Majed’s transition from social media star to competition DJ started with a USB drive that determined to stop the second he took the stage, proving that generally your worst nightmare turns into your origin story.
With 14 million followers throughout TikTok and Instagram, the favored content material creator is now pursuing a profession as a DJ and digital music producer. His pivot reads like a very anxiety-inducing episode of The Bear, full with technical disasters and existential dread.
After weeks getting ready for his first-ever competition efficiency, a DJ set at ILLfest in Austin, the “Stay Music Capital of the World,” a USB malfunction reworked his rigorously curated set into confetti—not the enjoyable sort. The state of affairs recollects each nightmare situation the place expertise betrays you on the worst doable on the spot.
“All I needed was to actually stand up, return to my lodge room, crawl right into a gap and by no means do that ever once more,” Majed mentioned of the second he realized each his USB and backup drive have been corrupted. “It was truly traumatizing. It was actually dangerous.”
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Majed, nonetheless, managed to flip the script of this DJ catastrophe story, a tale as old as time. Whereas he mentally composed his retirement speech, festival-goers flocked to his stage in droves.
Utilizing no matter random tracks that occurred to stay on his thumb drive, Majed winged it and finally drew the stage’s largest crowd of the weekend, his publicity group tells us. ILLfest’s organizers took discover, extending a mainstage invitation for subsequent 12 months.
He is proof that generally our greatest performances emerge from our worst fears. There’s one thing poetic about succeeding exactly if you’re satisfied you’ve got failed spectacularly.
We caught up with Majed about his expertise at ILLfest and his foray into the digital music scene.
EDM.com: Your journey from studying to DJ to taking part in a competition stage is remarkably quick. What’s been the toughest a part of the pivot?
Majed: Actually? Studying to belief myself. I constructed this large world on-line the place I management every part—angles, cuts, captions. However standing in entrance of actual folks, it’s uncooked. There’s no “retry.” That shift from curating moments to dwelling them reside… it broke my mind at first. But it surely additionally jogged my memory I’m a performer, not only a creator.
EDM.com: Many content material creators and influencers who transition to music hit a credibility wall. What is the particular second you realized you’d damaged by way of from “TikTok man making music” to “artist who occurs to make use of TikTok”?
Majed: It was after my first remix dropped. A bunch of DJs began hitting me up asking for stems—actual DJs, not TikTokers. I noticed movies of individuals taking part in my tune in several international locations, and none of them tagged me for clout—they have been simply taking part in it as a result of they preferred the monitor. That’s after I knew: I wasn’t simply being watched. I used to be being heard.
EDM.com: The music business is more and more fragmented, with artists needing to be creators, entrepreneurs and performers all of sudden. How do you prioritize these roles, and what’s one surprising ability out of your content material creation days that’s given you an edge as a DJ and producer?
Majed: I’m a narrative architect. Whether or not it’s a video or a set, I understand how to construct rigidity, when to drop, find out how to depart folks wanting extra. TikTok taught me that—you could have seconds to earn somebody’s belief. I take advantage of that intuition now to construction units, to design music that strikes. I don’t separate the roles anymore. Every little thing’s the stor —I’m simply switching mediums.
EDM.com: You’ve got mastered TikTok’s suggestions loops, however now that you simply’re creating unique music, how do you steadiness what you recognize will carry out properly on social media versus what you truly wish to say as an artist?
Majed: It’s a struggle. Some days I wish to scream into the void and make nine-minute emotional opuses with zero drums. Different days, I’m like, “Yo… this drop would smack on Reels.” The steadiness comes from asking one query: Does this really feel like me, or simply the algorithm model of me? If the reply is “simply the algorithm,” I both push it or pivot.
EDM.com: Take us by way of your thoughts forward of ILLfest, your first-ever competition set.
Majed: I assumed nobody would come. I stored saying that to myself. I even texted my group like, “Let’s simply be prepared for an empty area.” That worry wasn’t about numbers—it was about being seen for me, not the edited model. However I confirmed up anyway. The USB crashed. The set glitched. And one way or the other, it turned essentially the most highly effective hour of my life.
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EDM.com: You’ve been open about your fears of bombing at ILLfest, but you drew the largest crowd at your stage. How has that emotional rollercoaster formed your confidence as a performer, and what’s one vulnerability you’re nonetheless grappling with as you put together for subsequent 12 months’s mainstage?
Majed: That night time rewired one thing in me. I didn’t win as a result of the set was flawless—I gained as a result of I stayed. I stored going. I smiled by way of the ache. That confirmed me I’ve presence, not simply followers. However I nonetheless battle with believing I “deserve” the massive moments. That little voice saying, “You’re simply the man who reacts to stuff.” I’m engaged on silencing it.
EDM.com: Considering again in your expertise at ILLfest, what did you study in regards to the variations between crafting a narrative on-line versus curating an arc for a reside crowd?
Majed: On-line, the story is in-built cuts—it is hyper-fast, attention-hacking, twist-ending power. Stay is slower. It’s breath and pacing and silence. I realized you’ll be able to’t simply go viral on stage—you need to join. It’s not about being “louder”—it’s about being extra human. That’s been the largest lesson: connection all the time wins.
EDM.com: As you progress into this new period, how do you outline success for your self past streams and competition bookings? Is there a particular inventive or private milestone you’re chasing which may shock your followers?
Majed: I wish to construct a world the place each misfit appears like they belong. Sonically, visually, emotionally. I wish to create a present the place you stroll in and say, “I didn’t know digital music might really feel like this.” Success isn’t numbers. It’s resonance. If one child cries within the crowd as a result of they lastly really feel understood, that’s every part.
Comply with Majed:
Instagram: instagram.com/theonlymajed
TikTok: tiktok.com/@theonlymajed
Spotify: tinyurl.com/4t52bvs9
