Today we’d like to introduce you to Kardal Hart.
Hi Kardal, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I used to do video editing for a church, and they were talking about needing an opener for summer camp, so I volunteered myself. I pretty much put a bunch of songs together in a video mix, and the sound guy pressed play, and I jumped around on stage to the beat drops. The following year, I bought a controller and started DJing live. I found out I loved being an entertainer. A couple years after that, I was doing random house parties and hip-hop gigs here and there. Trying to balance my love for videography and DJing at the same time. I eventually got my first residency at Quinton’s in Lawrence. This was a huge step for me to be able to put in a ton of practice time and play to a crowd. I was making $60 a night with a $40 drink tab. I could use the drink tab to rangle in people to come try and watch me play. This happened for a year or two and then I got in contact with the main booker or overseer of Lawrence. They had the connections to the cave, tonic, hawk, and many other fraternities and sororities. In general, I couldn’t wait to play to more people. Once I made this step I really started diving into skills and trying to hone in my craft. Around this time, I found out what a record pool was, and that opened up a world for me. For those who don’t know what a record pool is, it’s a place where DJs can find edited tracks or mashups. Most songs have an intro version, which has 8 bars of instrumental (No Lyrics), and then it drops into the chorus. This made mixing super easy. I wish I had found a record pool years ago. I started playing pretty much every bar in Lawrence and becoming a resident DJ at most of the bars in town. I thought that I was absolutely killing it and creating a name for myself. I sadly find out that most of these people that I was playing to would eventually age out and grow up from Lawrence. I was building a fanbase that would eventually leave. I wanted to keep progressing and moving forward, but that seemed impossible in Lawrence. So, I went to check out the big city “Kansas City” to be exact. I ended up getting invited to a DJ Thanksgiving in Kansas City. They had all these decks set up around somebody’s house. I came to find out that I was terrible compared to these guys. It was definitely an ego-checking kinda moment. But also new people to learn from and network with. This was right before covid. So, I meet all these people, and then the world shuts down. I started DJing on Facebook live of all places. That was a very tough time mentally for me. That was one of the only things that brought me joy, and it was gone. I’m also just a very extroverted person, so not being able to meet people and be out and about was tough. So, at the end of covid, I decided to start a production company with my friend Jayden Young (DJ Acrylik). We called it Crowd Cntrl Ent. We both loved EDM music but had no idea how to break into the KC scene, so we decided to just start our own production company. I tried to find out who some of the bigger names in Kansas City at the time? We asked them to play an event. There weren’t too many other venues open at this time, and our event was a hugeeeee success. At this same time, I was networking at a ton of places in KC Aura being my favorite. The production blew me away my first time stepping in that club. I knew that I had to play there. So I started going to this bar every weekend, trying to meet the DJs, bartenders, bottle girls, and the owner. Just networking and trying to talk to the big man. Me and Jayden eventually get to talk to him and strike a deal to host a Wednesday night. We had a great first event and did this once a month for a while. I eventually ask the owner if I can play on a Saturday. He had no clue that I also did open format clubs in Lawrence and thought I just played EDM. I convinced him to give me a shot. I had prepared so much for that moment. Many hours sitting working on scratching, quick mixing, setting my cue points, and now it was my time to play one of the best clubs in Kansas City. I had a bunch of people come out to support me and playing my favorite club. The night was a success, and now I have a great relationship with the owner. From this point, I wanted to keep going and expanding. I was playing a bunch of clubs and local spots being introduced to owners and different people, but I really wanted to start making my own music and playing in the EDM scene more. I think it’s hard to keep growing if you don’t have your own music, and I wished I would have started sooner. You can’t sell yourself as a guy that plays “Mr. Brightside.” Maybe you can, but you can only be so big. I really started trying to push my production. Watching endless YouTube tutorials and working on making my own music. I had a really hard time at this at first. A few of my friends ended up pitching in and getting me FL Studio. Getting this software was huge for me and gave me so much more motivation. I’m now putting out my own songs and Edits as well. While all this is happening, I’m also trying to meet all the production companies that host EDM events. Network Network Network. I start getting more shows under my belt and really start picking up some traction. I eventually get a call to open up for Dillon Francis at power and light. I’m so pumped this is one of the first guys I got into. The show sadly falls through and gets canceled. Power and light ends up giving me the stage for the entire night and then tells me I will get to open for another person down the road. I played the night, and it went great. The person down the road I get to open for was “Steve Aoki”. My mind is blown!!! In the DJ world, this is one of the biggest and most notable DJs of all time. Getting that show and being exposed to a massive crowd like that was insane. There’s nothing else like it.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Not at all. One of the people I worked for in Lawrence was trying to take a percentage of the money I was making on the shows that I was booking myself. This individual was also tied to most of the Kansas City community, so that made it very hard for me to get bookings. Dealing with multiple bar owners and people in this business is tough. There are a lot of different personalities and egos. If anything happens, there are other DJs waiting to take your spot. It’s like constantly walking on eggshells with everybody. I’ve just tried to be the best version of myself. But I have lost residencies because of miscommunications or mess-ups being new to this business. In our business that could be the difference in being able to pay your bills or not. I ended up getting a second job at the end of 2023 because of how stressed I was getting trying to make enough money to pay bills and other things that would come up. At first, I thought everybody would view me differently, not being a full-time DJ. But it has helped my mental so much. I have more time to play the gigs I wanna play and focus more on the big picture. I also think once you reach a certain point, people view you differently. Maybe support you less or think of you more as competition, and it creates a divide. I’m just a guy trying to complete my dream. I hope Kansas City as a whole can start supporting one another more, and we show the country what we are made of.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I think one of the biggest things that sets me apart is my energy. Every show I have I try, and give it 100% energy. I love to dance and really just feel the music. I get lost up there, and time moves very fast. I think being comfortable on the microphone is huge as well. I just talk to everybody sometimes like I’m having a conversation and not it being this weird thing. I’m super proud to showcase Trap Edm in Kansas City. It’s kind of a dying genre but also maybe a resurgence is happening. I’m one of the only people in Kansas City doing it. I love hip-hop, and being able to blend all the great things about hip-hop and merge them with electronic music is amazing. I think most people could enjoy something from my set.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My girlfriend deserves the most credit. Putting up with me complaining about things behind the scenes in this business. It’s a tough business I’ve had to make a ton of sacrifices for that affect my relationship. If you’re a DJ, you miss out on family gatherings, weddings, and other events that may happen on the weekends. DJ Acrylik, once again, was huge for me to build a company with and create a name for ourselves together. DJ Hydan was a huge Mentor in my life as well. He really gave me a ton of opportunities and introduced me to a ton of nightlife people. He helped me with my music and honing in my skills as well. My mom has supported me and believed in me since day 1. Many times, I have thought about giving up, and she has always been there telling me that I’m gonna be huge and I gotta keep pushing and working cause it could be right there.
Pricing:
- 500-2000
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/savagehabits?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=aee93655-9f26-4d9a-b635-f336b23f2321
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djsavagehabits/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SavageHabitsProductions/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@savagehabitsproductions1004
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/kardal-kardeezy-hart
Image Credits
Jordan Hirkeson
