By Jamilah King

DJ Sake 1 isn't your average DJ. And Pacific Standard Time (PST) isn't your average party.

The city's pre-eminent hip-hop, soul, funk, and break-beat DJ has consistently packed dancefloors at Levende Lounge in the Mission for three years as its resident DJ, brewing together an ecclectic mix of old-school rarities and New Age crowd favorites. He can effortlessly weave together a narrative of fun across genres, fusing Too $hort's "Blow the Whistle" with Los Hermanos, or doing whatever's necessary to please the crowd while skillfully working to heighten its appreciation for the music.

Though it's not necessarily the music that sets Sake 1 so far apart from his fellow turntabalists so much as the message behind it. Your boy has a graduate degree in social work from University of California, Berkeley, and building community is at the heart of his work as a DJ. We've already brought you the history of his crusade to create the people's party; half of all proceeds from PST go to local community organizations such as the Center for Young Women's Development.

Since starting PST in 2005, Sake 1's been a busy man. He's dropped two mixtape compilations, Leftism and Leftism 2: Electric Boogaloo, with fellow San Francisco heavyweight J. Boogie. Each showcases the brilliance of two craftsmen at work, but it's Sake 1's live sets every Thursday night at PST that are cementing his legendary status.

Sake 1 at Pacific Standard Time
Thursdays, 10 p.m., $10.
Levende Lounge
1710 Mission, SF
(415) 864-5585