Mixmaster to the stars DJ Cassidy is bringing a heaping helping of hip-hop history to Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City.
Cassidy – who has provided the soundtrack for parties hosted by such A-plus listers as Oprah Winfrey, Michelle and Barack Obama and Jeff Bezos (at the Amazon founder’s Venice wedding) – will host “Pass the Mic Live!” on Sunday, Aug. 17.
It’s a sold-out evening of old-school rap featuring such early artists as Big Daddy Kane; KRS-One; Rakim; and the team of Doug E. Fresh & Slick Rick, who this year are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their seminal tracks, “Ladi Dadi” and “The Show.”
Also on the bill will be Black Sheep; Buckshot of Blackmoon; CL Smooth; Havoc of Mobb Deep; Milk Dee of Audio Two; M.O.P Nice & Smooth; Onyx; Smif-N-Wessun; Reggae titan Supercat; and Treach of Naughty, by Nature.
“All the music being performed at this show was released between the mid-’80s and the mid-’90s,” Cassidy said during a recent Zoom chat from his Los Angeles home. “It’s what most hip-hop lovers refer to as the golden age.
“It’s probably the most-beloved era. It’s the era that people are most passionate about.”
Cassidy – a Manhattan native whose real name is Cassidy Durango Willy Milton Podell – describes the hip-hop genre as the equivalent of classic rock.
“I think you could call it that,” the 44-year-old offered. “Many people refer to this as ‘classic hip-hop.’ That is a phrase that is commonly used. I think that’s why there is so much overwhelming excitement about this show.”
The “Pass the Mic Live!” concept is an offshoot of Cassidy’s “Pass the Mic,” a project born during COVID in 2020. It featured him posting online videos of interviews with – and performances by – a galaxy of R&B and rap titans.
“It was a burst of inspiration,” he replied when asked how the concept came to be.
“I was Facetiming with Verdine White of Earth, Wind & Fire, who’s my dear friend and mentor, late one night in May 2020,” Cassidy recounted. “While we were (talking), the Earth, Wind & Fire song, ‘That’s the Way of the World,’ came on (his sound system).
“Verdine heard his song and very casually, nonchalantly, without even realizing he was doing it, began to sing along to what I believe to be their most prolific ballad,” Cassidy marveled. “And I heard him singing very lightly, ‘Hearts of fire create love, desire.’
“That song has been so important in my journey,” Cassidy noted. “And when he started singing, I felt kind of taken aback and emotional that I could experience my favorite artists and my favorite songs in this personal way.”
Cassidy wanted to share the experience.
“I felt so grateful that I had relationships with nearly all of my musical heroes and asked myself if there was some way for me to give people around the world the feeling that I had at that very moment,” he explained. “And a light bulb immediately went off, and I envisioned what soon became the ‘Pass the Mic’ series, which I premiered the first week of July 2020.”
Although it was mid-summer, things quickly snowballed for Cassidy’s venture.
“After three home-grown episodes, the show had gone completely viral,” he pointed out. “And to make a long story short, I partnered with BET (Black Entertainment Television) to turn it into a series of television specials that millions of people watched. And after the 10th episode, I decided to retire the show and take it on the road.
“After 10 episodes, I had featured 220 artists,” Cassidy remembered. “So, if you do the math, that’s an average of 22 artists per episode. Some had a few more, some had a few less. And after passing the mic to 220 hip-hop and R&B icons on the show, I wanted to put the show in its first iteration to bed while we were on top and embark on a new mission to take the show on the road.”
The first of the in-concert versions, each of which has been different in terms of the talent rosters – took place in Newark in 2023; a residency the following year at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas Casino & Resort featured permanent headliners Doug E. Fresh; Slick Rick; Fat Joe and Ja Rule; and guest stars who included Public Enemy, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon of Wu Tang Clan.
Cassidy – whose sartorial trademark is a 1920s-style hat known as a boater – emphasized the unique nature of each “Pass the Mic Live!” presentation.
“No two are exactly alike and none of the live concerts have been televised or streamed,” he offered. “So, you really have to be there on that specific night to experience it. And because the lineups tend to have so many artists involved, every show really feels historic.
“Another element that makes the ‘Pass the Mic Live!’ experience so special and unique is its continuous nature,” Cassidy related. “They are anywhere from two to three hours, and the experiences are 100% continuous, 100% seamless and 100% cohesive. There are no openers, there are no headliners, there are no intermissions, there are no announcements.
“There is a start and an end, and I am on stage the entire time,” he emphasized. “Every artist and every song are interweaved with each other to create a continuous, seamless musical experience that is unlike any other concert you will go to.”
