CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

DJ Cassidy

American DJ and record producer

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ16202297 ↗
Source-derived summary

Cassidy Durango Milton Willy Podell (born June 27, 1981), known professionally as DJ Cassidy, is an American DJ and record producer.

Noted for his flashy attire, Cassidy became known for his work at celebrity functions, including the 2008 wedding of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, the 2009 inauguration of President Barack Obama, President Obama's 50th birthday party, and the 2024 Democratic National Convention roll call.

Early life and education

Born in New York's Upper East Side, Cassidy is the second child of Monica Podell, née Faust, and music agent Jonny Podell. Cassidy's sister, Brittany, was born in 1977. At the time of Cassidy's birth, Jonny Podell was a booking agent for Norby Walters Associates; he became head of music at ICM in 1996. He and Monica Podell separated in 1982.

Interested in deejaying from an early age, Cassidy said he had always been a "hip-hop kid". As a child, he watched dance films such as Breakin' and Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, and later loved Grandmaster Flash, Kool Herc, and Afrika Bambaataa. His tenth birthday present was two turntables and a mixer. He began by working at teenage parties, school carnivals, and talent shows then, from his senior year, in nightclubs.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “DJ Cassidy” as american DJ and record producer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Cassidy, American and producer.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1981, 2008, 2009, 2024—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1981-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Cassidy, American and producer providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “DJ Cassidy”, the useful work is to connect “american DJ and record producer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q16202297. VIAF identifies the subject as 3067148574389724430007. The Library of Congress control number is no2017006821. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1981, 2008, 2009 and 2024.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “DJ Cassidy”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow DJ Cassidy primary sources, DJ Cassidy archive and Cassidy research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “DJ Cassidy”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “DJ Cassidy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.