Mad Decent Block Party finally lands in L.A.

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Author: Emma Lodes

A blacktop dance floor burns under the midday sun. Oversized speakers, the bass cranked to its decibel max, blast noise across crowds of people dressed in colorful, minimal clothing – bedazzled bras and flowered head wraps, glitter and rhinestones, tie dyed booty shorts.

On Saturday, Sept. 14, this year’s Mad Decent block party landed in Los Angeles with a splash of kaleidoscopic smoke and sweat. The event took place downtown at L.A. Center Studios. The block party brought a host of big-name DJs and hip hop artists to L.A. this year, including Major Lazer, Matt & Kim, Big Gigantic, Clockwork and Riff Raff.

The concert is named after Mad Decent, Diplo’s record label. The block party serves as a high-energy showcase of the label’s artists. The block party has only come to L.A. once before, but the Mad Decent parties have been growing in numbers, locations and intensity. This year, there were 13 host cities across North America, including Los Vegas, Toronto, Brooklyn and D.C. Although tickets used to be free, the block parties now pre-sell tickets for $35.

The block party started in Philadelphia in 2008, where the Mad Decent label was previously based. Originally, the crowd was just a group of neighborhood kids partying to music from Diplo’s home speakers. Although attendance has grown to tens of thousands of people, the original intent remains the same: bring together a community of youth to celebrate good music.

The show started at 12 p.m., but the venue didn’t fill up for several hours. There was only one stage, so partygoers were forced to cram into a small section of hot asphalt. Despite the close-quarters, the degree of unintentional concert violence was lower than one would expect. Although the crowd’s energy never faltered, the dancing and pushing did not escalate to a dangerous level.

The small size and intimacy seems to be part of the block parties’ draw.

“I liked it because it wasn’t too big, so you could get really close to the artists,” Harrison Yeary (sophomore) said.

The first act opened to thunderous applause. Two hours late and donned in his usual outrageous, overstated costume (neon zebra and tribal print, cornrows, beads and other extravagant add-ons), Riff Raff had yet another new accessory when he climbed on stage: a siberian husky puppy named “Jody Husky.” He cradled the dog in his arms and wore her like a scarf, performing “They Figured I Worked for Mexico,” “Deion Sandals,” “Brain Freeze” and more.

Matt & Kim a unique indie pop duo – came on next with a performance heavy on the hip-hop. Their act stood out amongst the other hip hop musicians; they are self-taught, and their music is a product of experimentation.

The crowd eagerly anticipated the final act, Major Lazer. Energy levels hit the ceiling when fog obscured the stage. As the fog cleared, Major Lazer appeared with a gigantic laser on his arm. He pummeled the crowd with a streamer machine, then with pellets that exploded in colorful clouds. The next flying object was a larger-than-life hamster ball, which came crashing from the heavens with Diplo inside.

“We were hit by beach balls, sweaty t-shirts that kids were swinging, color bombs, streamers, you name it,” said Susanna Shaye (sophomore). “People were twerking all over the place, hoping to be pulled up on stage.”

Interspersed with blasts of color, smoke and Diplo’s interrogations (“Raise your hand if you smoke weed!”), the performance was soaked in Diplo’s iconic Caribbean reggae-dubstep influences, rasta costumes and a whole lot of twerking. The “real Major Lazer” even came on stage – a dude in a red robot costume – and they played “Suavamente,” “Differentology” and ended with Bob Marley’s “One Love” a bit after 8 p.m.

By the evening’s end, a sea of cap-less plastic water bottles swamped the sidewalks, gutters and doorways. Worn-out kids – now awash in colorful paint from head to toe – waded toward the exit through the debris. According to a Red Bull vendor, water bottle sellers at the party confiscated the caps in order to salvage a couple of potential concussions. If one throws a bottle without its cap on, the water will fly out and no one gets hurt.

Mad Decent block party exemplifies an experience that’s unique to this moment in youth and pop culture. Electronic and dance music is exploding in popularity, and although there are many who have declined to jump on the bandwagon, electronic and dance music is a sensation that’s quickly crescendoing as a truly youth-cultivated phenomenon. And this phenomenon has done more than create a genre of Electronic Dance Music; it brings neighborhoods together in sweat and solidarity.

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