Break beats intertwined with vocal layouts and scratches began to emerge from the speakers attached to Technics and Pioneer turntables, as DJ Addverse, also known as Jaime Wilkins, demonstrated the art of disc jockeying, or DJing.
As a female DJ, Addverse began her music career making warm-up tapes for her basketball and volleyball teams in high school, which eventually led her to break dancing and DJing.
"Basically, music is mathematics; the counting and the way you put music together, that just intrigued me," she said. "I started learning how to do it from different friends, and I got my own tables and a mixer and went from there."
Although the industry has opened its arms to female DJs, some women say there are still hurdles to overcome.
"As a woman, I do feel like there are times when I have been treated differently because I was a woman — like less than I should've been," Addverse said.
But now, after moving back from Los Angeles and opening up her store, Code of the Cutz, 317 M.A.C. Ave. in East Lansing, in 2003, Addverse has made a name for herself.
" … Sometimes people think you're the greatest thing because you're a woman, and it doesn't matter how good you are," she said. "I don't like either (situation). Just treat me based on my skills; but a lot of times if people are really threatened by other females, I just feel like they aren't comfortable or secure with themselves, and that probably goes far beyond DJing."
Code of the Cutz, which sells compact discs and vinyl records, also provides DJ lessons, which is how East Lansing resident and MSU graduate Chrystal Price, or DJ Superlative, got involved with the industry.
Superlative's first club show was in February 2004 at 621 Club, 621 E. Michigan Ave. in Lansing, and was an opportunity she never thought she'd get.
"I was just going to be a closet DJ," Superlative said. "I was not prepared to open for anyone, and I had never played in front of people."
Most female DJs agree that it's not a gender issue but that there are some differences between male and female DJs.
"A good DJ is a good DJ, no matter how you put it," Superlative said. "It's a little more difficult for girls to get started in music in particular because it's a male-dominated field. … Guys tend not to be as supportive when you're trying to get in or break through."
After having difficulty getting tips from her cousins, who are also DJs, Superlative finally proved to them what kind of technical skills she had.
"Once you jump over that first hurdle of proving yourself, you're kind of a novelty as a female DJ," she said.
Web sites are sprouting up as more and more women are getting into the DJ industry. Shejay.net, a Web site devoted to networking female DJs, producers, vocalists, promoters and musicians in the electronic and dance-music field, launched in 2002.
"Looking at the numbers out there in the clubs and on the record shelves, there's a disproportionate imbalance (of males and females)," said Mona Holmes, also known as Mona Jonz, the co-founder and managing editor of Shejay.net.
"When you go out to hear or see someone, it's typically a guy. Granted it's a difficult industry in general, it's especially difficult for women."
Many women feel it's necessary to look a certain way or act a certain way, which men wouldn't be asked to do, Holmes said.
"If you don't play good music, if you don't have the talent or the skills, you'll be looked at as a girl that got an opportunity because you're good-looking, or because you're a girl," said DJ Jenna Brown, from Royal Oak, the only female DJ featured on www.picturethisdetroit.com.
"I felt pressured to dress up when I had gigs, and I like to dress up," she said. "But I don't want people to think that I got my gigs because of the way that I looked or because I am a woman."
DJ Minx of Detroit, who owns Women on Wax Recordings, said she feels that some women use their bodies to get farther.
"I love my ladies and my females, but we do a great job at this without a problem; but when some women feel they have to use their bodies to get farther than others, that pisses me off," she said. "There's a little respect issue with that. … These ladies need to respect themselves."
In regard to gender differences on the turntables, most said there are some musical differences.
"I find that female artists tend to listen to the crowd more than male artists do," Holmes said. "I think female artists pick up on energy and vibe and can cater their set to it."
