Most people have heard DJ Mustard, but few have heard of him.
One of the driving forces behind the revival of West Coast hip-hop in recent years, all his tracks are recognisable through his signature “Muzzad on da beat” intro murmur.
Mustard has gained a reputation in the industry as the go-to producer for artists seeking a super-catchy, super-sampled track for their album. He has worked with the likes of Tinashe, Wiz Khalifa and Tyga to produce popular (and explicit) tunes like 2 On, You and Your Friends and Rack City.
Consistent with his under-the-radar approach to production, the venue for DJ Mustard’s only Sydney concert was the Albion Hotel in Parramatta. The Albion is best described as a steakhouse that seems like a great place to host after-work drinks. I was more than happy to run with the entire ‘niche-venue’ vibe – I thought that any inconvenience caused by its location would be compensated by Mustard’s lengthy list of production credits and a pulsating crowd.
I was wrong. Despite initially being as keen as mustard to watch him spin the 1-2’s, his gig unfortunately only represented a paltry suck of the sauce bottle.
His DJing was technically sound–it seems as though even a trained ferret can DJ these days, so I made sure to closely scrutinize his flapping of the crossfader.
Muzzad let the team down with his choice of songs. Rather than a Mustardy slather, his set was dominated by less-popular tracks that weren’t his own. He only played for one hour, which was disappointing in itself, so why didn’t he lay on the Mustard thick? When In My Room, Whole Lotta Lovin’ and Right, Left rang out, the energy ascended to the level it should have been the entire night.
The crowd was also too tame. Maybe it was apprehension about how they would get home. A body-on-body moshpit is what I expected. A sprawling archipelago of groups of friends surrounded by streams of spilled Vodka Red Bulls is a more accurate description of the venue. People seemed to be there to make it look like they were having a good time, rather than actually having a good time.
The night started late and finished early. My cravings for Mustard remain unsatisfied.