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The reviews are in for DJ Cassidy‘s 75-minute DJ set Tuesday night… and they’re coming from unusual quarters. Said conservative commentator Meghan McCain: “I’m sorry but this #DNC2024 roll call with DJ Cassidy, themed state music and party/club atmosphere is blowing the RNC’s roll call out of the water. It looks like a giant party and celebration and everyone in that room looks like they’re having a blast.”
Indeed, what is usually the low point for energy in any national political convention — the formal process in which delegates certify, state by state, what is already a foregone conclusion — became one of the most energizing and even thrilling moments of the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Politico columnist Jeff Greenfield agreed: “The convention managers deserve a Lifetime Achievement Emmy for turning what is usually the most boring part of a convention into an eye- and ear-catching spectacle.”
That’s thanks to the producers’ decision to have DJ Cassidy act not just as a source of bumper music, as he had in past conventions, but as the host of a playlist that — with 57 choices spread across 75 minutes — gave each state its own loud-and-proud theme song. The already hyped-up energy got an even bigger boost when rapper Lil Jon stepped into the aisle to deliver a live paean to the stage of Georgia.
Cassidy, the popular host of the “Pass the Mic” series that has been a TV and concert franchise, got on the phone with Variety afternoon to discuss how the unusual transformation of a staid tradition came about (taking time out from a soundcheck for a private event he’s doing in Chicago Wednesday night with Wyclef Jean and Shaggy).
MSNBC host Katie Phang spoke for many viewers when she asked, “So who’s gonna hook me up with this Roll Call playlist?” Scroll down to the bottom to see all the selections, but first, read how they were made:
Are there any responses to the roll call that have been most fun for you to get?
Well, as Barack Obama was walking off the stage last night, back to the green room, we made eye contact and saw each other for the first time in years. And he said, “Killed it tonight.” And that was all I needed to hear.
But I never imagined when I woke up yesterday morning that this first-ever musical roll call would have this effect on people. I knew that this was going to be a first because there had never been a roll call set to music ever before. I knew, if I was being grandiose, that it could be groundbreaking. But I didn’t think that it would have this level of emotion attached to it. At the end of the day, I think we injected a high dose of emotion into a typically emotionless process. I saw some Instagram account do a slideshow of the RNC and the DNC’s roll call, and I don’t know if they chose an extreme version or not, but it’s night and day. I’ve seen tweets and comments and posts with people saying that they teared up from the music, and that’s the greatest reward I can ask for. The whole purpose of the convention is to inspire people emotionally to get out and vote. And particularly in this instance, democracy is at stake.
It’s never been done before, but it’s hard to imagine anyone going back to how it was before. Maybe even the Republicans will be trying to do something similar four years from now.
I wonder. Only time will tell. I’m really honored to have been the first.
Having one brief live performance in the middle of it, by Lil Jon, raised the energy level above what it already was.
We wanted there to be one moment where I literally passed the mic to an iconic artist, and we wanted it to be the kind of moment that would shake the roof off the arena. And honestly, when we came to discuss it, it was just so obvious that we all wanted to call Jon. It was just so perfect for Georgia. It sat at a perfect part of the night, not at the beginning, not at the end. I called Jon and I said, “You’re gonna get a call from the Democratic National Convention, but I just wanted to call you first and give you a heads up.” And he said, “Done.” And it was even more electrifying than I anticipated, I must say. We kept it very tight (to ourselves), because the element of surprise is so important to me.
Lil Jon is one of those artists that is right in your wheelhouse, with the emphasis you’ve had in your “Pass the Mic” sets on the R&B and hip-hop of the ‘70s through the 2000s. But this was a varied playlist, so you must have had some outside input on some of the selections. Like, I wouldn’t necessarily know if you were a fan of the Dropkick Murphys.
I was insistent at the very beginning of the process to not curate this soundtrack in a vacuum. I insisted that the process and the end result be collaborative — not only collaborative with me and the committee and the producers of the convention, but with the states and specifically the representatives of the states that were going to be present. And all the states had a special connection and all the songs had a special connection to states, some in more obvious ways than others.
What was an example of the state reps giving input?
Little did I know, but Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” is a Florida anthem. It is a Florida theme song, and the delegates of the state let us know that. And the song title was perfect, so I said, “Let’s go. Perfect.”
Some of the choices were obvious, some prompted a lot of Googling. I have to admit, I had no idea why there was an Alan Parsons Project song coming up in there. But of course, everyone from the area and anyone who knows sports got it.
That is the Chicago Bulls theme, and that was one of my favorite moments. The song has no words, but it’s so iconic to Chicago — and it’s iconic to the United Center, and it feels like victory. It feels like Michael Jordan walking through the halls to the court to a championship. It exuded the energy of the night. And of course there are so many great artists from Chicago, we could have chosen a thousand great songs.
What was the mix you were looking for, as far as recognizable or kind of inside references?
I wanted some to be obvious, where everyone across the planet would understand it right away, and some to have a more nuanced connection. “Empire State of Mind,” we understand that. “Sweet Home Alabama,” we understand that. In some cases it was as simple as the artist is from that state or lives in that state, or the song mentioned the state.
Others were a little more nuanced, like Wisconsin: “Jump Around” has become an anthem for the University of Wisconsin. Every time those horns blow, people go crazy and the beat drops and everyone starts jumping. And via the university, the song has become a state anthem.
I also had kind of an ongoing list of songs that I felt just exuded the spirit of the night, like “Girl on Fire” and “Respect” and “Celebration” and “Edge of Glory” and “Firework.” And when the opportunities came where there wasn’t an obvious song, I would propose songs like that that felt perfect for the occasion. So it was very collaborative between me and the Democratic National Committee and the producers of the convention and the states. Once we had all the 57 pieces of the puzzle, it was up to me to assemble them, to edit them, to select end points and out points and to put them together as a DJ does. And it was a labor of love, literally, for weeks, up until the last minute.
There are states I can imagine it was hard to come up with something with. And Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off,” you could have used for other states, like her native Pennsylvania, or Tennessee. But how many artists are really associated with Rhode Island? So that came in handy there, right?
Yeah, there she is!
With Kendrick Lamar and “Not Like Us,” we heard some jokes like, OK, now Canada is gonna cut off relations with the U.S., because of taking a side in that feud with Drake. But all kidding aside, that is one of the two or three biggest songs of the year. And California is one of a few states where you played more than one song, right?
Yeah, there were three (states with multiple picks). Georgia had “Welcome to Atlanta” as an intro to Lil Jon, and then of course “Turn Down for What.” For Pennsylvania, we had the two big city anthems, “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men and “Black & Yellow” by Wiz Khalifa. And California had “The Next Episode” (by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg), “California Love” (by 2Pac and Dr. Dre), “Alright” (also by Lamar) and “Not Lke Us.” Those were the three that had multiple songs.
A lot of people probably found out, or confirmed through Googling, that Chappell Roan is from Missouri.
Right, and she’s a new artist, and it was very important for me for the music to represent as many years as possible. So we wanted music that came out in 2024 and 2023 as much as we wanted songs that came out in the ‘60s.
Guam got “Espresso.” Is that just because you wanted to get Sabrina Carpenter in there at some point, or was there any connection?
That song and that artist fell on the list of songs that we thought would represent the night in a great way. And when there was an opportunity to put it in, and with support from the state, we went with it.
It wasn’t all pump-up-the-volume stuff. Like Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” —that’s a slow song, but Vermont loves that song and is identified it with so much, so maybe that justified slowing it down for a second?
You know, I have a portion of my “Pass the Mic” live arena shows where I play R&B ballads for five minutes. And at the very first show on May 23, a few people in my inner circle said, “You’re gonna do ballads, 20 minutes before the show’s over?” Then I said, “Go watch. It’s gonna be the most hype part of the night. There’s gonna be lights in the air and everyone is going to sing every single word of every single ballad,” which is what happened. So tempo doesn’t always matter. The faster the BPM doesn’t always have a positive correlation with the emotion and the energy. So I think those songs that were slower tempo last night had a tremendous emotion and were just as important as songs that were high-tempo.
How long ago did the convention people approach you for this?
Immediately after Joe passed the mic to Kamala, I got a call from Ricky Kirshner, who’s the producer of the convention, and he asked me if I’d like to be the first musical maestro of a convention roll call. H he and I had history. He was the producer back in 2012, when I essentially acted as the house band for four days laying the soundtrack to every speaker. But that was very different from this. For that, you could compare me to a one-man-band version of the Academy Awards orchestra that’s kind of hidden in the pit; you see them a couple times. This was a 75-minute performance, meticulously curated for weeks.
I also had experience with Ricky and his team during Joe Biden’s virtual inauguration in 2021, which he asked me to produce two “Pass the Mic” segments — one that aired in the morning on all the networks, featuring Earth, Wind, and Fire, Nile Rodgers and Kathy Sledge, and one that aired in the evening show, hosted by Tom Hanks featuring Luis Fonzi and Ozuna. Plus, a lot of the people who worked with the Obama administration over the eight years of events that I did are also involved. So it has been an incredible journey from 2007 until now, campaigning with Obama and then having the incredible honor of kind of being the maestro at all of his personal White House celebrations, and then campaigning with Kamala Harris and taking part in Joe Biden’s inauguration. After every one of these events, I say “This is the greatest night of my life. It can never be topped.” And then somehow it is. How great that I can use my DJing for some kind of greater purpose than I could have ever imagined in my wildest dreams.
You are not a neophyte in political event DJ-ing.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 17 years since I did Obama’s first inauguration. Then I did his 50th birthday, then his second inauguration, then Michelle’s 50th. Those events don’t seem like that long ago, partly because I have a wall in my studio with all the handwritten letters the president and first lady would write me after every event. They’re just magical. You know, I watched Michelle Obama’s speech on a teleprompter standing two feet behind Barack Obama last night. You want to talk about surreal.
What do you think of how the convention has used music overall?
I’m not aware of it all because I’ve been caught up in the roll call. But it was great to see Patti LaBelle and Common last night. Look, so many music artists in America support the Democratic candidate, and rightfully so. I can never understand someone of the arts supporting the Republican candidate, who so often is anti-expression. Certainly the Democratic party knows and people know that real artists support freedom of expression.
So if the Republicans come to you in four years and say, “Hey, come do this for us,” you’re not up for hire for that?
Not for a billion dollars.
DJ Cassidy performs during the second day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 20, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
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The full playlist, state by state:
Alabama – Sweet Home Alabama – Lynyrd SkynyrdAlaska – Feel It Still – Portugal. The ManArizona – Edge of Seventeen – Stevie NicksArkansas – Don’t Stop – Fleetwood MacCalifornia – The Next Episode – Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dogg, California Love – 2Pac and Dr. Dre, Alright – Kendrick Lamar, Not Like Us – Kendrick LamarColorado – September – Earth, Wind & FireConnecticut – Signed, Sealed, Delivered – Stevie WonderDemocrats Abroad – Love Train – The O’JaysWashington D.C. – Let Me Clear My Throat – DJ KoolDelaware – Higher Love – Whitney Houston and KygoFlorida – Won’t Back Down – Tom Petty & the HeartbreakersGeorgia – Turn Down for What – Lil JonGuam – Espresso – Sabrina CarpenterHawaii – 24K Magic – Bruno MarsIdaho – Private Idaho – The B-52sIllinois – Sirius – Alan Parsons ProjectIndiana – Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough – Michael JacksonIowa – Celebration – Kool & the GangKansas – Carry on Wayward Son – KansasKentucky – First Class – Jack HarlowLouisiana – All I Do Is Win – DJ KhaledMaine – Shut Up and Dance – Walk the MoonMaryland – Respect – Aretha FranklinMassachusetts – I’m Shipping Up to Boston – Dropkick MurphysMichigan – Lose Yourself – EminemMinnesota – Kiss and 1999 – PrinceMississippi – Twistin’ the Night Away – Sam CookeMissouri – Good Luck, Babe – Chappell RoanMontana – American Woman – Lenny KravitzNebraska – Firework – Katy PerryNevada – Mr. Brightside – The KillersNew Hampshire – Don’t Stop Believin’ – JourneyNew Jersey – Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce SpringsteenNew Mexico – Confident – Demi LovatoNew York – Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z and Alicia KeysNorth Carolina – Raise Up – Petey PabloNorth Dakota – Fight Song – Rachel PlattenNorthern Mariana Islands – Ain’t No Mountain High EnoughOhio – Green Light – John LegendOklahoma – Ain’t Goin Down (Til The Sun Comes Up) – Garth BrooksOregon – Float On – Modest MousePennsylvania – Motownphilly – Boyz II Men, Black & Yellow – Wiz KhalifaPuerto Rico – Despacito – Luis Fonsi and Daddy YankeeRhode Island – Shake It Off – Taylor SwiftSouth Carolina – Get on Up – James BrownSouth Dakota – What I Like About You – The RomanticsTennessee – 9 to 5 – Dolly PartonTexas – Texas Hold ‘Em – BeyonceUtah – Animal – Neon TreesVermont – Stick Season – Noah KahanU.S. Virgin Islands – VI to the Bone – Mic LoveVirginia – The Way I Are – TimbalandWashington – Can’t Hold Us – MacklemoreWest Virginia – Take Me Home (Country Roads) – John DenverWisconsin – Jump Around – House of PainWyoming – I Gotta Feeling – Black Eyed Peas
DJ Cassidy’s compilation of songs from the playlist can be found on Spotify here.
