By Stefan Snijders
Contributor
To many people, deejaying is not a complex job. You put on a record, CD, or mp3 file and press play, right? Then you cue up another song and get ready to press play when the first one ends, you watch the crowd dance and party, and you party too. Wrong.
Deejaying is much more complicated and involved than that. It involves knowledge of the music one is using, tempos, time signatures, and nuances of the music in dynamic and timbre. On top of all that, a DJ needs to know how to work up a crowd with track selection as well.
Being a DJ, especially a well-respected one, takes time, concentration and dedication. Victor Williams, a.k.a. Vic Nasty, has been deejaying for about three decades so far and has no intention of stopping. From block parties to house parties, raves, clubs and more, Williams has seen all of the scenes, and it doesn’t get old.
Williams attended college at the University of Nebraska at Omaha from 1987-1988. “[I] Had some great off campus and on campus parties there,” he said.
He transferred eventually to Lincoln to finish his degree. While at Lincoln he was able to achieve some significant things in entertainment, including chairing the African American Arts and Entertainment program for the university student council.
His productions won him several awards before he graduated.
Included in his achievements is MTV’s live broadcast of the “Pajama Part” at Bob Devaney Center in anticipation of the world premier for the Movie “House Party 2.” Williams also had several appearances on Yo! MTV Raps.
But being a DJ isn’t just about fame for Vic Nasty. It’s also about turning the people on. He loves the contact with people, and the effect his chosen art has on them.
“When the crowd is dancing to every track I play, and when I switch the song to their favorite jam and they all scream and sing the words,” he said. “I turn the music down to make sure I’m not dreaming, but it’s true, the crowd loves it and I get a huge rush.”
I observed Vic Nasty on a Tuesday night at one of his regular gigs, the Turbo Tuesday session at Bar 415 in Old Market. Vic warmed up his set with a variety of hot dub trap, worked his way toward drum’ n’ bass, hopped off for some interesting side notes of tech-industrial and indie alternative, and back into hip-hop, almost never missing a beat. Near seamless beat-wise, all around cool track-wise, and just plain fun.
You can follow Vic Nasty on Facebook: just search the name, and you’ll find the artist page where you can get all of the information surrounding his current gigs.
