James Hype Claims Boiler Room Denied his Request to Perform

As his own ‘Get Closer’ series gains popularity, English superstar DJ James Hype has revealed that Boiler Room rejected him last year.

Since their inception in 2010, Boiler Room sets have evolved into a sort of badge of honor in the dance music community. Top notch DJs like Fred Again.., Kaytranada, Skream, Hudson Mohawke, and Peggy Gou have helmed the decks at Boiler Room parties, each enveloped in a sea of boogying fans. But we have now learned that at least one big name DJ has tried and failed to be added to this exclusive list: the one and only James Hype.

James Hype, who has skyrocketed to international fame since he began releasing in 2016, has shared his Boiler Room story with the world in an Instagram post. “1 year ago I wanted to get on Boiler Room so bad but they didn’t want me,” he wrote. In the aftermath of this rejection, James “had the idea to hire out a space and get fans to sign up to come to an exclusive DJ set.”

This idea turned into his ‘Get Closer’ series, the first installment of which has now surpassed 10 million views on YouTube. James wrote that this massive milestone is “proof that you don’t need anyone’s approval to do anything you set your mind to.” In a bit of healthy pettiness, he ends the post pointing out that “when you search Boiler Room on YouTube,” his first ‘Get Closer’ video comes up “in the top 10 most popular videos.”

The ‘Get Closer’ series has only continued to grow since James Hype kicked it off in London a year ago. Since then he’s thrown two more in London, one in Newcastle, and, most recently, a sun-soaked edition in Miami. Together, these ‘Get Closer’ videos have amassed nearly 4 million views to add on to the 10 million pulled in by its debut, further proving that James hardly needs Boiler Room’s permission to throw wildly successful ragers.

Check out the first ‘Get Closer’ video from James Hype below!