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For the past 15 years, Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, has become a vital figure in Hip Hop music. Born in Paterson, New Jersey, after his starting out as a local DJ in the early 90’s, Just Blaze landed a gig as the in-house producer for Roc-A-Fella Records along with another budding talent, Kanye West. Mainly producing for prominent label artist, Jay-Z, Blaze’s first breakout role was producing five tracks off of Jay-Z’s The Dynasty: Roc La Familia, which ended up becoming the 20th highest-selling R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the 2000-2010 decade.

Just Blaze was a producer on follow-up albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album most notably responsible for tracks “Girls, Girls, Girls,” and “U Don’t Know.” After reaching international fame in 2002 for his production of Cam’ron’s smash hit “Oh Boy,” Just Blaze has since gone on to produce for Snoop Dogg, Usher, Mariah Carey, Kendrick Lamar and produced five tracks on Eminem’s Grammy Award winning album, Recovery. He even produced T.I.’s 2008 international hit with Rihanna, “Live Your Life.”

When Jay-Z retired (the first time) in 2003, Just Blaze devoted his newly found spare time heading up his own label, Fort Knocks Entertainment. The imprint has gone on to sign a handful of acts that he had been watching from the underground circuit like Saigon, Quan, and Dave Young. If he’s not signing off on future releases from artists like Kelis, you can probably catch him on a stage somewhere. Earlier this year, he teamed up with other Sun City artist Baauer for the Big League Tour. When asked about their tour dynamic, Blaze recounts, “I haven’t toured for so long, and I know that just like there are things he could learn from me, there are definitely things I can learn from him. Even though we have a lot of things in common musically, we’re from two different points in history, so it’s a mutual learning thing. It’s always good to have younger energy around you, and it’s always good to have experienced, older energy around you, and when you put those two things together, it just makes it easy.”

So what can you expect at a Just Blaze show? “…You’re obviously going to get a little bit of a mix of everything, from hip-hop to classics, old stuff, new stuff, dance music, whatever. I think the main thing to expect is high energy.” Bring your energy and join us as Just Blaze takes the stage at Sun City Music Festival on August 31st and September 1st. Buy your tickets today!

Summer lovin’ happened so fast. Summer lovin’, had me a blast.

There has always been a long-standing connection with summer and love. Whether it lasts forever or its merely a fling, there is no denying that love seems to be in the air during the summer months. And with Sun City Music Festival just around the corner, love will definitely fill the air at Ascarate Park as thousands of you will share the same love of dance music this August 31st and September 1st. Have you bought your tickets yet?

For this week’s edition of Sun City Music Festival’s weekly set, we are celebrating love – in a musical form. Taking inspiration from a popular wedding phrase, we’ve compiled five tracks from our Sun City lineup that represent something old; something new; something borrowed, and something blue.

Something Old:
Dimitri Vegas, Like Mike, Albin Myers – Drop That (Original Mix)

Released on Spinnin’ Records back in 2010, Sun City duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike paired up with Albin Myers to release “Drop That.”

Why We Love it

You’ll be transported to the peak time of any festival with this main room anthem. From the electro synths, a growling bass line, and a beat that makes it near impossible to not get up and dance to, we can’t get enough of this track. And when the break comes, you’ll certainly be ready to drop the beat.

Something New:
Dooze Jackers – Got Line (Ookay Remix)

Only a week old, Ookay gives away his remix for Dooze Jackers, “Got Line.”

Why We Love It

Ookay’s remix of “Got Line” is brimming with energy, from the “ting” of the cymbals to the pulsing bass kicks, get ready for some festival ready trap.

Seven Lions – Fevers (Ft. Minnesota and Mimi Page)

Just last month, Seven Lions gave away his track “Fevers” featuring Minnesota and Mimi Page.

Why We Love It

Always melodic and yet ever so danceable, Sun City act Seven Lions is never short on talent. “Fevers” is a true love story with a euphoric vibe that will touch your soul.

Something Borrowed:
The Marvelettes – Please Mr. Postman (Borgore and Luke & Skywalker Remix)

Borrowing from the 1961 hit Please Mr. Postman by the Marvelettes, Sun City artist Borgore paired up with Luke and Skywalker to deliver a remix of the classic track.

Why We Love It

Who doesn’t love a good throw back? With this remix of Please Mr. Postman, you get that, plus some crazy drops that will leave you wanting more. We hope we hear this awesome take on a classic when Borgore takes the stage at Sun City Music Festival.

Something Blue:
Lana Del Rey – Blue Jeans (Gesaffelstein Remix)

Hand picked by Lana Del Rey, French producer Gesaffelstein remixes “Blue Jeans” out on Bromance/Savoir Faire in conjunction with Polydor.

Why We Love It

The original version of Lana Del Rey’s “Blue Jeans” is absolutely beautiful, but it wasn’t necessarily made for dancing at the club. We love the touch of Gesaffelstein on the remix because it gives the track a whole new dance floor ready feeling amidst the haunting melodic synths.

On this edition of Sun City Music Festival’s Sound Clash, we are highlighting some of our talented duos. Though the amount of time they’ve both been in the industry is varied, fans of Candyland and Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike can’t get enough of both groups’ signature sound – no matter how different those two sounds may be.

Candyland

Though the co-ed duo from Santa Barbara, Candyland have only been producing since 2011, it didn’t take long for them to score their big break. In early 2012, Ethan Davis and Josie Martin won the Bingo Players’ “Rattle” remix contest, hosted by Beatport. Released on Spinnin’ Records, the remix was a huge success and topped Beatport’s dubstep chart for weeks. In November of that same year, the duo scored yet another win with Skrillex and Damian Marley’s “Make It Bun Dem” remix contest, hosted on Beatport as well.

When it came time to deliver their debut EP Bring the Rain, fans were immediately hooked on their versatility as the release travelled through the avenues of electro house, dubstep, glitch hop, and drum & bass. Trying to pin down the style of this Sun City act would be near impossible, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. We can’t wait to get a dose of their bass-heavy beats, when Candyland joins the list of talented artists at this year’s Sun City Music Festival. Buy your tickets today!

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike

Belgian brothers Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike have come a very long way in a very short period of time. Their debut remix of “Work That Body” in 2009 gathered global attention and piqued the interest of Axwell, who immediately commissioned them for a remix of Abel Ramos’s “Rotterdam City of Love” and the pre-Swedish House Mafia’s monster hit “Leave The World Behind” which also featured Laidback Luke and Deborah Cox. After their early success, everyone from Tiësto to Snoop Dogg have all requested the talents of Dimitri and Mike.

In 2010, the brothers were commissioned by one of the biggest forces in dance music production, ID&T, to provide the official anthem for the world renowned event Tomorrowland. The track “Tomorrow Give In” in collaboration with Dada Life and Tara McDonald was a monster hit, so much so that when Tomorrowland 2011 came back around, the duo were chosen again to provide the theme tune. “The Way We See The World,” co-produced with Afrojack and NERVO, shot straight to the top of the Beatport Charts and there it remained for weeks on end, cementing the duo’s undeniable talent. Now, to say the brothers are staples of the festival would be an understatement, as they’ve been in charge of the official anthems for the event every year since. However, their infectious anthems span far beyond the realms of Tommorrowland. Tracks like “Liquid Skies,” “Generation X,” “Rej,” and their version of “Pump Up The Jam” with Technotronic have all seen heavy support with an army of A-list DJs around the globe.

After the success of their back-to-back #1’s on Beatport, “Turn It Up” and “Mammoth,” the duo have done it again with the African-inspired beats and vocals of “Wakanda” and their take on Major Lazer’s “Watch Out For This (Bumyaye).” We’re sure you’ll hear these gems and get to work that body when Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike take on El Paso for the 2013 edition of Sun City Music Festival. Buy your tickets today!