DJ Hesta Prynn: Every Trick I Used to Build a Playlist for 400 of the Smartest People in America

Want to know how professional DJs build playlists that feel intentional instead of random? In this solo episode, DJ Hesta Prynn shares the exact playlist curation and DJ mixing techniques she used to create the official July 4th playlist for Renaissance Weekend—a conference attended by 400 of America's leading astronauts, CEOs, scientists, political leaders, artists, and innovators. But this episode is about much more than making a playlist. Here's something Hesta believes: American music is protest music. Whether it's Jimi Hendrix, Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Kendrick Lamar, or RuPaul, some of our greatest songs are really arguments about who gets to belong here. Using that idea as her guide, Hesta walks through her entire 33-song playlist and reveals the same storytelling techniques she uses as a professional DJ to move a crowd, surprise an audience, and make every song feel inevitable. In this episode, you'll learn: Why American music is rooted in protest—and how that shaped every song choice How DJs use key, BPM (tempo), and energy to build seamless playlists Why cover songs are one of the best ways to transition between genres How to hide a powerful message inside a playlist without making it feel like a lecture The RuPaul song that completely changed Hesta's perspective on being American Crowdsourcing the set: how friends (including bestseller author and recent podcast guest NY Times journalist David Gelles) helped shape the final tracklist  Listen to the full 33-song playlist:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4s6thxFLtGNsDiuJWIGa0r?si=7e9d675e92f84046 Connect with Hesta:   Follow Hesta on Instagram: @hestaprynnmusic Substack: https://hestaprynn.substack.com/    Have thoughts on the playlist—or a song Hesta should have included? Email [email protected]. Learn more about Renaissance Weekend: https://www.renaissanceweekend.org/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.