The Inside Job’s founder, known by his DJ name System (Ryan Black) playing the drum & bass day party at the Green Elephant. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Originating in the home of a Dallas artist eager to express his creative juices in the height of a global pandemic, the deejay by the name of System (Ryan Black) decided to create “The Inside Job” – a live stream on Twitch TV in 2020.
The stream gained the admiration of a cult following, and the show would go on to produce 100 episodes in three years with many guest DJs – all in the name of drum & bass music.
The outside patio of the Green Elephant. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Legendary drum & bass deejay Souljah and MC Astro at the Green Elephant for The Inside Job drum & bass day party. Photo: Jessica Waffles
To those unfamiliar, drum & bass (also known as DnB) has been a cultural movement for decades as a dance music style that evolved from the jungle music genre and features fast breakbeats with heavy bass & sub-bass lines.
DnB gained widespread acceptance in the ’90s to early 2000’s, when tracks like “Terrorist” by Renegade, “Tarantula” by Pendulum, and “Atlantis” by LTJ Bukem expanded its reach from pirate radio to commercial stations.
RCA throwing down drum & bass at The Inside Job party at the Green Elephant Fun fact, Adidas fits are part of the junglist culture. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Poor Vida started as a hip hop / drum & bass record label turned hot sauce company. The flavors represent different artists and a portion of proceeds go to the local musicians featured. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Picking up where the pandemic left off, Black decided to take his “inside job” outside into the real world.
“This is the first time in three years we’ve actually had an in-person event,” Black said in an interview on the Green Elephant patio as bass beats blasted in the background. “After basically doing solitary confinement during COVID, all these people wanted this.”
The Sunday day party featured 20 drum & bass DJs, all of which were former guests on “The Inside Job.”
Leo J on the decks at the Green Elephant. Photo: Jessica Waffles
System closed out the party for fans of The Inside Job at the Green Elephant. Photo: Jessica Waffles
“Most of the DJ guests on the show had no idea how big of a production the stream was until they saw it,” Black said.
Behind the scenes, his production parter and life-long best friend Croix (Colin Roy) managed the large number of cameras and helped with the visual aspect of the Twitch TV stream.
The show at the Green Elephant brought the stream to life, where Roy brought in his visual effects setup that included three computers, three projection screens and a custom-made ethernet cable that stretched across the length of the venue.
“People here are fans of the show,” Black said. “The visuals are a viewing and performance aspect here too. They want to see what and how we’re doing things, and are excited to see the studio in person.”
The Green Elephant’s new patio mural was painted by local artist Jerod “DTOX” Davies. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Phooka continued the vibe at the Green Elephant. Photo: Jessica Waffles
“This is a milestone event for us,” Black said. “It started with me and my friend in a room and turned into a couple-hundred person party. It’s crazy.”
While this moment of magic might now be just memory, the crew with Black is ready to do it again this Sunday May 7 at Ruins in Deep Ellum. The drum & bass day party will be from 2:00pm – 7:00pm, featuring legendary UK artist LTJ Bukem – arguably one of the prime innovators in the development of jungle and DnB music styles in the early ’90s. Also on the bill are local acts DJ Titan, RCA and more.
Drum & bass is a special section of the electronic music scene that offers a life raft to lost souls, brings community together, and supports the human desire for connection through music. Come and see what the junglist lifestyle is all about.
Croix (Colin Roy) is the visual arts specialist responsible for the night’s lighting effects as well as the visual effects for The Inside Job Twitch stream. Photo: Jessica Waffles
System and DJ Titan at the Green Elephant for the first in-person The Inside Job show. Photo: Jessica Waffles
DJ Titan on the decks at the Green Elephant. Photo: Jessica Waffles
Jessica Waffles is a freelance photographer/videographer and regular contributor to KXT.
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