Song of the Week Week 18 2026 - DJ Rikstar Special: First 4 Vinyls

Angel City, Benny Benassi, Kanye West & Cassidy

I remember being 12 years old and all I wanted was some DJ decks for my 13th birthday. I'm not sure where I first saw it, but there was a beginner DJ package called DJ in a Box 2, which included the kit below.

Now these were belt drive, so they always needed a little nudge when hitting play, haha. Just out of curiosity, who else had these back in the day?

Once I got this DJ in a Box beginner package, I headed straight into the middle of Manchester to HMV to get my first ever 12-inch vinyl. I ended up buying four records, which are the songs below.

I learned with the first two dance songs, practising beatmatching and all that before I started playing the R&B songs below. For a few weeks I was locked in, just mixing the same songs over and over.

After that I went back to HMV and copped some more records, then a shop in Northenden opened so close to home. DJs in Manchester know exactly what I'm talking about.

The reason I'm doing this is to drop a bit of history and bring the nostalgia back for the DJs who see this. I know many DJs will always remember the first tracks they purchased and practised with.

That's enough talk. Here they are below. Once I felt I had the dance songs down, I moved onto R&B within those first couple of weeks before I got more records. Also, Angel City was a hit heavily sampled from 1995 Robert Miles Children. You can't tell me nothing.

Do You Know - Angel City

The first one in the stack. This is one of the four I purchased from HMV in Piccadilly, Manchester, UK.

Satisfaction - Benny Benassi

This is the other dance record I got. These all came out around 2003 to 2008 I think, so I knew them well but just used them as practice.

Through The Wire - Kanye West

The third of my four vinyls. I decided to get two R&B/hip-hop ones, and this was my next one. It's also a classic.

Hotel (Official Video) ft. R. Kelly - Cassidy

Then the last of the four was Cassidy's Hotel. That was in heavy rotation on MTV Base and now and again on Channel U.

So yes, that's how it all started. Then I hit 15 years old and kind of left the DJ stuff, but recently I've picked it back up again.