The entertainment business is filled with trends. Some, like the advent of social media and the proliferation of free digital content are relevant. While others, like silly iPhone apps for every curiosity are irrelevant. And one is just annoying as hell….everyone is a DJ. I am sure readers out there can relate to what I am saying. Search among your friends and I am sure you can pick out one or two of them that are now “spinning” some where. DJing is the new guest bartending…everyone feels they can do it. But sadly, just the opposite is true. Not everyone can be a great DJ and simply owning a laptop and Serrato does not make you Jazzy Jeff or Kid Capri. At least, when your friend guest bartends they have the ability with enough drinks to get you fucked up. No such luck with the suck ass amateur DJ they just ruin your night and kill your buzz with their poor song selection and shady mixing. So keeping this in mind, it’s our privilege to highlight a REAL DJ in every sense of the word. Hailing from LA, DJ Vice not only grew up in the music scene he flourished in it using his love of hip hop and DJing to create a life where he is doing exactly what he wants to do. For DJ Vice this isn’t a hobby, this isn’t work…it’s a labor of love and we wanted to find out more about his background, his current projects and what’s next…

FREE Mag: Let’s start at the beginning. What got you interested in becoming a DJ?

DJ Vice: That’s pretty easy to remember. I was 13 years old and I remember going to a wedding. It was a very international environment and what really grabbed me was watching how the DJ controlled the entire room by the music he was playing. It was the mood that he set even if I didn’t know all the music. For a kid like me I had never seen anything like that. It was like seeing someone like a Jordan for the first time and knowing that was something you wanted to do yourself. I was hooked and I knew I had found what I wanted to do and the world I wanted to be around.

FREE Mag: With that in mind, what happened next to move things forward?

DJ Vice:  Well I was still very young. I knew what I wanted but the next steps were a little unclear..at least until I met DJ Splice who was another local DJ but older and obviously already in the game. I was willing to do anything…carry crates, whatever just to be around and soak it all up. He got me my first turntables and mixers and I was off at that moment.

FREE Mag: Did you start getting gigs right away?

DJ Vice: I wouldn’t say right away. What was important was actually learning the skills of DJing. I had to learn to scratch, to mix, I had to get records. I would spend all my money on getting vinyl and building up my music. I loved it…hip hop was my music and it opened my world. I would listen to KDAY which was the first mix show out here in LA all the time…like I said it opened my world to what was out there musically…

FREE Mag: How so? Explain that a little…

DJ Vice: I was a kid growing up in LA. That experience is all that I knew. By listening to hip hop from the east coast…Special Ed, Doug E. Fresh, etc I was better able to understand the experiences of people who lived in a whole other part of the country than I did. Of course, I loved all the west coast stuff as well…N.W.A, Ice Cube, but there wasn’t the regional kind of stuff that came into hip hop later. Back then it was all about the music and experiencing that kind of stuff. I remember playing songs over and over just so I can get the lyrics and really understand the meaning of it. A track like “Self Destruction” is a perfect example. I learned a lifestyle through those songs…

FREE Mag: So you’re honing your skills at this point?

DJ Vice: Of course, this was everything to me. So I am out spinning all the time…mostly high school parties, weddings, I would so any gig really. I figured that was the best way to build my reputation and to just get better. Because I never wanted to do anything else I didn’t have other options in my eyes…of course I did the school thing but I never thought I would end up down that road. I worked hard at DJing and that led to me working with the Baka Boyz and eventually getting a radio gig.

FREE Mag: How is radio different?

DJ Vice: Being on the radio for me was great because now I am known a lot more. I have my slot and I can do my thing. In those days, it wasn’t like now where the songs that are played are more narrow. Back then you can bring your own style to things from a music perspective. Of course, there are always politics and things like that but it wasn’t the same machine as it is now. I couldn’t be confined to the radio thing in today’s format. What to play. When to play it. How many spins. That’s not me. I started off with this being what I love to do and when it becomes just a business I know that’s when it’s time for me to do something else. But radio was a huge opportunity for me. It allowed me to build my own brand and meet so many people in the industry. It got to the point where you’re going into the studio with rappers..watching them work on their records and they’re asking what you think. They know you have your ear to the street and might have something to contribute..that’s an indescribable feeling from where I was coming from…

FREE Mag: How would you describe your connection to DJing?

DJ Vice: To me DJing is an art form. It’s like you’re painting a picture and the music is all the colors. I have to not only play key records or popular songs I have to play them at the right time. I need to pull together classics and mix them with hits. With the internet, Itunes, downloads all DJ’s have access to the same music. You have to find something that is going to make you different. Nowadays, especially in the big clubs a lot of guests don’t know the history of the music. I think that’s where I can do something different…

FREE Mag: What is some advice you would give for those looking to pursue an opportunity as a DJ?

DJ Vice: I would tell anyone that wants to get into this game that there are some basic things you should do if you’re serious. Get a really strong management team. I’ve been blessed with a really strong manager since I got into DJing. You have to trademark your name..that is critical. Beyond that really take some time to know your craft and get your skills sharp. So many people think they can just jump into this and it’s not that easy at all. You don’t get a lot of chances to impress people and if you get in front of someone and your skills are lacking you probably won’t get another shot at it. It takes time and you have to respect it. You have to know the crowd; you have to know your locations. You can’t do the same thing all the time for every room you’re playing. What I might play at Greenhouse in NYC could be very different from what I play in Vegas at Tao. It’s that attention to it that will make you successful if you want it…

FREE Mag: Give us a clue of some tracks that you’re spinning right now and what are you looking at in the future?

DJ Vice: okay, that’s tough because there is so much music out there. Right now I am feeling David Guetta “Toyfriend”, Javi Mula “Come On” and two tracks by La Roux “Bullet Proof” & “In for the Kill”. That’s what’s really exciting to me is finding new music and playing it for people and seeing how they respond to it and feeding off their energy. For the rest of the year I am booked…playing clubs and parties so a lot of traveling…it’s really busy but it’s great. Like I always tell people this is not a job it’s what I love to do. As long as that remains the case I’ll always do it and see where it takes me.

For more on DJ Vice please visit www.djvice.com