For our 32nd AAC Sound Series Mix, we're bringing you a brand new mix from artist, DJ, promoter, and curator Yung Mayne. Listen to the full mix and read our short interview with Yung Mayne below.

Interview with Yung Mayne

Firstly, tell us a little bit about what inspired the mix

For my mixes I never really have a specific concept or idea, because I find it a bit constricting sticking to a theme. My approach to my mixes versus my live sets are different however. My overarching goal for my DJ sets is to get people moving and shaking, whereas my mixes are rooted in being an experience that you can fit into various situations - whether that be driving in your car or pregaming for a function. I like to put people on to stuff I know they would like if they gave it a chance - I see myself as a musical filter to find what's hot and expose it to the masses. A Yung Mayne mix is composed of things you know but have never heard, things that you can sing along to get buck to. A One size fits all - that you don't mind having on repeat.

Who are you listening to lately?

For the past year at least I’ve been listening to primarily Bronx Drill. As a Bronx native, I feel as though this wave of drill coming specifically from the Bronx authentically spoke to me in a way that hip hop coming out of NY hadn’t for years. I have a strong background in hardcore, and to me this movement of drill has such a punk ethos to it - the music itself is heavy and gritty which is sonically what I gravitate towards. Some of my favorite artists out the BX right now are Sha EK, D Thang, C Blu, Bando, E Dot and Dougie B.

How do you feel the NYC music and events landscape has changed over the past decade?

Having been a patron, promoter, curator and artist in the NYC underground music scene for over a decade myself, I have seen firsthand the ripple effects of gentrification and the impact that the internet has had. Most places I came up partying and throwing events at are now gone, and there has been a transition to bars being the main facilitators of the scene due to lack of access to space. The power has always been in the hands of the money and landowners, and we are just experiencing our own iteration of it - this concentration of power and injustice however is exactly why the DIY scene was created, and will always find a way to thrive through adversity.

ABOUT

Yung Mayne is a Bronx native with extensive experience in New York’s underground music scene as a curator and promoter. Always driven by the incentive of strengthening her community, she began booking underground punk and hardcore shows in high school over a decade ago. Mayne was one of the first to bring the compartmentalized scenes together through her mixed bills, which showcased musicians of many different genres on the same lineup. After a year of hosting her own radio show on KPISS.FM, she began getting booked across the east coast as a DJ, and her career has since taken on a life of its own. She now works at the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, offering resources to local artists on a larger scale. Between DJing and drumming in her punk band Shawty, Yung Mayne can now add performer to her list of contributions to the scene. Read more from Yung Mayne in No Smoking Media, and Champ Sound. Listen to Yung Mayne's band Shawty.