WLSC Contest DJ Perspective with DJ Cross

When steppers decide to enter the World’s Largest Steppers Contest, one of the most critical factors they can control as a contestant is at least one of the songs they dance to on stage. They hope the DJ picks the song they want to dance to or, better yet, plays more than one of the songs they submitted. When the music starts, you hope you can hear the music, that nothing skips, and please let the DJ know how to transition from song to song without getting off beat. How did the audience like the music? Did they sing along or pay attention? Is there enough musicality and a story that makes not just the contestants dance but makes the crowd want to be a part of the moment? At every step of the World’s Largest Steppers Contest, music matters. All that said, I thought it would be fun to talk to someone who sits at a unique purview at every WLSC because his hands are always on the music – DJ Cross. DJ Cross shares his perspective on deejaying for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest.

Meet DJ Cross from Chicago

Starting as a House and Hip Hop DJ, DJ Cross is originally from Chicago and has been deejaying for approximately thirty-seven years. He was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago in Englewood. Cross used to go to the Fifty Yard line and other places with regular stepper sets to spend time socializing with his peers. At first, he was not watching the dance floor. Around 1999, he started paying more attention to the people dancing around him at the stepper sets, and he felt inclined to learn how to dance. He joined Dre & Company’s class under the instruction of Andre “Dre” Blackwell to learn how to dance.

Deejaying for Stepper Sets

Cross’ opportunity to learn from Dre segued into an opportunity for him to become the DJ for Dre’s class. Cross would watch Dre run back and forth in class to manage the music, change the songs, and teach the class.  He would change a song and then run back to teach the class. Cross saw the struggle and approached Dre. He told Dre, “I am a DJ. Next week I will bring my equipment and DJ this class for you.” Dre said, “Okay!” From there, the rest is history. Different stepping groups attended the class to sell tickets to their sets and promote their events and parties, which eventually led to JR asking Cross to DJ for a stepper set. People heard him deejay at JR’s set and enjoyed his music and have been asking him to deejay for stepper sets ever since.

Contest DJ for the WLSC

Cross started deejaying for small contests in 2009, and then in 2011, he deejayed for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest. He did not deejay WLSC in 2012 because he was a contestant in the Original Old School category with his partner, Dana White-Scott. Cross admits, “I tied last with all the others who did not place.” From 2013, every year until now, he has been the contest DJ for the WLSC. When Linda Frazier retired, she asked Cross to deejay for her retirement party. Pete Frazier noticed his skills and asked him to deejay for Majestic Gents parties, and he agreed. Deejaying at the parties for the Majestic Gents led him into also deejaying for the WLSC.

The Cross Interview

What skillsets set a contest DJ apart from a set or party DJ?

Well, for one, you must have rhythm and good timing with the music. In my background, I came from deejaying House Music and Hip Hop. In those genres, we did a lot of mixing. As far as stepper DJs, they mostly play a whole song and then just play the next song without a lot of mixing. It’s not complicated.

I was already blessed with that skill coming from another genre, and it’s a skill you need to have for deejaying at a contest. You want to change songs, but you want to keep the people dancing on beat. I’ve watched several other people that DJ contests and will just play a song without mixing it or a proper transition. Then the people dancing in the contest must reset their dance to get back on the beat because now the music is not on the beat from the song that was playing before.

What do you consider the most challenging about deejaying for the World’s Largest Steppers Contest?

The most challenging would be the contestants waiting until the last minute to get their music in. Some submit their music on the day of the contest. Plenty of people will try to submit music on the day of the contest, right before the contest starts. Contestants should have their songs in two weeks prior. Also, contestants will have the mix that they want to have played.

This is fine if they are the only couple on the floor, but if they’re not the only couple on the floor and the other couple has music that they want to be played, then it becomes kind of a problem. A lot of times, when people turn in their music to be played, they kind of have choreography to their music. However, there are not many solo performances, and I have to play music for other people that turn in music as well that are dancing on the floor at the same time.

Have you ever had someone confront you about messing up their contest music, and if so, how did you react?

Sure, I have one time. I showed them exact proof of the music they sent to me in a text message to tell me that this is the music you wanted me to play. Here are the three songs and these are the three songs I played. They still tried to insinuate that the music was the reason that they didn’t win.

What is your advice when there is a glitch in the music during the contestant’s performance?

I have not restarted playing a song in a contest. My advice is always just to go out and dance. Be prepared to dance – NO MATTER WHAT. Don’t try or plan to dance to certain music. If you’re a stepper, you should be able to dance to any music. There’s no guarantee that your music will get played how you want it to. So be prepared to Just Dance No matter what.

What are three of the most interesting songs submitted to you for the contest?

Several people have submitted house music songs to dance to in the contest. I guess everybody has the right, according to the contestant rules, to submit their songs. But I feel this is unfair if it’s a steppers contest. Other contestants on the floor have no idea that a House music song is about to come on, and they don’t know how to dance to it.

They don’t know how to step to a House music song while another couple has practiced and choreographed their moves. That has happened on several occasions. I see a very up-tempo song submitted and played 125 beats per minute (bpm) while the average stepper song is 90 bpm. To name three surprising contest songs – Dada is one of the House music songs, maybe Michael Jackson’s Heartbreak Hotel, and another song called Shotgun.

Can you name one song that you’re surprised no one has ever entered or submitted for a contest song?

No. I think I’ve heard just about it all. Over the years, so many contestants have hit just about every song.

How do you choose the music or songs that fill in the gaps for contestants that don’t submit music?

Simple. For each category, we try to go with a slow tempo song, a medium tempo song, and an up-tempo song. If we have two contests on the floor and both turn in their songs, I select one of their slow songs and one of the fast songs. I put in a medium-tempo song myself. If both turn in only fast songs, I’ll just start with a medium tempo, and we won’t go slow. We’ll just go medium fast, fast. It all depends on what contestants turn in, and I segue from there.

Does that mean that you work so that every contestant gets to hear at least one of their songs?

Correct, yes.

What year and category surprised you with song submissions?

That’s easy – the Trio category. We have not done the Trio category in a while. The Trio category would be the most surprising because contestants are so creative for that category. That’s the one category contestants know they’ll be on the dancefloor by themselves, so they turn in their music, and it is pretty interesting, to say the least.

What are three of your most memorable contest songs because they were a good fit for contest songs?

Always James Brown because James Brown songs involve the crowd, and certain hip hop songs move the crowd. I think people have the context misconstrued. They think the best dancers will win, but that’s not the case. It is whoever puts on the best show at that time. And a lot of times, the music will dictate how the crowd reacts and how the crowd reacts – in my opinion – sways the judges. When that crowd gets fired up, I think the judges kind of lean toward them, and certain songs – especially certain Hip Hop songs and James Brown songs – move the meter.

What are some of the tips that you would give a contestant about choosing a song for WLSC?

Try to bring up-tempo music. Try to bring something to get the crowd out of their seats and on their feet. And make sure your dance matches that music.

I hear many contest songs at the WLSC Brunch that the winners danced to. After the contest, do winning songs get extra play on the set?

Yes, yes, yes! If a certain song makes the crowd happy and fired up, it’ll go into rotation for a little while after the contest, just to keep people reminded of what happened there. Yes!

Has anyone ever submitted a song you never heard of?

Do you think that mixed music gives contestants an advantage?

Yes. Because they get a chance to have a more choreographed script they can dance to. When they bring music that they’ve practiced and that exact music can be played in the contest as opposed to not knowing what’s going to be played, it makes a big difference.

Do you prepare mixes for contestants?

I used to, but no longer now. We have other DJs that have moved up to do mixes, so I don’t need to do it anymore. There’s so much in the time for the contest to do to get ready for the contest that I just choose not to do it anymore.

Why have you been the WLSC deejay for a long time, and what do you enjoy the most about the experience?

I do it because they hire me. They call me because I am kind of like the go-to guy. I love the excitement of the contest and the ambiance of seeing everybody get there, take their seats, be ready, and watch how they react to the contestants. If I were not the contest DJ, I would still go to the WLSC and enjoy it just to be there.