Chicago-based DJs Josh Young and Curt Cameruci make up Flosstradamus — an act that has run the gamut of composing remixes ranging from Waka Flocka Flame to Lana Del Rey.
Flosstradamus’ remixes generally incorporate trap influences, but the group’s repertoire covers many genres.
“We’re open to anything,” Cameruci said. “We’ve flipped songs from little indie bands like Matt and Kim to Young Thug. If there’s something in the song that we’re drawn toward, chances are we’ll flip it.”
One of Flosstradamus’ live hits is a remix of Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games.” Young and Cameruci took the pop star’s melancholy breakout hit and turned it into a drum-heavy remix that gets crowds dancing.
“My wife is a huge Lana Del Rey fan; she was playing her album constantly. I wanted to make a beat around that song,” Young said. “I didn’t want to switch it up at all, but I wanted to layer some drums over it and give it our sound. I sped up the sample, put it into this triplet time … and it just happened to sound good.”
Flosstradamus has graced the stages of big-name festivals for years, including Coachella, Lollapalooza and Electric Forest. Performing their beats live, the musicians said, is an indescribable experience.
“Curt and I have had some experiences onstage that were otherworldly,” Young said. “You can’t describe the kind of emotion that you’re feeling in that moment.”
Flosstradamus recently collaborated with rapper Travis Porter. The group’s latest hit is called “Drop Top,” a trap banger that celebrates the whimsical adventures that come with convertibles.
The music video for “Drop Top” is a wild parody of trap culture, which features kids taking schoolyard battles to the streets with plastic assault rifles and decked-out big wheels.
“When we were scouring the Internet for material to promote the song, we came across photos of little kids falling asleep in power wheels,” Cameruci said. “We were joking with our team about video concepts, and that one came up. We were able to do it under budget, and it worked out really well.”
Flosstradamus has also enjoyed collaborations with UK rapper TroyBoi.
“We bring a little bit of the street flavor, and he brings in some of that UK vibe,” Cameruci said. “That collaboration worked really well; we got the song finished within a week.”
Young and Cameruci said they were looking forward to playing in Minneapolis, where some of the musicians’ biggest musical influences have come from.
“We really cut our teeth on the DJ game during the whole Rhymesayers backpack hip-hop era,” Young said. “It’s cool to go back in the home of that.”
“Us being from the Midwest, we feel that Midwesterners represent us,” Cameruci said. “We all have the same blue-collar work ethic and humble vision.”
