Remixing house music is the kindergarden of DJing. It’s 4/4, has a very predictable pattern, and doesn’t take a lot of skill to do well. To master, well, thats a different story.
I’ve learned to be a solid hip-hop DJ lately, and I up until recently was NOT a hip-hop DJ. Here are somethings that did wonders for my skill.
1.) Listen to it a lot, hear other hip-hop DJs and how they mix, you can pick up a lot this way. In songs they choose, as well as techniques. Here are some good hip-hop sources, and some popular kind. (Not the same.)
What’s big in the clubs:
http://www.djbooth.net/index/music-charts
http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/
A AWESOME classics station:
http://www.azthebeat.com/
Some good charts for all genres:
http://www.djwhitehawk.com/
http://www.demo.djintelligence.com/music/requested.asp
Awesome DJ:
http://mixes.dabears.ca/
2.) Transitions. Learn the transitions that hip-hop DJs rely on. Most of the time its a hard cut, or maybe I take the top end out of a song and bring the bass of another, advanced EQing (not hard.) Or a spin back, its easy and I use it more than I should.
Some effects and transitions:
http://www.native-instruments.com/forum/showthread.php?t=103340 (#2 is the freeze effect, its SUPER useful.)
5 Different Transitions
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3.) There is no three, get out there and play in front of people!
Good luck guys.
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