Behind the Scenes at DJ Cassidy’s ‘Pass the Mic Live’ Residency With Chuck D., Slick Rick, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Doug E. Fresh and More
DJ Cassidy didn’t become one of the most high-profile DJs in the business by leaving things to chance.
The New York native is keen on making sure everything is buttoned up, from the way his signature hat sits on his head to his performances everywhere from Jay-Z and Beyonce’s wedding to the stage of the Democratic National Convention during the summer, and especially at his “Pass the Mic Live!” residency in Las Vegas. Cass is so intent on making sure every detail has been accounted for that he actually printed out the lyrics to “La Di Da Di,” one of hip-hop’s most foundational classics, and handed them to Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh, the legendary artists who made the record and have performed it for the past 40 years.
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“You don’t give the lyrics to ‘La Di Da Di’ to Slick Rick and Doug, Cass,” Ja Rule, who is standing onstage next to his close friend, Fat Joe, says with a sly smile that quickly turns into laughter.
It’s July 5, 2024, and Cassidy and friends are at Planet Hollywood’s Bakkt Theater, about to embark on his next project, “Pass the Mic Live! The Iconic Las Vegas Residency.” To meet the moment, he’s assembled an Avengers-like level of talent to ascend on. Over the next month, the core five of Cassidy, Fat Joe, Ja Rule, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh will be joined by a potent roster of Public Enemy, Raekwon, Jermaine Dupri, Da Brat, Akon, Remy Ma, Vicious, Too $hort and Warren G all will be joining the record spinning maestro on various Saturdays as special guest firepower.
The core five, who will perform every concert of the residency, have dubbed themselves “The Rap Pack,” inspired, obviously, by the 1960s’ legendary Rat Pack of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop, who, when they weren’t making hit movies, records or TV shows, owned Vegas during the 1960s and helped put the city on the map.
“We are 40- and 50-year-old men,” Ja says. “It’s grown and sexy.”
Rick adds, “A lot of us take our ancestors’ swag and try to add to it to ours,” tipping the brim to the figures that came before them. “The Rat Pack had their [swag], we just figured we’d make it [ours] in a youthful way. I think we created an essence. An essence of our youth and connection to the past with the clothes and the vibe and the swag. I think it’s a good move for the audience that’s about our age — give or take a few years — to reminisce and feel the whole vibe.”
In a possibly unprecedented move (for him), the 59-year-old rapper bought into the Rat Pack vibe so much that he agreed to perform segments of the show without his trademark tons of jewelry.
“I wanted to give a little suspense,” he says with a smile.
In 24 hours, it will be opening night, but the Rap Pack have to smooth everything out in rehearsal, even if it means Cass catches some friendly ribbing from Ja Rule. Back at his hotel room, Cass explains the motivation for printing out the lyric sheets.
“You know, we had a bad student in class,” he says, barely containing his laughter. “And it wasn’t me!”
The real reason is because he wants a show-stopper for every concert. In this case, it’s having the entire Rap Pack onstage performing “La Di Da Di,” with specific sections for artist. The whole faction was excited about that — especially Ja and Joe.
“Slick and Doug are guys who I looked up to,” Joe enthuses. “Before I even thought I could rap, these are the guys I listened to. I felt like a little kid having the greatest time in the world performing ‘La Di Da Di.’”
“Slick and Doug are like superheroes to me,” Ja adds. “I’m really honored and blessed to be a part of it.”
For his part, Rick says, “It was like family — we’re going back to our childhood, and your family knows the words to the record. It’s a nice, comfortable, brotherly spirit.”
It’s been a long road to Vegas for Cassidy Durango Milton Willy Podell, who began DJing as a teenager. He was hired for his first major gig at the age of 20, spinning at Sean “Diddy” Combs’ 2001 MTV VMA after party; Diddy had spotted Cassidy spinning at New York’s Club Lotus. Within five years, Oprah Winfrey had tapped him to work her New Years Eve Party in South Africa with guests such as Nelson Mandela, Quincy Jones, Sydney Poitier and Tina Turner. That led to Turner inviting him to spin at her 70 th birthday party in Switzerland a few months later… then he was enlisted for Jay-Z and Beyonce’s wedding reception (he introduced “The Carters” for their first dance as husband and wife). He’s gone on to DJ Jay’s 40 th birthday party and even Jay’s grandmother’s 80th birthday party.
Cassidy moved into even higher altitude in 2011, when President Barack Obama hired him to DJ his 50 th birthday — and just a couple of months after this night in Las Vegas, he would continue that legacy when Vice President Kamala Harris called on him to spin at the Democratic National convention. Cassidy played songs that kept the energy up in Chicago’s All State Arena and “DJ Cassidy’s DNC Roll Call Soundtrack”: He spun records as representatives from each state endorsed Harris’ bid to become president.
And in a new development, he’ll bring the show to the stage of New Jersey’s Prudential Center on November 8 — just days after the election — for a concert celebrating the 50 th anniversary of the New York powerhouse radio station WBLS. The show will feature Bobby Brown, Chaka Khan, Charlie Wilson, SWV, Keyshia Cole, Jaheim, Anthony Hamilton, Hezekiah Walker, Nice & Smooth, Full Force, Black Sheep, the Furious Five, Shannon, Meli’sa Morgan, Fonda Rae and Taanya Gardner, along with trailblazing DJs Marley Marl, Kool DJ Red Alert, and Chuck Chillout.
But “Pass the Mic” is his baby. Since its launch during the pandemic, the show has become a genre staple, spotlighting over 200 artists in the worlds of hip-hop and R&B over the past four years. In the beginning, Cassidy would appear on the screen from his house, introduce a singer or rapper who would be in their own home, they perform a snippet of a hit and then the mic is figuratively passed to the next icon in a flawless, mixtape like transition. The format transitioned easily to a live setting.
“It’s unlike any other show out there,” Joe says. “When you come to Vegas and see us, you’ll feel excitement like you really saw Elvis Presley. The set is prime time.”
Cassidy devised, worked on, and started to perfect the Las Vegas stage show for “Pass The Mic Live!” primarily from May 2023 to May 2024. The set was built into a spectacle, consisting of a main stage, Cassidy and his DJ Booth slightly elevated in the middle of it. Behind him, a second stage, even more elevated with two sprawling staircases leading to the mainstage, which also boasted enormous LED screens.
“It made us all feel grand,” Raekown who also has a Vegas residency with Wu-Tang Clan and was the opening night’s performer. “It felt like we were at a big award show.”
Aesthetics aside, Cassidy’s plan was to have a party running nonstop once the house lights went low and the spotlights illuminated the stage.
“It was very important that the artists and myself exuded showmanship in a very Vegas-like way,” Cass says of the three-hour extravaganza. “There is no intermission. There is no pause. There are no breaks. There is no host. It is all one curated, meticulously plotted, musical experience from beginning to end. The entire experience is made up of collaborative moments. One of the things that makes this show as a whole special, is that every artist at some point in the show interacts with the others. This show is almost like a musical, but with everyone performing their own songs. Everyone passes the mic to each other in very collaborative ways.”
The show begins with Cassidy DJing, spinning hits, rarities and his own special mixes of various artists from Stevie Wonder and Prince to Michael Jackson and Crystal Waters.
“Nobody curates music better than him,” Loud Records founder and “Pass The Mic” partner Steve Rifkind says. “He’s not just playing R&B and hip-hop. He plays European music, all kinds of sh–. He’s a savant.”
Too $hort, who also performed at the last show of “Pass The Mic’s” summer residency, says, “Even though he’s a DJ and he’s putting the show together, it’s from a fan’s perspective. Every time he gets a lineup, it’s [all] legends.”
Doug weighs in, “I tell people that Cassidy is the new P.T. Barnum — lions and tigers and bears!,” he laughs. “He has the tuxes on, he’s up there dancing, he’s in front for three hours. He’s out there longer than all of us. He’s bringing every possible aspect of hip-hop and R&B and just doing it with the love for the culture.”
Indeed, tuxedos, ties and hard bottoms were the required attire (although Fat Joe wore sneakers to match his outfits) as the MCs came out in turn. First, Doug did several hits before being joined by Rick, and the two performed “The Show.” Then Rick took over the stage for his set, then it transitioned into Fat Joe and then Ja Rule, as well as the special guests. Cass played between sets, hyping the audience and the onstage attractions all night. The chemistry and comradery between the performers was just as palpable behind the scenes as it was in front of the crowd: They cheer while watching the monitors and salute their peers with hugs, high fives, and personal rounds of applause as each one left the stage.
“You sit there and you’re seeing your people get up there [onstage] and receive their merits,” Raekown says. “You’re cheering them on — especially for me seeing Rick and Doug and Public Enemy, the dudes that basically passed the torch to us. It’s like you’ve got your big uncle is there with you.”
Public Enemy’s Chuck D., an artist who’s always had hip-hop’s legacy in mind, says, “I’m always interested in somebody who’s gonna be able to curate the art form. When I saw Doug and everybody involved [in ‘Pass The Mic Live!’], it reassured me. A lot of times the industry’s always about ‘new, new, new,’ and they look only at one audience. But to me, there’s more things behind us than in front of us, and you’ve got to always preserve, curate, and caretake. Cassidy, from minute one, when [Run-DMC’s] DMC introduced me to him during the pandemic, was very mindful and respectful [of the culture].”
“Hip-hop in Vegas with a bunch of rappers in tuxedos? This was something that has never happened before!” enthuses Atlanta icon Jermaine Dupri, who launched his own Vegas residency as a DJ a decade ago and performed on the closing night with Da Brat. “Every element of the show was can’t-miss. If you were backstage, you wanted to go out and see what somebody else was doing.”
Fat Joe adds, “I’ve never had more fun in my life.”
From its debut during the pandemic, all of the parties involved were early fans of the virtual “Pass the Mic.”
“I loved it,” Raekwon says. “It felt like a musical Congress: Everybody getting a chance to tap in with each other and show the world that unity. Cassidy is a big dude that loves to bring the peers together and celebrate us. It felt good that everybody was participating and engaging to let our fans knows that this is what the culture is about. Just to see guys that I haven’t seen in a while pop up on the screen and get busy was dope.”
Rifkind recalls, “Cassidy sent [the first episode] to me, and I told him, ‘This is gonna change your life.’ He asked me what are the next steps, and I said ‘Let’s get it on YouTube.’”
Rifkind soon after became a partner in the brand and licensed it to BET for nearly a dozen specials. Next, from May 2023 to May 2024, Cassidy teamed up with the Black Promoters Collective for an arena tour across the country of “Pass The Mic Live!” The only theater stop was Radio City Music Hall, which the DJ refers to as the “crown jewel” of the tour.
Early this year, Rifkind stepped to Live Nation and in April, Planet Hollywood announced the Vegas residency. And although dates are only scheduled through next month, the residency seems set to become a Sin City institution.
“It’s definitely gonna be extended,” Rifkind says. “We’re just trying to work out the days and the times. I think Vegas is truly open to anything now. After what Cassidy pulled off, it could really be anything. It’s something I’m ecstatic about.”
But maybe not as ecstatic as Cassidy.
“The fact that I’ve been allowed to share a stage — in some senses figuratively, and in some senses concretely — with my heroes has been the most surreal experience and the greatest honor of my life,” he says. “As a kid, I just wanted my favorite artist to know my name and the fact that I get to to share a stage with them because of this is truly a blessing.”
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