Make a scene with DJ Megadon

DJ Megadon aka Christiaan Cocroft lives to entertain people all over Milwaukee with his music. He learned his DJing a few years ago by attending his Scratch Sessions with DJ Bizzon, practicing in his basement for hours and months. Now he’s become the best DJ in Milwaukee and has performed everywhere from the Cactus Club to Mud He’s the Planet to the Quarters He’s Rock’n’Roll He’s the Palace to the Collectivo’s Back He’s the Room. label.

For Megadon, music was a big part of growing up. “I’ve loved you since I was born,” he said. “I grew up in the late 90s and early 2000s, when a lot of hip-hop and R&B was at its creative peak, but it was also a time when the old and the new were playing at the same time. I listened to a lot of music from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and also grew up watching a lot of music on channels like MTV, BET and VH1.

“I have always tried not to categorize myself into one box, because first, we black people can listen to all kinds of genres. Created and influenced: The record industry tries to separate different kinds of music if it’s all just music, but as long as you respect culture in the right way, everyone can do whatever they want. can be handled.”

Megadon joined UWM, made friends who played music, and often took us to local shows. Meeting many like-minded people in the scene inspired him to try his hand at DJing. The connection with DJ Bizzon was very important for him to start his work. “I met him at a UWM event and thought he was great,” recalls Megadon. “A few years later, in late 2018, I saw Bizzon hosting these free DJ classes at Kenilworth, Prospect. He invited me to go over to one of the DJ controllers and do mine. Around that time I got my first DJ controller and still use it.

“I was just practicing in my basement and having a lot of fun. Then some of my friends in the music scene invited me to DJ house shows at places like The Murray Attic and Downer House.In early 2020, just before everything shut down. I played my first club gigs with Company Brewing and Mad Planet, and during COVID I kept practicing in my basement and couldn’t wait to play in front of crowds again.

After quarantine, Megadon quickly returned to the scene and started DJing as much as he could. He was formerly known as DJ Cratedigga, but changed his name to DJ Megadon in 2021. This is a reference to his Ice Cube song from 1998 album one. War and Peace: Vol. 1“The song is called ‘Fuck Dying’ and it features Korn,” explains Cocroft. “In the intro, Cube told him to call him ‘Don Mega’ and I thought he was cool.”

In addition to being an entertainer, Megadon has been involved in community organizing for many years and is a firm believer that art and social justice are intrinsically linked. said. We see so many artists going back to his 60’s and his 70’s during revolutionary movements like Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Crosby So everything you do is in some way a political statement. Especially when it comes to culture. , Nash, Stills & Young and many others who made great records had a great influence on young people. At the time, with the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement going on, everything was so intense that the government did everything in its power to slander the artist in the media and take him to prison.

“For example, John Lennon was under surveillance by the FBI because he was with revolutionaries at the time and wrote songs that were political enough to be sung at protests. , specifically sought to criminalize hip-hop music.They went after NWA, Public Enemy, and 2Pac for telling the truth.America has always been at war with hip-hop music, but This is just one cycle of the war against black people.”

political statement

He feels that the music you listen to and the energy you direct at people can become a political statement against the establishment. We have to inspire people to make a revolution,” he said. “Music and dance are undoubtedly revolutionary because they are completely free expressions. People may approach you and say that what you played that night made them feel better, or that what you played really helped them in a tough time. It’s a wonderful thing, anything that challenges capitalist power structures is usually made and heard by young people and we must continue to inspire it through music and art. are far outnumbered by them, so the revolution is unstoppable…it will happen.”

Cocroft shares the biggest thing he’s learned since taking DJing seriously. “First of all, connections are everything and it’s always good to keep talking to people. Secondly, the impact you have on everyone can be long lasting. Once you get that momentum , instead of getting complacent about it, you have to keep building.I’ve also learned to grow the brand.Now I’m making business cards with guys from the Midcoast and doing mixes in a friend’s studio. Recorded and released on Soundcloud: Stay humble, show love and respect, learn from your mistakes and don’t let your ego fool you.”

DJ Megadon performed Midcoast Vol. 18 at the Cactus Club on October 27th. Cactus Club again with Stone Theory and Wonderful Bluffer on November 12th. Bee Gees Night on December 16th is Linnemann’s Riverwest Inn. Check out his soundcloud here. For reservations please email him via christiaancocroft@gmail.com.