Rahman Wortman: What was it like for you when you started to become an event curator?

Nas Haddad: Things started when I got accepted into Morris Brown in 2001 and went to Atlanta. I linked up with this guy AJ from AJ productions and he was teaching the game, introducing me to people and then started to treat me as a partner. He allowed me to shadow him, taught me about negotiations, and started to invite me to meetings, instead of just trying to use me because of the people I knew. I was doing my thing and making a name for myself but I was letting people get in my ear saying “You can’t make a career out of throwing parties. Oh you just going to be a party promoter all your life?” I got a job at State Farm working in the claims office for stability, but still had the passion for music and nightlife, so if there were people who I knew that were doing events and needed assistance I was helping here and there.

When I was in Philly I would always tell my guy Pesos, who was also my coworker at the time, that Philly was missing something and that I wanted to do something there, and he would encourage me to do it. He introduced me to HBK, AMH, and Paperz. The turning point for me was when I wasn’t getting a raise based on people not liking me instead of my work performance. That rubbed me the wrong way, so I put in my two weeks after my homie contacted me for help with marketing and branding for his brand Rare Addiction. I felt like if I didn’t leave at that moment, I wasn’t going to leave, especially when my coworkers told me that once the benefits start kicking in after two years you get more comfortable.

Then I linked up with Jamie, who’s a DJ and my business partner for 6ix 8ight, to throw a lite event in Philly called Between Us in 2014 at Jerry’s Bar in Northern Liberties. For a while, to have a good time you had to go to New York or DC. It’s like we didn’t feel safe in the spots that had the music we wanted to hear, but then when we went downtown the spots were nice, but they didn’t play the music we wanted to hear. There was nothing in the middle, so we decided to give folks from Philly another option to have fun instead of going out of the city. It snowed the day we had the event, but the people came and in droves. It was to the point where there was a line outside and we couldn’t let people inside. The next event we did was The Recipe at Barra Rossa which was my favorite jawn because of how organic it was.

RW: What were some things that you learned before creating 6ix 8ight that you used for your business currently?

NH: It goes back to when I was in the hospitality industry. I was working as a bartender / server at Ruby Tuesday’s and this general manager named Ernest Jones was teaching me how to get into management. The one thing he said that stuck with me was “Whether it’s a restaurant or an event you’re throwing, look at it as your home. Treat it as if you’re having a get together at your house. When you do that, you pay attention to the lighting, the mood people are in, if there’s trash on the ground pick it up. Do what you need to do because it’s a reflection of you.” That mindset made me focus on the consumer. With the DJ’s, we didn’t like having an opener and closer because we didn’t want it to be a hierarchy. Let’s get DJs who are kind of similar but can work together sonically. We also didn’t want to do VIPs because most of the times when you think of that it’s roped off, elevated and looking down at people. We didn’t like that mindset, because you’re not better than anyone else. We’re all here just to have a good time and vibe.

RW: How did 6ix 8ight come about and who’s a part of the team?

NH: 6ix 8ight came from both me and Jamie graduating from Morehouse, I graduated in ’06 and he graduated in ’08. There’s been a lot of people who have joined our team or contributed like Brittany Norman, Ciara Lambert, Imani Briscoe, Pesos and of course the DJs who spin at our events.

RW: You’ve worked with a plethora of DJs; HBK, whom you have been rocking with since your days at Animal House, Caution, Na$h, Acktive, Matthew Law, Don Will, Kendollaz, and Greg Nitty. What do you think is the most unappreciated thing about the DJs in Philly?

NH: How skilled they are. Going to other cities and hearing other DJs make me appreciate Philly DJs much more, I feel like we have the best DJs. DJ Jazzy Jeff, Questlove, Drama, and Cannon, even folks who wanted to get into DJ culture tapped into Philly. Philly can be so hard on you that when you go to other cities, they appreciate it. A lot of the DJs mess with us because they can play what they want at our events as opposed to having to play the same thing at different clubs. If we’re hearing the same thing you hear on the radio all the time, then what’s the point? You’re a DJ, you’re supposed to introduce us to new shit and rock a crowd. I think that was something they appreciated from us.

RW: I agree that Philly does have the best DJs! But then again, I’m biased because I went to Temple and saw a lot of them like Bobby Flowers, Taaj, Hvnlee, and Kingspy spinning on campus. I always appreciated their skills, ear for music and commitment to their craft and to see years later them becoming some of the go to people for the city’s nightlife and events is dope to me.

NH: That was the other thing, they’ll practice with each other and have these friendly challenges with one another, and I’m like “why not put that on display?”

RW: HBK and AMH said that the current DJs are tighter than they were in the past, and I’ve seen you attend events by other curators like Shaq’s Issa Whine, Na$h’s International Bounce, and Taaj’s All Love Block Party. Do you believe the same thing can be said for relationships between event curators?

NH: We’re human so there’s always going to be certain elements of jealousy, but it’s never any hostility towards one another. People always say Philly has this crab in a barrel mentality, but my thing is what are we doing to change it. Instead of talking about it let’s change the narrative, let’s help each other out and support. If you want to change the culture it has to start with you and the people around you.

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