Superstar DJs don't play rap music (or R&B)

Since returning to DJing after many years, mostly inspired by all round good blokes and DJs A-Style and Mike Hyper, I have gone through the honeymoon period of being stoked to be booked and enjoying the experience of playing. This has begun to fade and I'm now only enjoying the sets where I'm playing what I want, as opposed to what I'm expected to play. I'm no turntablist so selection is ALL I really bring. I'm still trying to break new songs and I've flirted with throwing some genre bending stuff in there, but one general problem remains with the dedicated weekly R&B/RAP events.

The punters want to hear what they listen to in their car. Nothing more, nothing less. In other genre's the punter/DJ relationship is very different. This is why dance music DJs get so big. People want to hear what they are digging, as opposed to wanting the DJ to play their 5 songs of the moment. Sure we all have a responsibility to read a dancefloor and know the crowd, but if Winamp had a function to randomise and beat-mix (preferably repeating Wayne's 'Lollipop' every 90 mins) then we'd be out of a job. Return of the Jukebox. The punters just don't care.

Leave it alone. Change it the same.

Big shout to Hyper and the crew @ Perfect in Sydney. Most fun I've had playing since I got back in the game, a really great crowd to play for.