In March 2025, Ultra Miami turned into more than just a music festival when a few words on stage sparked a wave of reactions across the dance music scene. During his set, Deadmau5 made a direct comment about James Hype. The moment didn’t end there. What followed was a series of responses, edits, and social media moves that pulled in fans across the world.

The comment happened during Deadmau5’s closing set on the Worldwide stage. He picked up the mic and joked about the fireworks, then mentioned the $500,000 VIP tables. Moments later, he scratched on the CDJs and said, “Look, I can play like James Hype too,” and added, “That’s how you really DJ. Just saying.”

James Hype replied almost immediately. He posted the clip to his socials with his track “Don’t Wake Me Up” playing over it. Alongside that, he introduced his new show concept called Sync, using design elements that resembled Deadmau5’s branding. The video also showed him syncing visuals and audio in real time, pushing back on Deadmau5’s earlier claim that live syncing isn’t possible without a pre-recorded set. The post ended with a clip of Deadmau5 eating in the studio.

Deadmau5 answered with more of his usual style. He uploaded a video syncing his CDJs to a monitor in five minutes, followed by a clip of him playing Elden Ring using DJ gear as a controller. The tone was dry but clearly intentional.

Fans got involved right away. Some created fake posters showing Deadmau5 and James Hype playing back-to-back at Tomorrowland Brasil. Others used AI to generate images of the two sharing a stage. The content quickly spread across Instagram, TikTok, and X.

Later, Deadmau5 posted, “Don’t take it that seriously.” Whether that was meant as a final word or just another layer of sarcasm isn’t clear, but the moment had already caught everyone’s attention.

This back-and-forth didn’t just stop at one festival set. It sparked wider conversations about live performance, syncing visuals, and how electronic artists use social media to shape public response. For fans following Ultra Miami 2025 or tracking the latest in EDM, the Deadmau5 and James Hype situation became one of the most followed stories of the season.