Welcome to Playlist 2025!

djperly
6 days ago
14 min read

The last time I wrote a Playlist blog post was about my 1st time experience back in 2019. It was truly a magical and unforgettable time that without doubt left a positive impact on my life. Fast forward to 2025 - I had the esteem honor to return back for my 3rd time!

Sunday morning, 8am, it’s the day of my trip out to the retreat. I was filled with a great amount of excitement and thrill to be heading back. A truly magical place unlike any other where absolute musical mutants come together and collaborate, connect, and grow together as a community. A place where at the start of the retreat strangers become friends, and at the end of the retreat; those strangers become new friends that them become life long family.

I was excited! Thoughts racing through my mind, of all the questions; who? What? When? Where? Why? How? Was I going to be able to seeing everything all within those short few day? Where will all those magical jams happen? With who playing in those jams? At what time? Where were the DJ and Mc cyphers? Who was going to be the unexpected specials guests?? Etc… all of those jams and surprised guests at playlist retreat are truly unexpected, and you just have to be at the right place at the right time. A true lesson in the art of letting go and just being in the moment.

The excitement of going back to Playlist Retreat brought me back to the days of when I was kid, the days of waking up early in the morning excited going on a field trip knowing that I wasn’t going to be stuck in class bored. This field trip was the field trips of all field trips! The class field trip that I was looking forward to, the field trip of musical wonder and excitement! The field trip that literally embarks you on a journey of sight and wonder that literally touches all five senses in the utmost beautiful ways .

I arrived on site along with my fellow NY attendees. We were excited. We rode down and arrived hours later. We checked in and went to our trailers where we would be staying for the week. One of the many beautiful memories of the 1st day retreat welcoming is immediately being greeted with the warm welcomes from everyone. From past Playlist Alumni to seeing new attendees, I witness everyone sharing warm welcomes of love and joy! I imediately turned into a fly on the wall for that moment to soak it all in. In that moment, the feeling of love and it's vibrations was present. The added energies of joy, excitement, and overall happiness was so thick you could cut it with a knife!! Then the moment finally arrived! Dj Jazzy Jeff opening remarks welcoming us all to the retreat. Jeff announced that we are also in the presence of a Playlist 1st, a newley wed couple, who met the year before during the retreat and now - married! Congradulations to Jacy Cunningham and Madison McFerrin! A roar of cheers, a sea of smiles, and joy filled the air! Who'd of known Playlist Retreat was not only a place of inspiration to recharge our creative batteries but now, a place to find love?! Move over match.com, jk don't at me - for legal reasons, thats a joke... Anyways - DJ Jazzy Jeff gave us his blessing and famous quote of “eat, drink, be merry”, as a green light to let us all to run free with our creativity. Playlist Retreat had finally begun! Basically, we all turned into little kids in a candy store or little kids in Toys R Us again with no parents around; allowed to be free to have fun with no limits and or boundaries.

Time passes and it’s time for our 1st gathering. We all gathered and made our ways to dinner. The beauty of Playlist Retreat is that we all gather for every meal as one big giant family. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, happy hours and midnight snacks. Together as one. Throughout the week we were sonically and musically blessed by the sounds of our DJs setting the ambiance of the days. From Hio hop, to funky 45 sets, to soulful House tunes and of course fed with amazing food that nourished our mind, bodies and souls.

On occasion, but honestly, quite often; we were taken away by rare edits, remixes and blends that were being played, like in Melstarr's set. An incredible combination of the known and unknown were being played in each set. I loved seeing everyone’s reaction to hearing a known sample to be played then followed by something else completely unexpected. The reactions ranged from “Oh sh!t!” To the iconic Ric Flair “Whooooo!”

DJ MELLSTARR Playlist Retreat 2025, @DJPERLY

And the occasional “Man, ya gonna make me flip this table bro!!” follwed by laughs, smiles, steady head nodding; and the stank faces of approval by our peers gave proof that “ Got damn that DJ made my day!” A couple iconic moments during the week were Terry Hunter who took us to church, literally! Terry’s iconic House DJ set refueled our spirts in ways and words cannot explain, you just had to be there. No seriously you had to be there! Our stomachs may have been fed with food but our souls were fed with a soulful House vibration that was truly a nonstop moment of spirt and soul. Terry’s set was the definition of mind body and soul! In other words, we were taken to church and Terry Hunter was the Pastor welcoming us into his house; Pastor DJ Terry Hunter’s House of Soul and Vibrations. (Amen, brother). Another moment was DJ SpydaT.E.K who brought the club energy to the retreat. From Hip Hop to classic Riddims filled the air, like Terry Hunter, another Dj set that got us vibing like we were all taken to clubs. Let’s be honest, non us wanted these sets to end. Seriously, we all enjoyed and loved seeing and hearing our fellow brothers and sisters perform, but at some point we had to move onto the next topics of panel discussions. As our bodies and souls were fed it was time to feed our minds.

"Pastor" Terry Hunter Play Retreat 2025, @DJPERLY

Our panel discussions through the week were truly nutrition for our souls. Our Q&A host, Laiyla Stclair, welcomed us all with a smile and her warm personality with every panel topic during the week.

She made sure we left each discussion with a laugh, a smile and wisdom added to our arsenal. We had discussion ranging from music brands showcasing new gear with cool tips/tricks to some showcases by our fellow attendees. Trayze, Black Butterfly, and Dibia$e were a dope highlight to see our friends kill it on stage and share their talents of what they love to do. Agmonst the panel discussion were insightful discussions on taking care our mental health. With everything that is happening and going on in the world now and in our own personal lives, is truly and absolutely an important need to take care of ourselves. As creatives, some may agree, we are sensitive to our environments and certain energy frequencies and all need time to take for ourselves to find our inner realm of peace and zen in order for us to create.

Young Guru Playlist Retreat 2025, @DJPERLY

I, myself, can agree and consign on the fact that mental health is important. I’m not a guru or a licensed therapist but I will say, health is wealth, especially mental health. For me meditation is my go to. Hearing about grounding and just making time ofr ourselves was important. Some of us take for granted how just taking a couple minutes out of the day just for ourselves can truly make a difference in being in the moment and - just be.

With every and each panel discussion, we learned new perspectives and gained wisdom. We laughed, we cheered, and asked powerful questions and share insight on important topics. One of many important topics was the use of AI. Hosted by Young Guru, we discussed our opinions and the negatives of AI and me personally I’m not a fan (that’s a post for another time and place). One attendee brought up an insightful fact that all made us think. The attendee shared that Ai is one contributor of pollution. Hearing how much energy and water used and pollution produced by these companies really struck a chord in me, truly upsetting to hear how many communities have been affected by these big tech Ai companies in a terrible negative way. One the upside, we all have a voice to speak up and voice our opinions to help save our effected communities.

Anywho! Back to the Retreat!!

Music, laughter, joy and endless creativity filled the air. Every second, every minute, and every moment was all about music. Music was everywhere. Even through the all late hours of the night, there was music being played. I loved those moments. Hearing the joys of people laughing, the sounds of a game of basket ball, the low muffled sounds of boom bap drums and a steady groovy bassline being played somewhere and being unable to decipher where? filled me with the incredible wonder and joy of curiosity. It felt like I was in music heaven.

Day by day, night by night, music accompanied us all through the week. Rain or shine, music never left our sides. Music was our love language. We spoke the same laguage of sonic vibrations. We spoke in ways that others can’t understand but only at the retreat. We expressed our emotions without words but with sonics and sounds that spoke from within our hearts. Every note, every chord, every tune was an extension of our every being. The drums were serving as the steady beat of our hearts; percussion, bass lines, and vocals channeling the groove of our souls; and the melodic chords following the cadences of rhythms of life. All of it intertwined delicately in the meeting of our minds in those moments. The majestic beautiful of music was being created and all around us - and for all to enjoy and bask in the glory of it all. A truly living metaphor of "Songs In The Key Of Life."

The day of the challenge arrived! Moments prior to the announcements of the challenge, we witnessed a dope all Ladies of Playlist Jam session in one of the studios. I, unfortunately, wasn’t a part of due I was DJ’ing happy hour in the speakeasy bar just steps away. While during my sound check I had an incredible and surprising compliment from Kool DJ Red Alert. The compliment came after I did a mini practice of a ‘Peter Piper’ routine. He stopped me and said that I reminded him or the late great Roc Raida (RIP). The way he said it and compare us was in the way of how we’re both the quiet ones until we get on stage and let our skills do the talking for us on our behalf. WHOA!! I legit froze hearing that. Roc Raida, the 1995 DMC World Champion from Harlem New York of the legendary X-Men / X-Ecutioners Crew. He’s definitely one of the DJs I’ve looked up to as a kid learning about DMC DJ Battles so it was truly a high compliment coming from one of New York’s legendary radio DJ who basically has seen it all and helped so many artists get their start in the music business. Thank you Kool Red Alert!!!! Im truly humbled and honored to hear that compliment. After my set we were all called to our group Playlist family group picture. We were all huddled together and ready to take our picture, until some late stragglers ran towards us, one, by one. We were all in awe to see about 4-5 of our retreat members one by one run for their lives to not miss our pictures. Laughter, cheers, and the occasional “Ahhh man, RUUUUN! RUN!!!” We heard throughout our group. One slide in front of Playlist sign and another literally flipped in front of us as a dramatic yet humorous way of getting everyone ready to get the group picture. The time arrived, “On the count of 3; everyone say Playlist Retreat. 1,2,3, Playlist Retreat!” “Whoooo!” The sound of drones flew over our heads and camera shutters out in the distance captured our smiles, joys and excitement of being with each other. After, we dispersed and carried on. A couple steps away, we were then taking in by an impromptu Jazz jam over at the Roland tent. I was hypnotized and sucked into soulful world of Jazz wonder. This improv jam was out of this world. Jazz licks, rhythms, and overall good vibrations filled the air and stoped us all in our tracks, literally. I and my fellow retreat attendees were in awe. I didn’t want it to end, it was nothing but something out of a Blue Note Jazz club night.

Then it was time - the Playlist challenge! We were all assigned to our groups and given only a couple of hours to collaborate and make a full 2 minute song for all us to share. We all met with our groups and began brainstorming ideas. We all worked hard, going through our ideas, through samples, writing lyrics, and creating magic. We all worked hard and even asked our fellow retreat friends from other groups to help out with chords and melodies and without hesitation, a helping hand was lend to help bring out our ideas. Minute by minute, hour by hour, ideas were coming to life. We all were dedicated, with barely any sleep we worked effortlessly. 3AM turned to 4AM, and 4AM turned to 5AM. I was tired yet determined, my team was tired and needed rest. We came up with a dope draft to finish for later. We left to our trailers to take a power nap to then come back a 9:30AM to finish our final track. I walked to my trailer in the wee early morning hours of the day seeing other teams still working through the late night/ early morning. As I continued to walk by a couple teams, and eventually made it to my trailer, I looked up and saw the sunrise appear. I was in awe of the sky's beauty; a beautiful collection of pinks, blues, purples, and oranges filled the open sky. Was Mother nature also creating her Playlist challenge track but as an early morning sunrise edition? I took in the sights and sounds of nature waking up, the light breeze of wind whispering through the trees, and birds signing their early morning songs. Nature was naturally collaborating effortlessly. I was in awe of that moment, it felt like a representation of all of us, our lives coming together to make our own sunrises and creating pure magic in a short time. This sunrise was defiantly a sign that these playlist challenge songs were going to be unlike any other, a unique color palette with so much color and many stories waiting to be told.

Fast forward hours later to that afternoon. The challenge was over and it was time for submit our songs. we were exhausted. With barely any sleep, but we did it! We accomplished the challenge and lost so much sleep. We poured our hearts and dedication into everything we did and created. I remember only getting barely 2 hours of a nap just to go back to my group to finish our song before the deadline. Some retreat attendees probably didn’t sleep at all. But one things for sure, we did it together as a team. Was is worth it? Yes!

We all went to our final panel discussion presentations and were given the surprise of seeing DJ Premier, yes THE DJ premier. If you don’t know who’s Premier, you must be outta your mind. The man needs no introduction. Preemo was joined alongside another legend, Jimmy Jam and No ID. They discussed their inspirations, their love for music and producing and there was so much and so many gems shared during their seminar. Bars after bars. Gems after gems. We were all in awe hearing stories about their journeys and in awe that it was Preemo and Jimmy Jam’s meeting for the 1st time ever after only being in contact and meeting via phone call. Wow! There was a special kind of buzz in the air when they spoke. The energy and vibe of curiosity, wonder, joy, and excitement to see our heroes speak before us, sharing stories we’ve never heard before and soaking all up their wisdom. This surprise moment was a moment we all didn’t want to end.

Moments past and it was time to hear and reveal everyone’s final challenge tracks. The energy shifted and was filled with anticipation. Our minds filled with curiosity with a hint of anxious wonder, wondering who made what? How does it sound? Did we kill it? And my favorite question, did they like it? Team after team we hear 2 minutes of pure dopeness. But one groups track truly stood out, group Cowboys and Indians. Now, I can tell you everything because - you just had to be there. All I can say is DAMN!!!! I can’t believe they crated a musical monster in a short time limit!!! Phew, the song slapped harder than a chancleta! As our songs were showcased, we shared and showed love to each and every single one. We laughed, we shouted, and danced. Our final night was completed and we had our last few moments to share with each other. We watched Jeff’s Twitch livestream and we all jammed out in the studios for the last time. The last jam that was performed in the studio literally took us to church the same way Terry Hunter took us in a Soulful House journey earlier in the week during lunch. The jam was nothing but pure love, joy and celebration of us. The jam embodied the essence of what playlist retreat was fully about - creating dope ass music TOGETHER!! We all didn’t want the jam to end but before you know, the night was turning into day and it was the finally hurrah. It was time to pack up and head on out back home.

No Quiero Irme De Aqui” - Bad Bunny

I don’t want to leave here.

The last day. The day that everyone dreads and doesn’t want to face but we all do anyways. Our last day, and final moments together was a kind of melancholy yet bittersweet end to an eclectic week. The buzz of rushing to make our flights and trips out back home was in the air. Deep down, we all don’t want to leave but all good things come to an end eventually. Watching our friends leave was hard yet joyous knowing that those friendships were everlasting and that the bonds made there were never going to break. Conversations that were started onsite were going to continue on long after the retreat’s end. To set the scene, The weather was a cloudy and raining day. It was almost as if Mother Nature was sad to see us go. Or was it an actual representation of what we’re all feeling inside? Hidden tears of sorrow...and or tears of happiness? Either way, the sound of rain drops splashing into the pool by the speakeasy was like nature’s music filling the void of silence of the last day. I walked around, enjoyed the last few moments, soaking it all in and reminiscing about the past couple of days. A moment that could’ve been filled with sadness, was filled with gratitude, joy, excitement; and inspiration. Those who had later departures, all stood outside mingling amongst ourselves savoring the last moment with each other. Endless group pictures were taken, smiles were made and endless hugs were passed around endlessly and effortlessly. Love and happiness. Gratitude and joy. Connection and community. Family.

Playlist Retreat family 2025, @CoryTownes

My charter to NY was boarding. I didn’t want to leave, can you blame me?? But the time has come, our last goodbyes were shared and we were off. Our bus was quiet. All of reminiscing of our fun times, memories, and even the much needed nap after the challenge. Before you know it, we’re back home, NYC. Arriving back home with the incredible and much needed recharge filled me with joy to get back into creating. And with New York City’s own electric energy added to the mix, it gave me another powerful dose of inspiration.

Looking back, reminiscing about the incredible and truly unforgettable moments has truly and honestly made me feel blessed and honored to have the opportunity to return for my 3rd year. Since my 1st time in 2019 to now: Seeing everyone connect, create, and just overall be free without judgment in their unique elements is truly remarkable. Seeing musical languages being spoken without actual words but with a rare and unique high vibrations of love being translated through rhythms, notes, and various expressing of musical joy - is truly magical. To be free to express with music without judgement, without worry, without overthinking amongst likeminded musical aliens of various talents, is truly a beautiful thing. Here we are all equal, no ego, no competition, but a community. We all become teachers and student together; learning, growing, and sharing knowledge making sure that we all grow and blossom in our elements. We watch each other learn new skills and have moments of discovery of tips and tricks that blew our minds. We share music and created strong life long bonds that became unbreakable. We all become a strong force that cannot be destroyed. But most importantly, we come together with love and appreciation. We share our stories, and share pieces of our souls and connected with one another. We raise our vibrations, recharge our minds, bodies and souls. Our cups were full and overflowing with gratitude and joy; to which we share into others making sure that we all have overflowing cups.

There is no place, let me say this again- THIS IS NO PLACE IN THE WORLD like Playlist Retreat.

My utmost and highest thank you to DJ Jazzy Jeff, Lynette, the entire Playlist crews for allowing and welcoming us with open arms into their home for this retreat. We can all agree that we felt right at home. The love was absolutely felt every minute and second. Those moments will defiantly be cherished for eternity.