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“Mustard on the beat hoe!” Hearing this phrase is a sure indicator that the song that started playing is going to be a banger. The West Coast DJ, producer, and label owner — whose real name is Dijon McFarlane — has been the mastermind behind some of the biggest hits to grace the rap and R&B game recently such as “My N*gga” by YG, “I Don’t Fuck With You” by Big Sean, “Don’t Tell Em” by Jeremih and YG, “I’m Different” by 2 Chainz, “Needed Me” by Rihanna — the list goes on.
Mustard unleashed his critically acclaimed album Perfect Ten earlier this summer, which hails standout singles “Pure Water” with Migos, “Ballin’” with Roddy Ricch, and even a posthumous feature from his good friend, the late Nipsey Hussle. The 10-track project serves as his third studio album, and shows a much younger Mustard on the cover.
And all the while, he’s developing his artist Ella Mai, the UK singer who took home the award for Best R&B Song at the 61st Grammys with “Boo’d Up.” Beyond the accolades, Mustard keeps his family first, often bringing his oldest son Kiyan out to his shows, and even onstage to hang with the big dawgs.
On Aug. 13, the hitmaker threw an explosive Summers Fest at The Novo in Los Angeles and sold out the venue. He even hosted a contest to his two million followers on Instagram to giving away $10,000 to one lucky winner, who was able to guess all seven artists he was bringing to the stage. The special guests ended up being A$AP Ferg, Roddy Ricch, Ella Mai, YG, 2 Chainz, Big Sean, and Migos — along with Los Angeles’s own RJ and Joe Moses.
REVOLT TV caught up with Mustard after the show to talk about the eventful evening, early convos with YG, and his last studio session with the late Nipsey Hussle. Check out the discussion below!
The first Summers Festwas a success. How do you feel about selling The Novo out?
It was amazing, man. It was everything I expected.
The stage production with the massive ‘10’ sign in the background and you were deejaying in the middle — insane!
Mike man, that n*gga came up with that shit. He’s a creative director for M99Studios. I called Meko (his manager), they’re like, ‘Man, we have to do a show. Let’s just do the Shrine.’ I didn’t do it. We were talking about doing a show here (The Novo) first, and I was like, ‘We can do Shrine, let’s sell out the Shrine.’ So, Mike created that stage for the Shrine. When I got bumped back down to this, I said, ‘You know what? Let’s just do this because I want it to be more intimate.’ I wanted to sell it out and make sure it was a successful first year. He asked, ‘Do you want to scale down on production?’ I’m like, ‘No, I want to make it as big as possible. I want to break the record for the biggest shit.’ It turned out great.
Did anyone figure out the seven surprise guests you were bringing?
Everybody got really close. Ty [Dolla $ign] was supposed to come out, but he didn’t. So, a lot of people got knocked off for that. A lot of people got knocked off because Tyga had shows overseas. So, he couldn’t come either. I think one person actually got it right.
What made you say $10,000? That’s a lot of money.
[My debut album was] 10 Summers. Everything is 10! I’m not going to give them $10.
I loved seeing you call Ella Mai ‘a legend’ onstage. How proud are you?
She is a legend. Stupid proud. I think we all are legends in our own right. But her, I see where she’s going. I’ve been calling her that even before she blew up.
How does it feel to both be embarking on your tours?
Shit, I’m just happy for her. She’s going out with Ariana Grande. I’m going out with Meek Mill, Future, YG and Megan Thee Stallion. I’m just happy we both are making money at the same time, doing our own thing at the same time. It’s two different worlds. It feels amazing.
You gave a heartfelt message to YG tonight and recalled sleeping in his garage in a gated community in Inglewood . What were those earlier convos?
I remember we were both telling each other if we didn’t make it by 25, we would quit. We were 20 then. [I would say,] ‘If we don’t make it by 25 [I’m going to] quit.’ I’m 29 now. We didn’t make it by 25, but we didn’t quit either. It feels good.
Was this literally what you guys saw for yourselves?
Fuck no, I never would have imagined that.
Really? What were you envisioning?
Just deejaying for him for the rest of my life. Watching him go up, me just deejaying… Never thought we’d all have our own shit going like that.
How much does YG truly love ‘ Go Loko’?
Shit, he’s a Mexican… He says ‘pinche’ [and] all that. He knows all the Mexican shit.
What does it mean to have your mom at the show?
It’s amazing. I [saw] her up [in the balcony] dancing the whole time. She’s crazy. She was having fun. As long as you’re having fun, it’s good.
How easy is it for you to call your people and be like, ‘I need you here at this date’?
Not easy at all. Oh my god, we were up until the last minute. Different people were supposed to come. We missed out on a couple of special guests.
Meko: That’s why he wasn’t able to announce it then because it was down to the last minute who he’d bring to the stage.
What is your formula for creating a hit?
I don’t have one. I go as I go… I just love to [make] music.
I love that you bring out your son at your shows. Does he enjoy it?
Yes, he’s good… He’s actually smart as fuck…
What’s his favorite song on Perfect Ten?
Probably ‘Pure Water.’ He knows all the words.
I know you recorded the track ‘Perfect Ten’ with Nipsey Hussle. What was the energy in the room that day?
It wasn’t awkward, but it was a different energy. [Nipsey] did that song — as you can see, he didn’t finish, but he left me with that. We talked for about four hours that night.
What did you guys talk about?
Just everything. Kids, investing, family, where [we’re] supposed to be in life. I mean, we always [spoke] like that. But, that night was a little different. It was cool.
How does it feel when you play that song?
It doesn’t feel real. Everyone’s getting through it day by day.
How do you plan on keeping The Marathon Continues (#TMC) legacy alive?
Keeping all the fucking business ventures booming. Doing as he would do for us. Doing our part, giving back to our community, and keeping his name alive.