(le) poisson rouge

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I'm the illest promoter/DJ in NYC. I have been commanding the club scene since 2000, murdering dance floors at every NYC venue you can think of. I'm also known for "The Herbert Holler," a free email list of all the hottest music events in town, songs I'm feeling, and a short editorial about life in NYC. Every Friday I'm at the legendary "FREEDOM" party, www.thefreedompartynyc.com, an event I started 6.5 years ago because music sucked, parties were boring, and people stopped dancing. We play strictly classic dance hits from the '60s through today. I can spin anything and everything. Though hip-hop, r&b, old school and classics are my claim-to-fame, right now I'm really into deep soulful house, tech house and global soul, winning over house heads and converting new listeners alike. What sets me apart from other DJs is my connection to the crowd. I play for people, not with myself. I mean for myself. I don't play with myself. Seriously. I don't. I used to, when I was little, but, you know, that's what little kids do. They play with themselves! What? I don't do it anymore!! I DON'T!! Yeah, in the bathroom. Every guy does that in the bathroom. It's the bathroom! It's not in public. What? Whatever a**hole. SHUT UP AND DANCE!!!!!

Cosi gets down not just for the funk of it, but for the love of it. He spins music like no other DJ on the planet and that is why New York is proud to claim him as one of its own. He spins because nothing else is quite as satisfying. “I play a mix of 70 & 80s R&B classics, funk, 80’s pop, hip-hop, reggae, afro-beat and house music,” Cosi explains. “I have a knack for knowing what people want to hear from just reading the crowd. When I play it, they dance. That’s the best feeling.” The feeling continues, even into his 15th year of spinning, as one of the few DJs who has truly mastered his art. He seamlessly blends several, if not all, of these genres throughout the evening, flawlessly moving the minds and bodies of those in the audience, making him one of the most sought-after DJs in New York City. If you’ve been to one of the myriad parties where Cosi has played, you’d know this experience first hand. Quite simply, his talent touches your soul. Tastemakers at Nike, The Gap, Brooks Brothers, MOMA, Hugo Boss, Timberland, Vibe Magazine, Phat Farm, The Chris Rock Show, Pepsi, The Magic Johnson Foundation, Enyce, Yves Saint Laurent, The National Basketball Players’ Association, The Fader Magazine, the Hudson Hotel, the W Hotel and many others have experienced this first-hand. He has held weekly’s at nightclubs such as Nell’s, Cheetah, Justin’s, APT, Lotus, NV, Float, Metronome, Discotheque, Joe’s Pub, Martinez Gallery, Mission, BLVD, and Café Deville (just to mention a few). All have hired Cosi to set the mood and create the energy for the night. He has created the perfect vibe for parties in a number of cities throughout the U.S. (from New York to Las Vegas to Puerto Rico) and internationally (Mexico, Bahamas, Anguilla to name a few). Cosi has even spun for former President Bill Clinton in the Hamptons! Here’s your chance to dance your way out of your constrictions.

There are few nightclub DJs that have accomplished as much on a global scale as Rich Medina. From his humble beginnings as a young b-boy-turned-DJ in Lakewood, NJ, to his current status manning the decks as one of the most popular DJ’s in Philadelphia NYC, Rich Medina has consistently taken multi-ethnic crowds on a sonic journey through hip-hop, house, Afrobeat, funk and soul, unearthing one musical gem after another, for almost 20 years.

Rich Medina cemented his name in the DJ world with his infamous 90’s partnership with Cosmo Baker at The Remedy in Philadelphia. In 1998, his Fun party with DJ Language was part of turning the Lower East Side of Manhattan into the new hot spot for club life. Then came the mother lode, Lil’ Ricky’s Rib Shack, a weekly dance function that started out as a 20-person party at APT in 2001, and evolved into an irreplaceable mid-week NYC institution for over 8 years. There, he connected with fan and hip-hop legend Q-Tip in 2005, eventually combining forces to create the Friday night weekly called Open at the Andrew W.K.-owned Santos Party House in 2007, and was soon considered the hottest Friday night party in NYC for the next 2 years.

Rich introduced a new generation of people to Afrobeat music in 2001, with Jump N’ Funk, the first and most consistent US dance party dedicated to the late African musical icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Rich and the Jump N’ Funk brand recently traveled to San Francisco, LA, and Atlanta headlining Knitting Factory Records' Felabrations!, a nationwide series of events promoting the re-release of The Fela Kuti EMI Catalog.

No less revered is Rich's Happy Feet party -- where he and another pioneer of the turntables, Nuyorican DJ Bobbito Garcia have traded off dance, salsa, and soul music at clubs all around the world. Next of his branded events in line would be Props, the continuation of Li'l Ricky's since the closing of APT in March of 2010. In 2008, he also co-founded What The Funke, a James Brown/Fela Kuti tribute party with DJ Spinna.

In addition to his own events, Rich has performed in front of crowds of thousands, DJing shows with artists like Lauryn Hill, De La Soul, Erykah Badu, Seun Kuti, Tony Allen, Nathan Haines, Roy Ayers, Gil Scott-Heron, The Roots, Jill Scott, Antibalas, Zap Mama, and Femi Kuti, among many others. From NYC to LA to London to Tokyo, and everywhere in between, music lovers know not to miss a club night when Rich Medina is manning the decks.

In the summer of 2010, Rich was selected to be one of seven DJ’s to compete on the first ever reality DJ competition, “Smirnoff’s Master of the Mix”, airing on BET and Centric starting November, 2010. Never one to rest on his laurels, Rich is gearing up for the biggest year yet in 2011!