Basement Beats

How frat DJs are shaping college nightlife and beyond

by Kiana Golcin 

Graphic by Ashley La

There’s one thing that keeps college students coming back to the humid, sticky frat houses of Allston instead of opting for the sleek clubs of Boston: the music. It’s the nostalgic, dynamic blend of the music we grew up listening to in our mom’s minivans, mixed with the latest hip-hop hits from Travis Scott and Drake. With nothing more than a basic mixer and the semester’s latest pledge class, BU’s fraternities have found a way to keep their music game strong, and in the process created incredible DJs out of their members. 

Aden Lazarus (CAS ‘27) is in his second semester as a member of BU’s Chi Phi fraternity. He originally got involved with the fraternity by DJing at some of their events before he eventually became a member. 

“Chi Phi basically had no DJ, so I was like ‘I will come DJ for you guys for free, I just want to DJ,’” Lazarus said, laughing. “They were going to go phone aux—like, I’m literally offering to DJ for you for free.” 

Eventually, they warmed up to his offer and let him DJ for one of their parties. From then on, he was the fraternity’s informal DJ until he officially pledged in March of 2024. 

The rise of fraternity DJs over Spotify playlists plugged into frayed aux cords reflects a trend across college campuses, especially BU. Frat DJs have turned into the unofficial tastemakers of student nightlife, shaping each party’s vibe with carefully curated mixes that seamlessly blend throwback anthems with modern trends. 

Unlike club DJs, who often stick to specific genres and cater to the audiences of their fans, frat DJs are expected to master the art of reading a room packed with people with nothing in common but the college they go to. By delivering everything from the RapCaviar Top 40 to underground house beats, fraternity DJs have a unique edge that makes for an incredible night for college students despite the unfortunate ambiance of spilled drinks and body heat. 

Lazarus has now set his sights on larger ambitions, DJing for events like Groove Cruise in his hometown of Miami and recently at Boston’s newest nightclub, Hava. One of his fraternity brothers was a DJ at Hava and offered to pass along some of Lazarus’s work to the club’s head DJ. 

“I put together two mixes in like 20 minutes and I thought they were so bad, but I sent them,” Lazarus said. “Literally a month and a half later, totally out of the blue, he texted me and said ‘Yo, the head DJ at Hava liked the mix, here’s his number—don’t mess this up.’” 

Fraternity DJing can become more than just a source of party entertainment. For some, it’s a launchpad to bigger opportunities. The laid-back, low-pressure atmosphere of a frat house is the perfect place to practice mixing skills, surrounded by friends and familiar faces. Whether DJs choose to stick to frat gigs or take their skills to the next level, it’s all great practice for reading a crowd, being adaptable, and keeping good energy alive.