To start off, tell me a little bit about yourself and how you started producing?
I was originally born in Jersey and then moved down to North Carolina when I was 10–so in 2008–so I felt a little disconnected being up in Jersey and then coming down here. I didn't really know too much about Jersey, but I didn’t know much about North Carolina either. I was kinda sad at that moment, and I needed something to keep me connected to Jersey in some way. At that time, I was a dancer, so I liked to dance to Jersey Club to keep that connection. From 2008 to 2011, I was just listening to what I thought was Jersey Club music at the time, but was Baltimore Club music–and a few Philly tracks–and I was like, “I want to become a club producer. I want to do this.” I just kept on listening. I started going on SoundCloud more, listening to DJ Jayhood and DJ Sliink. I was like, “Yeah, I'm gonna do this,” and, in 2011, I started.
Beyonce Drunk In Love - Dj Jayhood Jersey Club Remix
My original name, I believe, was RAZ, but of course the name changed throughout the years. I took DJ RAZ, then it went to RAZ THE PRODUCER, then some other stuff. I stuck with 1-800-RAZ because I know I'm more than just a producer. I also DJ on there and do a little graphic design here and there. You know, I'm just a jack-of-all-trades kind of guy. I guess you could say that's the story behind 1-800-RAZ.
So you started producing pretty young?
Yeah, if I’m doing correct math, around 14-15.
Besides staying connected to Jersey after moving to North Carolina, what drew you to the Jersey Club sound and club music in general? Because to me Jersey Club is just so addicting. Like I could just listen to it all day, and I do.
Oh, I do too.
Of course, club music evolved throughout the years. The club music that you hear now is very different from what you heard back in 2006-2007. Around that time I was still in school. We had dances and you would hear club music in the schools. If you’ve heard of DJ Tameil [of] the Brick Bandits, that music group, they had come out with Bandits Love The Kids, which was club music for the kids–Blue’s Clues, Kim Possible, Pinky and the Brain, all of those remixes drew me to the sound of club music, and I just loved it after that.
Brick Bandits – ELMO'S SONG - Black Mic (2002)
From your start until now, how have things changed? Are you using different platforms to release music? How has it evolved?
Of course, I first started out on Soundcloud. I was not focused on the money part, but I wanted my music to be everywhere so people could listen to it. I wanted to put it on streaming platforms–the originals, so I wouldn’t get copyrighted–but also have a music page to put all my remixes on so people could either buy them or just listen to them. And, of course, for DJs to listen and buy and mix.
I didn't wanna stick to just being DJ RAZ or RAZ THE PRODUCER 'cause that was kinda boring to me–I wanted to do more. I’ve still got the notes in my phone from 2016 saying what I wanted to do when I got older, and I did become 2 of those. I just started the 3rd one which is the DJ part.
So the “1-800” is like a toll-free number for anything. It's like, I’m that type of guy.
Like, “call me if you need anything.”
Yeah, exactly.
1-800-RAZ Jersey Club Mix on Youtube
Nowadays with your music, do you see yourself going in any different direction? Where do you hope to see yourself go?
I'm not going to stay on the Jersey Club route for long–I don't feel like I am. I put it in my notes–these are just some experiments that I wanna do:
New Jack Swing, like 90’s-type music. I wanna try Juke, DnB, or Jungle. I’m fucking with the Jungle man, the breaks. And then I also want to go back to Baltimore Club style, just slow, repetitive, but catchy and dancey.
Yeah, I feel like with Jersey Club now, especially on Soundcloud, it's super super fast. It definitely does not sound like Baltimore Club, or where it came from.
Pretty much. What they want to hear now–and I don't know if this is true, but just based off some of the comments that I get on TikTok–I think they wanna listen to whip cracks and gun clicks and sounds. I don't know why, but they’ll ask, “where are the whip cracks?”
And that's pretty much what you will hear in every club song now, and it's kinda getting repetitive, but not repetitive. You gotta switch it up. I kinda like it, I kinda don’t, 'cause it sounds like the same thing, but it also adds to the music whenever you switch it up.
I also wanted to ask what your thoughts are on Jersey Club leaving Jersey and becoming more of a global phenomenon. Do you think people overlook the original producers/DJs/dancers in Jersey who are the backbone of the culture?
I wanna say, yeah. Because the older producers–or the original ones, you could say–they still make music, but I don't think they get the engagement that the newer producers today get. Especially on TikTok, they’re getting engagement from their videos, and that's also helping them with their SoundClouds and all their other streaming platforms.
The sound today doesn't push back the sound from years ago, it adds to the sound. Some producers are still making the sound that really got them to where they’re at now. I guess they’re riding on that, but you’ve gotta switch it up. Today, things are going by fast. You have to know your audience. As far as social media nowadays, you have to learn how to market to this type of audience, and then another type of audience, if you wanna try to make everything go together.
What are you listening to nowadays? Are there any other Jersey Club producers you like, or just music in general? What do you draw inspiration from?
I like this question. Usually I have a lot of shit going on in my head, so whatever comes to mind, or whatever I'm thinking about at that time, or if I see something on my phone, it gets my attention. For instance, have you seen the, “You Doing The Bending?” meme with Avatar and Janet Jackson? I was going to use that sample and make something out of it.
Inspiration wise, Neo Soul and RnB really inspire me. Robert Glasper–I’ve been listening to him recently. And rock–I've been listening to Willow. I just finished listening to her recent album that she just put out, and I also listened to her rock album that she put out in 2022, so I've been getting inspiration from that too. I also like ambient music. It clears my mind and actually lets me think, especially when I'm driving. It has me thinking about new ideas for my music.
I can also say TikTok 'cause I’m really into memes. Anyway I can make a song funny or relatable, or anything that the audience can catch on to or get the references from what I'm using, that's what inspires me.
That's what I like about Jersey Club. You can think of any reference, movie, TV show, and look it up on SoundCloud plus Jersey Club remix. You're bound to find something.
And they’ll have it, somebody has clubbed that.
I also think it’s funny that you listen to ambient music driving 'cause I’m the exact opposite. Like I need bass-boosted stuff, as loud as possible, when I'm driving.
Oh yeah yeah, I love bass. I have to have my bass bumping too, but it's like mind control–it’s gotta be something like that. The sound of [ambient music], especially when it's a nice day and all you see is clouds, it focuses your mind. That's why I love it.
Where do you see Jersey Club going, and how do you think people are gonna continue pushing the sound? Are you into any particular trends right now?
Honestly, I want people to get out of the whole whip crack, gun click thing. Because if they keep using it in the sound, some of them will get played, but some of them won't, because all of these tracks sound the same. Switch it up!
You want to attract everybody but, of course, you have a specific group or audience that you wanna attract. I feel like if we could get around that, or make it more dancy– dancier? haha–give it more of a dance vibe than a “I wanna see 2 dudes battling against each other” vibe. You have two dudes battling against each other instead of having everybody dancing. I wanna see everybody dancing.
I feel like the House Jersey Club-type is where it could go. For instance, the Jorja Smith and Beyoncé track that I did. Something like that–if you circulate it–will push the culture.
Jorja Smith/Beyoncé 1-800 RAZ Club Flip
Do you know DRAM, the guy who sings, “I like to cha cha?” I had seen one of his TikTok lives and–it's probably an unreleased track–but it's a Jersey Club track, and it's much slower than what you would hear now. And from what I heard, I like it. I wanna say it was probably like 130-135 BPM. It was much smoother. I feel like they might hop onto that.
I feel like that could also widen the audience, especially if it's more of a low-key Jersey vibe. Slower stuff like that.
Yeah, because you have older people who like to just two-step to Jersey Club music. If you get them, then you’ll have pretty much everybody.
Is there anything else you want people to know?
Stay tuned to the music! Also, I should say, I have 2 pages. The main one is just Jersey Club music, but the second page, it's different types of genres. You can tell the difference between those tracks on the second page and the tracks on the first. If that helps out anybody–if they’re attracted to the songs nowadays with cracks and gun flicks, all that stuff will go on the second page. If they're into a more smooth club sound, that’ll be on the first page.
Check him out–you won’t be disappointed:
Music links: https://linktr.ee/one800raz
Instagram: @1800.729
Twitter/X: @1800RAZ
And here are some of my favorite tracks of his:
