Part 1
Born in Englewood, Chicago, Michael “DJ Black Cool” Thornton eventually moved to Calumet Park, the suburbs on the southside of Chicago. He didn’t know he was living only two blocks away from the club where he would DJ twenty to thirty years later – Geno’s. What I didn’t realize was that Black Cool was a dancer first before he became a DJ. He started deejaying between 2010-2011 but had already competed in the 2009 World’s Largest Steppers Contest. 2007-2008, he was encouraged and talked into taking classes with Geno Spears while in Dallas on a ten-month assignment with Donna Washington, a stepper. When Black Cool returned to Chicago, he felt at home continuing to learn from Keith Hubbard. He entered the WLSC Beginners category in 2009 and started traveling in 2010-2011.
The Start of DJ Black Cool’s Journey
Black Cool liked the way DJ Raphael played and grew a friendship with him before he left Chicago. He invited Black Cool to sit in with him at Adriana’s at a set he played with DJ Mellow Kris on Tuesdays. DJ Raphael showed Black Cool the basics and how to pick a song. When Black Cool sat to watch DJ Calvin, he was mesmerized by how Calvin was going in and out of songs. “That was kinda cool.” One night at home, a documentary about Jay-Z’s first album talked about the songs Jay-Z had sampled on the album. They were all songs they played on the set. The hip-hop songs he liked sampled old steppin’ records. His interest in sampled songs pushed Black Cool into deejaying and helped developed Black Cool’s style and influenced what he likes to play.
“My favorite Jay-Z song samples the Stylistics – Hurry Up This Way Again. I think I had an advantage because I learned how to step first and already had an ear for what I wanted to hear. It was easier for me to make the transition, but the bigger struggle was when to play what song because I can’t play for myself.”
Black Cool first deejayed by himself on a Monday at Club Diamond at a party that he hosted as Black and White Incorporated. Club Diamond was a place that steppers frequented on 2nd and 4th Fridays. Indeed, Black Cool acknowledges the people instrumental to starting his journey that gave him time to deejay when they played at the sets – DJ Cross, DJ Roy (RIH), and DJ Dan to name a few. When promoter J Boogie booked Black Cool to open for DJ Mellow Khris at Club Karma in Harvey on Wednesdays at a New Skool set, that was the time he felt he was out there and shining.
What do you love the most about being a DJ?
I like taking people along for the ride – to vibe with what I am vibing with. When I see people come out, I like to set the mood and have people enjoy themselves.
While other DJs were going live during the pandemic, Black Cool didn’t go live. So what were you doing in the pandemic?
The exact opposite. LOL. Shorty Smooth offered me a slot on Oh So Smooth radio to play every week when I first started. I did some live and pre-recorded shows to practice talking to the audience. For me, I get more juice playing for a live crowd than I do playing on the internet. You can’t clear a virtual dance floor. LOL.
I can admit I needed a break and was burned out even before the pandemic. Deejaying is a thankless job. The DJ is the first and last to leave the party. At one point I played 18 cities in 23 weeks and was out promoting parties 3-4 times a week. The hustle and bustle and constant moving gets tiring and draining. It got to a point that if I went out, I didn’t have fun anymore. I wanted to know Who is deejaying? Where is the party? I turned into everything I didn’t expect to become.
For sure, I watched Myron and DJ Shorty Smooth and a couple of others. The pandemic gave some other DJs a chance. A lot of deejays popped up during the pandemic. As the pandemic started, life changed, and I had other stuff to do. My daughter got COVID in July last year. I had different priorities.
During the pandemic, did you miss anything about the stepper sets?
More than anything else, I missed the people. I made a lot of interesting friends along my journey. The person who looks at me in the booth because they know I am playing their song. For example, when I filled in for Calvin at the Fifty, I tried to keep true to the old school roots and still introduce new music. I missed that part of bringing people together, young and old, to hear different music.
How do you balance playing old and new music on the sets?
I play according to the crowd. The situation dictates what I am going to play. Sometimes I can’t make all 500 people happy. There are different aspects to this. The promoter wants you to play certain things. The out of towners want something else. Then your friends want you to play something else. I will be lying if I say that it doesn’t influence what I play next if I see my people. (wink* wink*)
My job is to entertain the masses. I try to create a certain vibe and cater to everybody at the party. Sometimes I might even drop a “DJ” song. For example, if I saw the late, great Steve Breeze walk in, I’d pull out an old record and play it because he walked in. I’d see him look up, and he’d come over to the booth to have an entire conversation on when the song was played for the first time and who played it. That’s the other thing I love about deejaying – I love the history of the music and what it means to people.
As a DJ, you should be mindful of where you are playing. People that go to the Fifty go there for a certain party. What you hear at a banquet hall set versus Club LaVue will be different. At a major event with people from all over the country, I try diligently to include music for everyone. The situation dictates what I play.
No matter what era it is from, whether it is 10, 20, 30, 40 years ago – if a song is hot, people will dance to it. I think the division that is happening between new and old school is more mindset than anything. Music takes people to a certain era in time and sometimes people want to make sure that their era is not forgotten. In Chicago, there are so many places to go. If you want to hear only old school or only new school, you can find somewhere to go. You just rock with who you rock with.
Read Part 2: What To Expect Next From DJ Black Cool
