Hometown: Kansas City. I grew up all around KC as a kid. I spent a little of my childhood in Gladstone, then in 1st grade we moved to Northeast Kansas City and I went to Trailwoods Elementary for a few years. Then my mom moved us over to Antioch where I went to Eastgate Middle School. Then after my mom met my step-dad, we moved to Parkville where I graduated from Parkhill South High School.
Favorite Artist/Performers: Awwww man, I STAN over the one and only Yeezus, Kanye West. He helped me believe in myself and my dreams, I saw him & Jay-Z on the Watch The Throne tour in 2012 and it changed my life! Hands down the best concert I’ve ever been too! Other artists that I look up to are Kid Cudi, he helped me be comfortable being me. I’ve been a Travis Scott since day 1! It’s dope to see how far he comes, I remember when he only had 4 songs on Youtube, he motivates me to keep working hard because a lot can change in 5 years if you grind. J. Cole & Kendrick are both dope and both inspire me to be a better person along with Big K.R.I.T. who is mad underrated! Vince Staples is dope too! I like his view and take on the world because we share similar beliefs and we’re both the same age. M-A-$-E of course because of his laid-back suave, he’s was too cool. But I love old school R&B too, 90’s R&B. I’m a HUGE fan of Jodeci & Aaliyah, I developed my whole style from Jodeci, wasn’t nobody cooler than the Bad Boys of R&B!
Favorite Album/CD: Maaaan, honestly it depends on the day because it changes often. It can be any Kanye album between Late Registration & My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, depends on how I’m feeling. All of Kanye’s albums have a certain mood too them based on how he was feeling at that time and it depends on what mood I’m in during that time. Other albums I love that changed my life are Kid Cudi’s “Man On The Moon 1”, A$AP Rocky’s “Live.Love.A$AP”, Mase’s “Harlem World” I know that whole album damn near word for word! 2Pac’s “All Eyez On Me” is a west-coast classic. Those are my 5 favorite albums in no order. I like to think someone’s favorite albums can tell you a lot about their character.
Favorite hobbies: Working out, it’s important to keep yourself physically healthy because a healthy body equals a healthy mind. Working on the radio, it may be my job, but it’s also a hobby because I love doing it. Listening to music is a crucial hobby for me, without music I’d be lost.
Favorite Sports Teams: I gotta support the home-teams, the Kansas City Chiefs & our boys in blue the Royals! When it comes to basketball, I’m a little more miserable as a fan because I’m a New York Knicks fan and they always seem to catch an L without even trying! But as a Knick fan, it’s our job to have a false hope every season, maybe one of these days it’ll pay off, but until then, Imma stay miserable.
Favorite Quote: “In the mirror is where I see my only enemy”. In life, I believe you can as far as you wanna go, the only thing that stops you is you. That’s why it’s important to have a strong sense of belief and confidence in yourself because there’s always going to be obstacles and people that are going to try to steer you away from your dreams and tell you, you can’t achieve them, but if you believe in yourself and your dreams, only you can stop you.
Favorite food: Macaroni & Cheese ALL DAY!!! I’d be content with eating it the rest of my life if it came down to it, although my cholesterol may not appreciate it after a while.
Favorite Things About KC: The people and the laid-back culture we have here. We may not be the biggest or fanciest city in the U.S. but we hold it down for being a city in the mid-west. Downtown KC is beautiful and there’s always new places to discover if you go walk around, plus I love the art culture that’s on display around the city. Now that the Royals helped shine some light on our city, I think we’re gonna be a big city in the next few years.
Favorite Movies: I love Goodfellas & Casino, Joe Pesci is the man in those roles! Space Jam always holds a special place in my heart, it’s a classic! Catch Me If You Can is a favorite too because of the greatness that is Leonardo DiCaprio.
Favorite TV Shows: I LOVE Martin! Looking back, he may be the reason I got into radio and I developed a lot of characteristic traits from him. The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air is still dope to this day! Hands down though, The Wire is my favorite show of all-time, all around amazing show! I don’t think it’ll ever be topped and it amazes me it’s only getting more popular as the years go on, but there’s still a good amount of people who haven’t seen it. They need to stop playing and treat themselves!
How Did You Choose Your DJ Name: It was pretty easy, it’s my real name! Like I mentioned earlier, I really love The Wire and there’s a quote from the show that sums up why I went with my real name, the quote is, “My Name Is My Name”. It’s who I am and all I know how to do is be myself. I want listeners to know that when they hear me on the radio, that’s who I really am all the time. It’s not a personality or an alternate character I’m putting up, that’s really me! I want listeners to feel like they know me personally when they hear me.
How Did You Get Into Radio?: The decision came during the summer after my freshmen year of college. I went to college originally an accounting major, but I wasn’t really sure I’d be happy being an accountant the rest of my life. I love watching artist interviews on Sway on the Morning, Breakfast Club, Hot 97 (occasionally, they’ve become questionable the last few years), Zane Lowe, etc. I love hip-hop and I always thought it was dope to see Sway sit down with an artist and pick their brain and get inside their head to see how they make the art that they do or why they think the way they do. Not only that, but artist love going to see Sway, it’s the mutual respect they have for him because of how he’s built himself and his career up over the years to make himself a respectable name in hip-hop’s circle. I saw that and said to myself, I can achieve that same status. So my sophomore year of college I changed my major to radio and the rest is history. My career goal is to strive and achieve the kind of respect Sway has in his career.