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4 EVA YOUNG Superstar DJ Tracy Young Unveils
Ferosh Wear:
Her T-Shirt and Gift Line
By Will Baker and GT Angelo
For two decades, superstar DJ/producer Tracy Young has delivered
empowering energy through dance music; spinning the hottest
tracks, concocting the fiercest beats, and headlining the globes
largest, most exciting events. Now she brings that youthful
exuberance to retail stores, with her first ever T-shirt and
gift collection, Ferosh Wear. The line features tees, buttons
and even back packs with inspiring slogans like "4Ever Young"
and "NY Says I Do".
"I was drawn to club music for its positive energy," said Tracy
Young from her Manhattan recording studio. "The dance floor is a
playground for adults. It allows fans to release the problems of
their everyday reality and rediscover their carefree youth."
Local fans can experience Tracy’s kinetic beats this Sunday,
when she plays The Manor in Fort Lauderdale.
"I wanted my new tee and gift line to reflect that same energy,"
continued Young. "The 4Ever Young slogan is meant to inspire
people to hold fast to the passion and dreams they had growing
up. In the end, it’s so important we all remain kids at heart."
It’s been a long, winding road from underground cause célèbre to
mainstream celebrity for the spunky Young. She launched her
career in 1991 as hip-hop radio DJ. "I love all kinds of music.
Growing up in a divorced household, I always took comfort in
it."
At the time, Young had no idea of the heights to which she would
rise. "If you told me ten years later I’d be DJ-ing Madonna’s
wedding, I’d say you were crazy!" she laughs. But even from its
earliest stages, Young’s musical prowess made people take
notice, and it wasn’t long before she translated her work at
Interscope Records to a thriving career in the DJ booth that
allowed her to bring her one-of-a-kind funk, hip-hop and
old-school blend of beats to the masses on eastern corridor
airwaves and cable television.
But soon the sun-drenched shores of Miami came calling, and with
her move came a shift in sound that saw Young injecting her
hip-hop roots with the house music thump that emanated from the
steamy, celebrity-filled nightclubs that comprised the South
Beach scene.
In Miami, Young carved a niche for herself, both as a female in
the traditionally male-dominated stomping grounds of the DJ
booth, and as a darling of the thriving gay circuit party scene.
But it wasn’t just the gay community that was drawn by Young’s
magnetic musical pull; celebrities from Cher to Sean Combs fell
under her spell, inviting the disc jockess to spin their
exclusive private parties to exclusive A-List invitees. Once
Madonna coroneted her as her go-to DJ in 2000, Young became a
global electronic music celebrity in demand at nightclubs around
the world and a breakout name on the Billboard charts racking up
over 40 #1 Club Play hits with remixes for Christina Aguilera,
Shakira, and Enrique Iglesias. Thirteen of the #1s were Madonna
tracks including "Music" and "Hung Up".
Through it all, Young has always been humble, focusing on her
career and the ever-growing roster of releases on her Ferosh
record label rather than her own burgeoning celebrity. So when
the mainstream media took notice of Young’s working relationship
with Real Housewives of Atlanta star Kim Zolciak and insinuated
it wasn’t limited to the confines of the recording studio, Young
found herself in an unexpected spotlight, bandied about in
gossip magazines and even during the morning coffee klatch of
The View.
"I’m really proud of the work I did on Kim’s single 'Tardy for
the Party," she says with a shrug to the drama.
The housewife’s life isn’t for Young—it never has been. She is,
however, a strong advocate of gay marriage. She created her "NY
Says I Do" tees two days after the announcement of the gay
marriage bill passing in New York. Today, the tees are the
biggest sellers in the Ferosh Wear collection.
With a book in the works about her 20 year-career in the DJ
booth, longstanding working relationships with Macy Gray, Maya,
and the Kardashians, and her new t-shirt and gift business,
Young is proving she is more than the girl behind the DJ booth.
"Music has always been the foundation of my work," she confirms.
"But there are so many mediums for me to express myself, and I
want to take advantage of them all."
The New Year.
The Drama. The Music.
By Troy Maillis
DJ
Tracy Young, who launched her career in 1991 as hip-hop
radio DJ, is spinning
Genesis VIII at
Mansion in
Miami Beach on New Year’s Day 2011. After 20 years,
many things have changed for the spinstress, who has
previously spun at Madonna’s wedding and worked
imaginative, electronic reinventions to songs by
Christina Aguilera, Shakira, and Enrique Iglesias. After
a year of tabloid drama, Tracy Young makes her
triumphant return to the steamy Miami Beach nightlife
scene. Young recently spoke with Mark's List about New
Year’s at Genesis, her music and, of course, Kim
Zolciak.
You
are spinning at Genesis at Mansion on New Year’s Day
this year. Are you excited about returning to Miami for
New Year’s?
This is the eighth year we’ve done Genesis. It’s a huge
event! Last year it was about Lady Gaga. This year we
are focusing on the Miami scene of Genesis with Miami
diva Ceevox and hosts Alan T and Flavio Nisti.
You started your career in 1991. How has your
career changed over the last 20 years? How do you feel
the music industry and club scene has changed as a
whole?
Oh wow. Everything is different now. I think the
Internet has changed a lot of things. The club life that
I grew up with is dying. The days of the huge circuit
parties are over and that’s why Genesis is so great.
It’s one of the biggest circuit parties in Miami. The
gay club life as I knew it in the 90s is so different
now. With the Internet you can access any music you want
and you don’t have to go out to be entertained. I
remember when I was younger I had to go to gay clubs to
be with other gay people. At the time we couldn’t walk
down the street and be openly gay. There were no gay
characters on TV or networks like "Logo." As a society,
we’ve come a long way, but I think a lot of things have
changed. With Facebook, Manhunt and Grindr, everything
can come to you. It’s kind of hurt the gay community a
little bit. Circuit parties used to be huge, and we’ve
lost a little bit of our community togetherness over the
years.
Earlier this year you worked on remixes for
"Tardy For the Party" with Kim Zolciak and everyone
heard about the controversy in your personal life. Do
you think that hurt your career, or do you think it
helped you get recognized more?
That
was a whirlwind for me. I don’t think it hurt me. Kim
reached out to me and I did the remix for her. I’m very
proud of the work I did on "Tardy For The Party." Like
any relationship, some work and some don’t. It didn’t
work.
Were you surprised to see yourself turn up in
the tabloids? Did you think your career would ever take
that path?
Mayhem with
Tracy Young and Peter Rauhofer at Cameo
No, no. I don’t pay attention to that stuff. I’ve been
in the business for 20 years and now I’m just focused
back on my music. It caught me off guard, but at the end
of the day I don’t think it hurt me. When your heart’s
involved it changes things, but I wish Kim the best.
What does 2011 hold for Tracy Young?
When I’m emotionally suffering or not suffering,
ultimately I’m an artist and I like to express myself
through my music. I’m really in a good place right now
and back in the studio working on an album. I’m also
doing Podcasts again and will be part of Sirius radio
again. I’ve always been involved in a relationship, but
right now I’m single. I’m just focused on my music,
spinning and being the best I can be. I think everything
that feels bad at the time has a positive spin. I’ve
also been doing a lot of TV, so we’ll see what happens
with that as well.
Grand Opening Lords SoBe
Lords Hotel South Beach
celebrated a Grand Opening in style. From Lady Bunny
to Richie Rich and Elaine Lancaster, hundreds of
glitterati turned out to hear
DJ Tracy Young spin at the new
hotel on
Miami Beach.
DJ
Tracy Young, who launched her career in 1991 as hip-hop
radio DJ, is spinning
You
are spinning at Genesis at Mansion on New Year’s Day
this year. Are you excited about returning to Miami for
New Year’s? 
That
was a whirlwind for me. I don’t think it hurt me. Kim
reached out to me and I did the remix for her. I’m very
proud of the work I did on "Tardy For The Party." Like
any relationship, some work and some don’t. It didn’t
work. 
