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DC Transplant DJ Kid Cedek Creating Moombahton Scene in Atlanta

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Kid Cedek planned big this year for New Year’s Eve. It was the day he dropped his Circus Freaks EP online, and later that night (4 a.m. to be exact) he took the stage during QUAD @ Spring 4th Complex’s “Crushes New Year’s Eve” party as one of seven headlining DJs. Essentially, he wanted to do everything at once.

Back in June 2009, Kid Cedek (born Merchicedek Reyes) moved to Atlanta from his native DMV (D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) area. As he made his rounds at the local venues, including Opera, MJQ, and Graveyard, he distinguished himself from other DJs by incorporating the sounds of a still-burgeoning genre into his sets. Just months after Kid Cedek moved South, Mad Decent’s Dave Nada (David Villeagas) was spinning at a Maryland basement party when he slowed and screwed a Dutch house track from about 130 beats per minute to 108. Nada called it moombahton and a new sound was born.

Kid Cedek could have moved back and added to moombahton’s presence in the town where it was hatched. Instead, he brought it to Atlanta. At Buzz, his monthly party at Sutra with Sin Diesel, he used moombahton to string together mainstream hits and web-released mixes, including those by Nada himself. He founded his own moombahton label, Rot10 Musik, and his own promotional company, Moombah ATL. Then, he became the city’s best emigrant-turned-essential local DJ.

Read more: Creative Loafing

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