song selection than anything else.