If you’ve ever seen Tromac DJ, you’ve probably seen a dance floor so packed that it’s hard to navigate through.
When I interviewed him earlier this year, he was preparing for the release of Club Kit, which dropped on April 20. The eight-track EP is designed for you to press play in your home or for DJs to pull from during their sets at any given warehouse party.
Tromac is part of a growing class of emerging creatives who can do it all and make anything happen creatively — a crop of DJs, producers, dancers, painters, singers, and curators who display the true spirit of DIY culture. They are Black and brown creatives who make music for themselves and their peers, for liberation, survival, and creative release.
Tromac is part of a growing class of emerging creatives who can do it all and make anything happen creatively — a crop of DJs, producers, dancers, painters, singers, and curators who display the true spirit of DIY culture. They are Black and brown creatives who make music for themselves and their peers, for liberation, survival, and creative release.
With each release, each party, each pop-up, each collaboration, they add another edit to the history of dance music culture here in Baltimore and beyond. These artists make worlds for themselves and the people they love, if only for one night on a dancefloor or one track played at an afterparty.
The varied sound of Tromac’s latest EP comes from him spending a lot of time in clubs and venues all over the DMV. By the time he graduated from high school, he was spending nearly every weekend in either DC or Baltimore at clubs and shows. He describes it as “something for the DJs and the dancers.”
Tromac grew up in Prince George’s County in Laurel, Maryland. He started making music in middle school after meeting a classmate from New York who loved to draw.
“I remember one day in his notebook where he did all his drawings. He had a rap written in there. I read it and instantly got inspired,” Tromac said.
He said he realized he was growing an affinity for hearing different production styles.
“I was always fascinated by all the different types of beats and how they would intertwine styles. I had my bootleg off-brand iPod. Because my parents weren’t trying to buy me an Apple iPod. I had like, 30 songs on there, and it was a mix of gogo music, random trap music like Rick Ross, and Waka Flocka. And then it would be like some Flying Lotus beats.”
As he got older, he said he felt his musical tastes expanding further.
“I’m hearing all these different sounds, and growing open to different genres, and different frequencies.”
He said around that time, Soulection Radio was becoming more popular and it was easier for him and his peers to be exposed to different genres of music. Soulection is an independent music platform based out of Los Angeles that is known for groovy electronic dance music and lo-fi hip hop and R&B beats — and you can listen to it online.
“We live and grow up in the Internet era. Access to different sounds and different diasporas of music is overflowing. The access to different music is endless, so inspiration comes from everywhere.”
dj/producer tromac
“We live and grow up in the Internet era. Access to different sounds and different diasporas of music is overflowing. The access to different music is endless, so inspiration comes from everywhere.”
When he was in high school, he met a rapper named VLAAD, who he credits with inspiring his desire to learn how to produce. Back then, he was listening to a lot of hip-hop.
“The type of music that I was listening to in high school was a lot of stuff like Flying Lotus, or like Childish Gambino, Lil Wayne, Mac Miller.”
VLAAD and Tromac later solidified their collaboration and love for music with what is now known as 3SIDE Collective. “[3SIDE] has had many different names over the years, but it’s always just been a collective of really good friends who share a passion for music and art,” Tromac said.
“Every member of 3SIDE is someone that is a great friend to us, and that we’ve spent time with and seen how talented they are, and want to do whatever we can to help uplift them.
And that’s everyone from like, the producers, the rappers, the DJs, the graphic designers, everyone.”
The release of Club Kit marks a turning point in Tromac’s career. It is his offering to clubs and clubbers, and evidence of his growth as a producer and DJ. Club Kit defies genre, just as Tromac does.
“It’s heavily inspired by club music of all genres and all origins. Baltimore, of course. Jersey, Philly. But then also drawing inspiration from other diasporas of dance music such as baile funk, go-go, and house.”
Because of his hard work, intention, dedication, and creativity, his career is flourishing. He often plays in Baltimore, spinning at places like The Royal Blue and Ottobar, but has also branched out to play at The Eaton Hotel in D.C. and Mood Ring in Brooklyn. He played his first festival last year at Zapateo in West Virginia.
“It was an entirely new experience for me, I’ve never deejayed at any type of music festival.
I’ve also never been to any of those festivals where it’s like a multi-day festival,” he said.
He co-headlined with other Baltimore music dj-producers like Karizma.
“It was a great experience for me, and I was surrounded by people who love music, and also artists who loved music as well. The whole lineup was like 80% just homies and people I know on a personal level.”
The experience was an opportunity for him to flex his musical knowledge and prowess to an audience of people who were there because they loved music.
“Being able to just do my thing. It felt like I could play anything I wanted to.”
Making music, curating events, and collaboration has been energizing for Tromac, and no matter how distracting the world may be, he always finds the willpower to make these things happen.
“Honestly, there’s never a moment where I’m feeling like, creating is not something I’m interested in, or it’s something that I feel like I can’t bring myself to do,” he said when I asked him about how he brings himself to make art when the world is on fire.
“I feel so strongly and passionately about music and art, that I feel like no matter what I’m going through in life, that’s what I have to do, that’s what I’m going to end up doing at some point in some way.”
He sees his creative practice as his legacy on this planet.
“I feel like I owe that to the world, because in the moments of my life, in the past, in my youth, or at any given time where I felt defeated, or I felt depressed, or just down bad, there was always art for me.”
Tromac recognizes art, music, and dance music culture’s ability to reach people when they might need inspiration and release, and he has made it his mission to use his art to help others.
“Art was always there for me. So I want to always be there for art.”
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