DJ Sneak's Outspoken Relationship With Social Media

Outspoken about his love for house music and DJ culture for decades now, legendary producer DJ Sneak has, at times, had a less than amicable relationship with social media and the press. He gained widespread attention for his opinions on house music in the age of EDM, the commodification of dance music culture, and the demise of proper DJing. He’s passionate and pointed, and the DJ says his words have often been misconstrued on social media, especially by UK music publications leading him to write off social media for good.

“The love I have for house music, and the craft of DJing…I take pride in it. And that pride has shocked a lot of people, especially in the last 10 years when all this EDM shit came through, and I spoke out about Swedish House Mafia and everybody else,” he explained in a recent interview with Gray Area. “I was like, you’re all a bunch of phonies… it’s all a show. And I get it, you’re entertainers. You’re not disc jockeys. You’re not DJs who love music. But I grew up in it. And I’ve taken a lot of low blows because of that, when I’d speak my mind.”

The artist recalled tabloids fabricating stories and highlighting quotes from interviews he’d done to produce early forms of clickbait to sell magazines and gain clicks in a then-burgeoning digital economy. To combat this, the DJ began to confront the publications. “I started calling the ‘Mixmags’ back, and people were like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ and you know, I’m trying to be cool and get both points out.”

Despite his attempts to explain his views and balance the scales, his words continued to fall on deaf ears. He explains that publications refused to offer a fair and balanced viewpoint, so the artist decided to stop feeding the social media machine.

“I exited all that shit. I was DJ Sneak before [social media] came, so I made that decision to be like, ‘Yo, I’ll stand on my own two feet, and still do what I do’,” he said. “I still make music, I still love everything about the music part of [the music industry]. But the business of that? I can care less. I can survive on my own.”

Today, the house producer remains as offline as ever, though his discography and likeness continue to ricochet across social media. However, these days, his digital footprint mainly consists of positive reviews about his music, vinyl-only performances, and his latest creative endeavors.