2016 was a rough year for most. Racism, homophobia, sexism, ageism, and that was just Donald Trump’s campaign for president. I started the year with high hopes for music, but I’m not sure it was all great. This hour and 51-minute mega mix feature 72 songs that I programmed over the past 12 months.
My Kinkster Year-End Mix starts with an intro from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Dance Off.” Now, if the beginning of this mix sounds like a retrospective from the 80s, it’s because we lost some major players in the music industry. And even though news of David Bowie and Prince dominated the headlines and news feeds, I woke up on January 1st of 2016 to the news of Natalie Cole’s passing from the night before. And being a Canadian resident now, I would be a terrible Canadian if I forgot about Denise Mathews (better known as Vanity). Right before the Grammy’s we also lost Maurice White of Earth, Wind & Fire, and it sucked that the Grammy’s skipped over Maurice and Natalie when it came to tributes. You’d think cutting one or two of those additional and unnecessary performances by a few of those future one-hit-wonders to pay homage to those who came before them would have been a priority, but no.
Maurice White was one of the founding members of Earth, Wind & Fire, and “September” was one of their classics. If you did not catch the movie “Trolls” you probably missed Justin Timberlake’s cover of it. Justin has two tracks on this mix. “Can’t Stop This Feeling” should have been called “Can’t Stop This Reading.” Justin decided to chime in online after Jesse William’s inspiring Pro-Black speech at the BET Awards and got read for filth! Guess black folks still haven’t forgiven him for leaving Janet Jackson out to dry after that Nipple-Gate fiasco at the Superbowl back in 2004. One of the biggest problems in 2016 was the silence by Blue-Eyed Pop Soul & Hip Hop artists like Timberlake, Bieber, Miley Cyrus, Robin Thicke (R.I.P. to your dad, Alan), Iggy Azalea and Ariana Grande not speaking up to support the “Black Lives Matter” Movement in the United States. To paraphrase the great Paul Mooney, “Everybody wanna be a n#%ga until it’s time to be a n#%ga.”
2016 saw a lot of Pop veterans like the Pet Shop Boys, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears make returns to the scene and charts. Some of the great Club tracks while others hit the strip in Las Vegas or the small screen with hit TV shows. I think the Pet Shop Boys nailed it with their biographic track “The Pop Kids.” I am so happy for Janet and wish her a healthy baby and life…”Dammn Baby”. Mariah, Jennifer & Britney all joined Celine Dion in Vegas. Here in Canada, many mourned Rene’s death after a long illness. The video of Celine’s return to her residency was heartbreaking knowing how much she loved him. Then Jennifer started off the year with the final season of “American Idol,” and she critically claimed “Shades Of Blue.” The year ended with Mariah’s horrible decision to do a reality TV show…oops; I mean “docu-series.” She shouldn’t have done that season of “American Idol” with Nicki Minaj, and she definitely will regret doing this “docu-series.”
One of the big moments that started the year was Beyonce’s performance of “Formation” at The Superbowl. I bet no one even remembers that Coldplay was the featured group scheduled to perform. Honestly, until Mark Ronson & Bruno Mars came out to do “Uptown Funk” most of Chris Martin’s vocals sounded all the same (like one long song). As soon as the halftime show was over the “black-lash” began for Beyonce. She would later get blasted again for performing while being black at the Country Music Awards (even though she had The Dixie Chicks with her). Bruno would return in the fall with the next episode; another retro sampled track called “24K Magic”. Then rumors of Coldplay dismantling after that gig were highly exaggerated. They are alive and touring well into 2017.
One of the casualties of 2016 that I didn’t mind was the absence of Taylor Swift on the charts; I was so sick of her in 2015. Thanks to Kim and Kanye for releasing the audio of his conversation with Taylor about the video for “Famous.” The video where Kanye used nude wax figures of her, Caitlyn Jenner, Trump, Amber Rose, Ray J, Rihanna, Chris Brown and Bill Cosby, and likely the reason why Taylor took a backseat this year and kept a very low profile.
If you remember, Miss Swift tried to get brand new on Kanye and played the victim again by denying any knowledge of her likeness being used in his video. Well, Kim Kardashian decided to Snapchat the conversation for prosperity then posted it to discredit her. Taylor should know that anyone who goes to Kim or Kanye are probably being recorded. No wonder Jay and Beyonce have not come to visit. Kanye would later complain on stage during the beginning of his breakdown about Jay not coming to see him after his wife’s posting online, which led to her being robbed at gunpoint in Paris. I knew we were in for something crazy when Kanye announced he was running for president in 2020 at the MTV Movie Awards. But Taylor did inspire one of my favorites,”My Way” by Calvin Harris. And she co-wrote his track with Rihanna, “This Is What You Came For.”
I loved all the artists who hit the scene with great club tracks, and as far as my charts, here are my favorites: Dua Lipa, DNCE, Nick Jonas, Tove Lo, Chainsmokers, Drake, Sia, Sean Paul, The Weeknd, Kungs, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Missy Elliott, Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Fifth Harmony, Rae Sremmurd, Desiigner, NEIKED, Demi Lovato, Bob The Drag Queen, “Closer”, “Cake By The Ocean”, “Work From Home”, “WTF (Where They From)”, “Purse First”, “Black Beatles”, “Cheap Thrills”, “Starboy”, “Cool Girl”, “Confident”, “Love Me Now”, “This Girl”, “Panda”, “Blow Your Mind,” and so many others rocked my decks in the past year.
2016 also found me, DJ Relentless, making my return to New York City where I spun for NYC Black Pride. It was such an honor to spin in Central Park for the roller-skaters and then go back to my home bar, The Hangar on Christopher Street. My alter-ego, Jade Elektra performed on Coney Island as part of the celebration. There’s no place like The Big Apple in the summer! And with that trip, my love for House music was reignited. So, of course, I came back to Toronto and injected as many House tracks as I could in my sets. “House Every Weekend” by David Zowie, “House Work” by Jax Jones, “Chunky” by Format B, “Dancin’” by Full Intention and “The Whistle Song” by Frankie Knuckles was what I call “N&R” (“Nightly” and “Regardless”). Frankie had to be added again to my playlist since TV One’s UNSUNG series did a documentary about The Godfather of House.
I also made a conscious effect to program some Danceable Rock. With the death of David Bowie, “Rebel Rebel” found its way in my sets along with this hot bootleg of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” called “We’re Guna Fight” by Ill Phil. And “Black Betty” by Ram Jam has been a favorite of mine since I bought the 12′ back in 1985. I love being able to play a mix of everything. I believe everyone should get served.
As we faded into the last three months of 2016, we lost an 80s icon, Pete Burns of Dead Or Alive. The United States mourned the loss of facts and integrity after electing an unqualified businessman who has coasted on bankruptcy for over a decade and then House Music legend Colonel Abrams. Prince’s “Purple Rain” soundtrack won posthumously at the American Music Awards. HBO canceled “VINYL” which I actually thought was a great show! But I guess they were nervous about the Netflix series, “The Get Down” coming down the pike. I was so excited for the Alex Newell single from “VINYL”….”Kill The Lights.”
I closed out the mix with “Stronger Together” by Jessica Sanchez. She was inspired by Hillary Clinton’s campaign slogan. As I mourned what could have been, I decided to pay homage to a class act like Hillary. I wanted her to walk into the White House “Purse First,” but my alter-ego Jade Elektra said it best with her bitch track, “Karma.” Perhaps the United States needs to hit rock bottom. Perhaps it’s time to confront the racial divide head-on to start reaching a solution. It’s sad to see how many people are on the wrong side of history because they don’t see equality for all, but instead, they see themselves losing control. So, all of those people deserve the karma that is coming their way.
With every appointment to his administration, Donald Trump is showing his true colors. It’s looking like the U.S. is in for a bumpy ride. So, I chose a track by Bombs Away to represent Trump’s foreign policy….”China All The Time”. And, the closing track is Beyonce’s “Sorry.” I figured since the first political statement of 2016 was by Mrs. Carter. So, why not let her get the last word as well.
