User:DJJAMAL

I am musician at heart (I have played the guitar since the age of 9) and have loved to spin since 1983 listening to the greats (Kool DJ Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Marley Marl/Mr. Magic, Livio G) as a kid. I've been spinning since 1985 and I'm now a digital DJ with roots back to the old school ways and means. I got “Rockin’ It” by the Fearless Four, “Rappers Delight” by the Sugarhill Gang, and “Christmas Rappin’” by Kurtis Blow for Christmas one year. Needless to say, I was hooked. I would scrath those records on my parent’s old Pioneer hi-fi (it had a turntable, radio tuner and pop-up tape deck all in one), as I initated what I heard Red, Chuck and Marley do. As I got older I started doing as much research as I possibly could to learn as much as possible about the art of DJing. I attended college (Howard University) in 1989 and began spinning pro in 1990 for Dominique Moxey (of Flirt Wednesdays fame) at the Gas Chamber (a then de-commissioned church) and the Basement (the basement of a local lodge hall) and alongside promoter extraordinaire Ron DeBerry at the now famous College Night at the Ritz Nightclub, all in the nation’s capital region of Washington DC. All that paved the way for me to work as a college rep for Def Jam records in the early 90s, first in DC and then in NY. Through my endeavors, I have tried to learn as much as possible about the heroes and pioneers alike that have lit and carried the torch for the DJ.