Back In The Day
The year was 1987. I didn't even own a turntable. Using
two tape decks, my DJ career began making pause mixtapes and at-home
radio shows. Largely influenced by the popular DJs at the
the time (DJ Jazzy Jeff, Jam Master Jay), I began to need more than
just my tape decks in order to accomplish what I wanted to do.
Shortly after acquiring some tables and a mixer, I began rocking
local house parties and community events with the help of my brother,
the once infamous DJ King Trix. After winning a DJ competition
in 1995, I began rocking clubs and block parties when I was 16. I
earned a regular spot at the local NCO club and eventually became the
sole DJ in rotation. I released a few mixtapes over that time but
I eventually had to put DJing on the back burner in order to focus
more on my career.
It wasn't until much later, 1999 to be exact, that I started getting
back into DJing, the club scene and DJ competitions. Motivated
mainly by watching the DMC competitions and my brother (who was now
regularly rocking clubs), I re-outfitted myself with new turntables,
a mixer, and some battle needles. The competition attempt was
short lived -- I had been out of the game too long to compete on the
DMC level -- but the effect lasted: I was back to being a DJ.
And More Recently
Shortly thereafter, I relocated to San Diego and began to get
involved as a DJ there. In a short time, I found myself
spinning at various clubs, block parties, and various community
events. In 2002 I was invited to spin in LA at Eminem's after
party, hooking up with Obie Trice and members of D12.
After helping found Urban Empire in 2002, I began to get more into
the marketing side of things and worked for numerous companies such
as Def Jam Records, Columbia Pictures, and the NFL. Shortly
thereafter we decided to start street promotions for a number of
underground artists which eventually led us to start releasing The
Rise of the Empire mixtapes. During this time I also released
the first (and currently only) Unearthed mixtape. It was very
well received but official copies were rare.
The Future
Too many projects, too little time. You can expect more tapes in
both the Rise mixtape series as well as the Unearthed series. There
are a number of collaborations in the works with unsigned artists and
producers which have brought some interesting projects my way. More
national exposure and marketing is definitely on the agenda as well, both
for myself and other artists. Look for a possible Southern Cali
unsigned artist compilation surfacing soon. Trust me... I ain't
going anywhere!
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