B (1:41)

Damn. My mom was Asian too, and she. She didn't know what weed was. Yeah.

A (1:46)

She didn't know what we. Yeah, moms don't think. They don't think much.

B (1:50)

Yeah. No, I would literally have it in the house. She would be like, what's that smell? And I'd be like, I don't know.

A (1:54)

Yeah, my. It's weird too, because I'm like, grown man and I still try to hide it from my mom.

B (1:59)

Oh, she still doesn't know.

A (2:00)

Well, she knows. I mean, I obviously tour with Wiz and stuff, so she knows, but she'll catch me on, like, the Ring. Like, I'll Try to smoke weed right in front of her house. And then she'll be like, I saw you, dad, and I'm, you know, grown man. But I still feel bad.

B (2:13)

Wow. Maybe you should have a sit down with her and tell her like, no.

A (2:16)

She'S good, she's good. I mean, she knows I work at Hardeen and do the Wiz stuff, so, you know, but to her, I'm probably just her sweet little boy. Love that.

B (2:24)

How'd you get involved with Hardin?

A (2:25)

I was an ambassador at first, so they. The beginning of their, you know, journey. They were reaching out to different people. And, you know, a lot of DJs, man, that's the one thing I love about Hardin is that they really, like, support the culture.

B (2:39)

Right.

A (2:39)

And, you know, where did you hear about weed? Probably music and, you know, movies. So I feel like that for them to, you know, give back to the DJs, that's kind of where it started for me. And so, you know, I'd have a residency here with Wiz and we'd come and, you know, they invite me to the shop and etc. And then it kind of blossomed to a great relationship. And now I kind of oversee their ambassador program and, you know, help people bring in the shop. And I like to call myself like, in house artist. I don't know if they'll look at it that way. Yeah, but I like to look at myself as that, like, hey, man, you know, I'm running around. I'm still doing Wiz stuff, DJing and get my hands into certain things. But being able to bring people to the shop and, and having people who, like, we're. We're a part of the culture or are part of the culture, you got to love that. Because I think there's a lot of people in the cannabis business that are just kind of like for hire people and not necessarily people who, you know, thugged it out and, you know, almost got arrested or have gotten arrested or did time for it. So I think it's important to have those types of people in, you know, in the cannabis space. Not just like, you know, regular people who are obedient employees.

B (3:46)

Yeah, no, you definitely feel it because I've been to a few shops out here, but Hardeen always feels different. Yeah, it feels like you're there.

A (3:51)

Yeah, it's cool. It's a different approach and it's still Wild west, so anything that we do or anybody does in this business is you. We're always creating, so. And, you know, the rules are all weird still, so it's Hard to navigate. But I love how just one little shop in Las Vegas has a lot of attention around the world and people come here just to go to Hardeen. Thanks to a lot of the ambassadors and of course a lot of the, like, kind of marketing plays. But it really is lifestyle, man.

B (4:19)

Yeah, yeah, they do some interesting ads. I've seen some in some interesting places.

A (4:23)

Yeah, no, it's cool. It's all in house made. A lot of the people in it are local influencers, our influencers or employees. So just that, you know, that whole thing is cool. Not just hired looking girls like. No, these people work here, they know about the business and I love that aspect of it, is that we're using people who are actually, you know, not just front facing, but they're, you know, they're with the culture.

B (4:45)

Absolutely. So how did you get into DJing and what was that first breakthrough moment for you in that space?

A (4:49)

I mean, you know, I just like music. And growing up in Philly, by default, you're listening to some of the best DJs in the world and you don't even know it. You're just like used to it. So, you know, when I went to college, I got into college radio. I literally walked into this buddy's house and he had turntables there. And it literally was like love at first touch and kind of took that and, you know, college radio, local clubs, on the regular radio, you know, performing in Pittsburgh, it really, like a culture play, man. I was a supporter. You're gonna hear that word a lot maybe in this interview where, you know, I was a part of the thread.

B (5:23)

Yep.

A (5:24)

And then when that culture sees you thrive or sees you work, they're gonna support you. And now, you know, I feel like Pittsburgh, because that's kind of so, you know, I went to college in Pittsburgh is kind of where I started my DJ journey, is that, you know, I can always go back there and have that support. But, you know, I went up right the rankings. College parties, you know, clubs, radio, stage whiz worldwide. And, you know, now I'm here in Vegas.

B (5:52)

Wow. How long did all that take?

A (5:53)

I mean, I guess I'm like almost 25 years in DJing, Dan, which is definitely, you know, put my 10,000 hours in. And. And honestly, like, I like the idea that, you know, I moved to probably like five different cities through my journey because of radio, but I love, I'm meeting new people all the time and I have this new audience every city that I move to that are like, holy. You do a lot And I'm just like, man, I've been at this pace for a while, but I just love growing in and just growing and still doing it at 43 years old, to me is just like, it's amazing, man. You know, I've been able to do a lot with. With hip hop and. And just now in cannabis. It's great.

B (6:33)

That's so cool. How did you develop a relationship with Wiz? Because he probably had thousands of DJs coming at him, right?

A (6:38)

Yeah. So he was, like, 13. And I was friends with where he was like, after school recording, I shout out to ID Lab, shouted, my boy Edan. And Wiz was, like, coming after school with a group of kids who were freestyling and making music. And Edan was like, hey, this kid Cameron. Cameron is very talented. And they kind of just. I watched a whole team kind of grow around him. And. And of course, I was on the radio and did all that. So I made sure that I did what I could do with my platforms. And eventually, when I was ready to leave iHeartRadio, which was clear Channel at the time, you know, it was around the same time WHIZ needed a new dj, and they basically were like, hey, this fall, we're gonna go on a tour. Tour bus tour was his first tour. He just got signed to Atlantic. Nobody knows yet. We're gonna do this. He's gonna drop this song called Black and Yellow, and imagine black and yellow drops. We're on a world or, you know, us tour, and then the Steelers go to the Super Bowl. So it was just.

B (7:41)

The timing was just.

A (7:42)

Man, the timing is crazy. You couldn't plan that. You could not plan that.

B (7:45)

That was P.E. quiz, man. I remember that song.

A (7:47)

Right?

B (7:47)

God damn.

A (7:48)

Yeah. That was big.

B (7:49)

Yeah. Going on tour with him during that time frame, you see anything crazy?

A (7:52)

I mean, it was just crazy. You had, like, 15 dudes on a bus driving around the country for the first time. So, you know, we definitely saw some things I shouldn't talk about. But also, like, you know, there were different times where we would, like, you know, maybe get in fights locally with, like, you know, it was just. It was. It was like a crew from Pittsburgh just running around for the first time and. And, you know, smoking weed everywhere and. And dodging, you know, the. The police and. And then also, man, I just remember, because I'm older than Wiz, about eight years older him. But I just remember doing these shows and watching these kids, like, rap word for word, and I'm like, yo, people in Pittsburgh don't Even know, like, how big whiz is, you know, so to do that world tour or to do that first tour bus tour, you know, we. I think we sold over. I don't want to say a million tickets or something, but we sold a hell out of tickets that tour. And it was just crazy to see a song called, you know, black and yellow represent. Represent Pittsburgh, go worldwide. Like, I never thought that that would actually. When they first played it to me, I was like, this song's dope because I live here in Pittsburgh, but how will it be received? And it was a big.

B (9:07)

So bump that song if it comes on.

A (9:08)

It's a good banger.

B (9:10)

Yeah, he's got so many hits, too.

A (9:12)

Good anthem.

B (9:13)

Not a lot of artists last that long. What do you think contributed to that longevity for you guys?

A (9:17)

Culture, you know, seeing him, you know, be a proponent with weed? Because here's the thing, like, a lot of artists have to survive off hits, and whiz has hits. But there was a time where we were on tour and I'm like, why is whiz out here? Why isn't this artist? This artist? We're actually in Europe. And that's when I recognize, though, is that whiz actually representing a culture? Now? Let's bring it out. Like, any culture could get you deep. Like, if you love puppies and you're just like, no, all about puppies. Like, someone might call you and be like, yo, we need your puppy expertise. Yeah, like whiz riding with the weed culture. Like, you may not know his music, but if you go see him in the festival, you know what he's going to be about, right? Oh, this is a safe place for me to smoke weed. He's a proponent a la Bob Marley or something. So it's cool to see. Whiz is actually like, you know, he caters to, like, a wide audience, you know, not just like hip hop heads or, you know, urban. You know, like, his music is worldwide. He's pretty eclectic with it. So just seeing these people from, you know, Japan to South Korea to, you know, all over Europe to Brazil, South America, it's like, man, watching someone in Africa wearing a Pittsburgh hat. You're like, geez, this is international crazy. Yeah, yeah.

B (10:38)

And I think I agree with you. I think we definitely played a role because that is international language.

A (10:42)

Well, that's what I'm saying. It's international language. So like, we just were in Costa Rica recently, and someone in Costa Rica was like, whiz is the fourth art hip hop artist to ever perform In Costa Rica. And in my mind, I'm like, well, who are the other three artists? One of them was T. Pain, one of them was Lloyd Banks, but I was like a club show. And the third one was Cypress Hill. So, you know, Cypress Hill obviously have great songs, but they probably got there too, because the wheat culture, you know, I mean. And of course, Snoop Dogg is international language. So, yeah, I just actually had the opportunity to. To tour with Snoop. He took me to Europe with him, and just like, being with that legend and everyone kind of still being like, he's still the weed God, you know, so culture, man. I think it's super important.

B (11:29)

Yeah. Him and Snoop Dogg, man. That was the duo Mac and Devin, baby.

A (11:32)

Yeah, man.

B (11:33)

That's a classic.

A (11:33)

That was a good time. Were you in high school for all that, or.

B (11:36)

Yeah, I was literally in high school when it came out, so it's so relatable, you know?

A (11:38)

Yeah. Wearing camo shorts.

B (11:41)

Yeah.

A (11:41)

I love that.

B (11:42)

Classic. What do you think about current hip hop scene? Do you have any artists you really like right now?

A (11:46)

Current hip hop scenes. Cool. I mean, I. I do like. I do like what the Earth gang is doing. Spillage Village. I don't know if you know those guys. Jid. I kind of like. Yeah, I kind of like that whole lane and what they're doing. I've actually just getting into, like, a lot of, like, newer jazz music. I do a jazz show in unlv.

B (12:10)

Wow.

A (12:11)

Which is dope every Saturday night. And so I don't know, I kind of been on, like, this instrumental tip because I. I've been saying this, like, I don't like to be influenced right now necessarily, with words like. I know. You know, I definitely respect people's poetry and. And how they express themselves, but, like, I also don't want to be influenced right now. I'm kind of like, in my deprogramming stage. So I kind of like, list. Don't listen to a lot of words with music right now because it's helpful.

B (12:35)

Literally saying, dude, I've been trying to deprogram the past few years, ever since I found out I was programmed. Right. Right.

A (12:40)

And yo, that. And that's like. I'm gonna tell you, my road to that was really interesting. If we could talk about that. So I was wondering, know, I felt like a lot of times, even in doing this for so long, like, I feel like I have imposter syndrome, or, like, I'll step on stage or I'm about to dj and I'm just like, you know, and And I. And I would kind of like hate on myself a little bit, like, what am I? Am I good enough to be here? Blah, blah, and even doing it for so long. But someone said to me once, they were like, well, it's natural to feel that way about yourself, to doubt yourself. And so I thought about that and I went and I went back to the. To when I was born in my brain and I came out the womb and I said, well, what's natural there about hating myself, right? I thought about that specifically. Like, I came out the womb, and for what reason would I doubt myself? There's nothing that tells me that that's a natural thing. And then what I realized is like, oh, no shit. We were programmed this whole time. You know, I'm too chubby, my teeth aren't straight, my skin is this. I'm too short, I don't belong. And then, you know, even being a person of color and growing up, you know, like, I realized that that's not normal. And we literally were programmed to doubt ourselves, to not think we're good enough to compare ourselves constantly. So I just feel like that, that deprogramming is happening now and giving myself like, a hell of grace to be like, well, maybe what I think success is isn't my version, you know, so now it's about me actually focusing a lot on that and also deciding what the definitions of words mean to me, I think is really important, because if we take on other people's definition of words, then we may not really see the magic. So, for example, if someone's like, that's hard. Well, like, we want to avoid things that are hard, right? So when we. So sometimes I'll change that into, well, what's necessary, you know, And I think that sort of owning the words is so important to reprogramming because when, you know, we wake up every day and. And people see, they. They see two things on their social media. One, perfection. And they see, if you're not perfect, we're going to ridicule you, right? And that is a very hard space to be in. So that's what I recognize is, like, we're still contributing to that. And, and we're. And we're volunteering ourselves for that validity, which is we shouldn't.

B (15:08)

We should not.

A (15:08)

We should not at all.

B (15:09)

It's tough, though, because negative headlines get way more views. So I see it from the media's point of view, right, because they're trying to get eyeballs, right? And if they have a positive headline, it won't get as many views.

A (15:18)

But the. The important thing, I think, is that you see it in that filter, though. Like, hey, look, they're just trying to sell this.

B (15:25)

Yeah.

A (15:25)

Not instead of actually taking on that emotion and be like, them. They shouldn't, like, all right, yo, chill out. You know what they're doing? They're trying to get hits. So I think it's about, like, walking around with that filter and just seeing, like, if you're dealing with someone and they, you know, don't respond in a certain way. Like, a lot of times just like, well, he's just programmed to think that way, so I can't be mad at him because he's like, you know, he's. You know, maybe hasn't realized that he's been programmed.

B (15:54)

Yeah. I actually don't watch videos on drama anymore. Like, I used to watch Drama Alert. I used to watch Jamari. I think whatever his YouTube is. Talk about rappers. But, yeah, I don't watch any of that anymore.

A (16:03)

I don't watch a lot of it, which is kind of weird, because I feel like I should be, like, a historian and. But I don't watch a lot of right now. I don't watch a lot of. I was just telling someone I don't really watch a lot of tv. I don't. I listen to, like, only a few certain podcasts because I'm really right now just testing the whole, like, waters for myself of, like, well, how deep am I programmed in certain things or not?

B (16:25)

You know, facts, dude. Because I used to watch the news. I used to read every day. Yeah.

A (16:29)

Npr, all this.

B (16:30)

Yeah.

A (16:31)

And I used to think I was listening to good guys and bad guys and whatever, but, you know, I think Covid, definitely that era, you got to watch people, like, become zombies for whatever side that they were. And I'm glad they were passionate about it. But, like, someone said to me something one time, they're like, if you feel the need to be right, be kind. And I think that kind of is very important, especially today, where everything's polarized.

B (16:56)

I love that. This is very interesting to me. So is this why you took ayahuasca recently?

A (17:00)

Well, so that was a couple years ago, and Ayahuasca, first of all, I just want to put this out there. Like, I know that a lot of people feel funny about talking about that. Yeah. And not. Not for it to, like, necessarily come off as, like, I don't know, like, an escapism or just, like. I don't know what the right word I'm looking for, but it Wasn't for.

B (17:24)

Sport, you know, you had intention.

A (17:27)

Yeah, I had intention. And it was just literally to what is it about? And so when I agreed to it, I didn't think about it. I literally was like, yes. Because I do feel like that it comes in your life at a time. Like I don't if you're invited. So I just said yes. And it was like six months before and I ended up going. And I'll just say that it prepared me for the next few months, which was like some of the darkest times of my life.

B (17:57)

Wow.

A (17:59)

To go through something which I don't want to be that specific about. But I think it helped me kind of purge because it's what it is. Like a purger.

B (18:07)

Yeah.

A (18:07)

Kind of helped me. It took things out of my life that shouldn't have been there. And those things, you know, I'm not going to say those things are good or bad. It just was like, yo, let's, let's. We got to purge this out. And I'll tell you, man, it was a wonderful experience. Not only the actual sort of ceremony, but the people that were there. You know, I. I went with one friend and then there was 22 other people probably from all over the country. And yo, though, these are the people seeking. You know, everyone was there for a different reason. But to be around those types of people who basically are like non judgmental of like wow. While you are here because like when you're doing the ceremony, like people are crying or screaming.

B (18:54)

You didn't know any of these people.

A (18:55)

I only want one of them got. And you know, by the end of the week, was a week I did three sittings and man, it's amazing. I cannot wait to go back. But I also, I have to go in with like a different mind frame and. And it was beautiful, man. I mean it really like, it really just helped me with a lot of different perspectives. And I was waiting for the whole like scary moment.

B (19:22)

Yeah, yeah.

A (19:23)

And it didn't really happen. But it also made me think that like I was doing the right work to get to that place. And whatever I expected is that's the problem is that you have expectations. So it really was, you know, one day we'll get specific about it, but it was, it was just a beautiful, freeing and you felt super connected and it really made a lot of sense and it really prepared me for those next few months because I don't know if I didn't, I may have not survived that situation the way I did. If I didn't go through like, it was like an ego death, basically.

B (20:01)

Yeah. You know, that is crazy.

A (20:02)

And then, you know, Covid was so weird. We didn't know if the industry was coming back. Blah. No work pinching pennies. So it was. It was a great thing. But it brought me to Vegas, man. Like, the whole circumstance kind of when you zoom out, it brought me to Vegas and, you know, still working with plant medicine out here. So.

B (20:21)

Yeah, it's crushing out here now. I'm hearing of ketamine therapy out here. Yeah, yeah, my friend just tried that. I'm very curious. I don't know if you've dabbled with that.

A (20:28)

Yeah, no, I saw. I'm a little weary of it because I've had some hard stuff in the past, and I know that, and I could be wrong. So whoever corrects me, cool. I think ketamine kind of slows that down. So I'm not there yet. You know, I definitely want to do more. Do more ceremonies. I want to try, like, toad.

B (20:45)

Oh, I've seen that. I've had a few guests do that.

A (20:48)

Yeah. So I think, you know, when I get. It'll get trippy again. I can't wait for that.

B (20:52)

I'm not a fan of how they burn it on your skin, though.

A (20:55)

Yeah, I see. It's one of those things again where I don't even want to, like, look at it and dwell on it. Like, I'm just going to be like, yes. And then. So who knows? That is kind of scary, though.

B (21:05)

It's cool to see you open up to psychedelics, man, because I feel like it was kind of a negative taboo maybe 10, 20 years ago.

A (21:11)

I mean, look, I feel like we live in upside down world, right? Anything that they tell us that's bad for us I actually think is probably good for us. And, you know, things that they say that's good for us is probably bad for us. So. Yeah, you know, I know that mushrooms is like a hot button right now in a great way, man, but it's just like, dude plus one. Like this comes from the earth, so it just feels like. It feels like the right thing.

B (21:35)

Yeah, no, I agree. I mean, look at the food pyramid they taught us as a kid and how much of a joke that is.

A (21:40)

Everything and. And. And just all. All of it, you know, it's. It's weird, though, because I also do think that there is, like, media out there that's basically trying to have you. I like, re. You know, rewire everything. But listen, man, our grandparents lasted a whole long time drinking milk and doing all these things that they said was bad for us. And I'm not saying they are good for us, but I just think the answer is somewhere in the middle.

B (22:04)

Yeah.

A (22:04)

You know what I mean?

B (22:04)

Yeah. You got to look at who's funding the new source and then from there, that's all you need to know.

A (22:09)

It's crazy. We can go. We can go down that.

B (22:12)

We can go down those, but we'll probably get banned if we talk about it.

A (22:15)

Yeah, no, it's scary. I mean, it's. I was just thinking about this today. Like, what's good actually good for you? You know, water is scary. I. I appreciate glass bottles, of course. I just kind of. I. I purchased a condo recently and was having this guy look at plumbing and he basically was like, we're going to replace all this copper, you know, and give you plastic. And you know, I. For some reason I had this. I had this like content coming up where basically like, you know, copper is actually good. Like I have a copper pot. It charges your water. And the reason why that they probably use copper in. I'm not expert in this. So, you know, I'm just going by what I hear and see is that it actually charges your water for good. So like, I didn't want to get rid of any of the copper in my.

B (23:03)

Not for plastic. I just found out last night that toilet paper has carcinogens in it. So now I just had to buy bamboo toilet paper.

A (23:11)

What's that?

B (23:11)

Like, I just bought it this morning.

A (23:13)

Where?

B (23:13)

It's on Amazon. Costco has it too.

A (23:16)

Really?

B (23:17)

Yeah. Bamboo toilet paper. So the one you're probably using now. I'll send you the video. But yeah. Might cause some health issues because it's going in your bloodstream when you wipe your ass.

A (23:25)

Right.

B (23:25)

You know what I mean, man?

A (23:27)

Plastics.

B (23:28)

Plastics, dude.

A (23:29)

Scary.

B (23:29)

Even like your toothpaste, bro.

A (23:31)

Right?

B (23:31)

The fluoride.

A (23:32)

All of it.

B (23:32)

Literally everything you used and used on a daily basis your whole life.

A (23:35)

Yeah. So I use non fluoride toothpaste as well.

B (23:38)

Shampoo and conditioner.

A (23:39)

I don't actually use shampoo and conditioner.

B (23:41)

Oh really?

A (23:41)

I just use soap to wash my hair.

B (23:43)

Is it natural soap though?

A (23:44)

It's dove, so it probably is not. I know.

B (23:47)

Even that has so literally everything, bro.

A (23:50)

I know. I gotta. I gotta do that.

B (23:52)

And there's levels to it. So now there's people that aren't even showering because the tap water.

A (23:56)

Right. I used to use the Dr. Bronner's for a while. I don't know what's on that Dr. Bronzer. It's a very popular hippie soap, I guess.

B (24:02)

Okay.

A (24:03)

But it's like super natural. It's. You should check that out, Dr. Barnes.

B (24:08)

Yeah, it's pretty good target. The food is the main concern. I know, like, you gotta spend a lot of money to eat healthy these days.

A (24:15)

It. I. So I don't eat chicken, pork and beef right now.

B (24:19)

Wow.

A (24:19)

It's been like four or five years.

B (24:21)

So you're a vegetarian.

A (24:21)

I'm not saying I have a perfect diet. I eat fish and all that.

B (24:24)

Okay.

A (24:24)

But I do feel like that, that sort of break from it has helped me, you know, slim down a little bit. And then, you know, I feel like I don't knock on woods or wood in here. I don't get colds and stuff as much, you know, And I don't know if that's the weed or this or that, but I don't. I feel like my family, like I smoke weed and. And I'm out constantly. Like this lack of sleep. But I feel like some of my family members, they get colds all the time. They're always sick.

B (24:51)

I used to get colds monthly, bro. And I. It might be because I was eating shitty quality meat. Honestly.

A (24:55)

Yeah. What's your diet like?

B (24:56)

So I'm very conscious about me. I do eat meat, but it has to be really high quality because if the animals killed in an inhumane way, the stress can leech onto me and that can affect you spiritually. So I don't eat cheap. Cheap meat. Organic. There's grades. I forget the highest grade. What it's called prime, I think.

A (25:13)

Right.

B (25:13)

I'll only eat that.

A (25:14)

Yeah. I'm thinking about going back into the meat game because I feel like I'm missing like, man, I want to eat some good Filipino food that I've been missing out. But I don't know. I appreciate that. I appreciate anyone that actually can have that discipline.

B (25:28)

Yeah. I mean, it's interesting. A lot of spiritual people don't eat meat. And I just don't know if I'm there yet.

A (25:34)

Right.

B (25:34)

But it's interesting to me.

A (25:36)

Right. I just don't know if I'm missing out on like proteins and this and that. But there's a lot. Someone actually said to me before, they're like, like cows, like big ass animals. They're not eating meat at all.

B (25:47)

They're eating.

A (25:49)

No, they're eating grass.

B (25:51)

Yeah. So the grass isn't what it used to be.

A (25:53)

Yeah, that's true too.

B (25:53)

The soil. I just had a doctor on our topsoil will be gone in 20 years. So we're pretty much save the soil. I know, right? We have a soil epidemic right now, man.

A (26:03)

Every. Everything's bad for you, but, you know, I just feel like that everything will. Yin and yang itself. You know what I'm saying? Like, we just have to adjust. And again, there's people who've been living kind of program lives that are healthy and successful.

B (26:20)

That's true. Yeah. I try not to focus on it too much because you could just live that way and be fearful of every single thing. But that's not a fun way to live.

A (26:27)

Right? Exactly. Here's the thing that I like. Here's a good piece of advice. I like to say, if you're gonna eat the donut, don't cry about it, you know? You know why? Because, look, if the donut's bad for you, okay, it might be bad for you, but if you're gonna cry about it, then you're doubling down on the bad experience.

B (26:44)

True.

A (26:44)

You know, so enjoy the donut.

B (26:47)

Don't talk about it. Yeah, because some people complain about, oh, why'd I eat that?

A (26:50)

Exactly. Enjoy. Because I actually do think that the energy that you're carrying is just as important. Right. So pray over your food.

B (26:59)

I'm all about energy. Speaking of energies, what was your favorite city to perform at where the energy just felt really good?

A (27:06)

I mean, it's always cool to go back to Pittsburgh because that's where we were in the trenches. So just to be on the big stage every summer at the Pavilion and seeing the love that we get is amazing because I saw where we were all in the trenches together before, like, where people didn't think we would do it, or, you know, people didn't believe in us, or we were performing for, you know, two people. But now, you know, taking that big stage and going back to Pittsburgh and. And that was such a great era, like Whiz Mac Miller, like, you know what I mean? Like, Pittsburgh had a. Had a moment, and it's still continuing to grow and prosper, so.

B (27:44)

Nice. Who are your favorite DJs artists growing up?

A (27:49)

I mean, Jazzy Jeff, of course. Fresh Prince. Jazzy Jeff. Seeing him on the show. A lot of the Philly DJs seen touch tone on Power 99, and, man, there's a whole countless amount of. Kid Swift was very important for me. And then, you know, when I actually, like, that's what kind of planted the seeds in Philly. But in Pittsburgh, there was a, you know, the cult. I like to say, like, when you're in a small city, you like, try to compensate that you're from a small city. So it's like the knowledge. You try to like be over compensate, like, because you think when you're gonna, you know, go against people in bigger cities, like, of course they have more resources.

B (28:29)

Yeah.

A (28:29)

And I think we do it to. We overcompensate it so that when we actually like got to those different cities and DJ'd, I'm like, oh, I'm actually. I can compete against these cats. Cuz, you know, when you're, when you start from like a small city, you want to try to swing a big sword. Right. So there's been a lot of Paul Dang, this guy Ishka Bibble, DJ Selecta. There's so many. And the genres out there, like, you know, from between drum and bass and reggae, it was so plentiful. So Pittsburgh's a great, A great. Was a great place.

B (29:05)

I've never been there. I got to get out there.

A (29:06)

Yeah, no, it's cool, man. I mean, city of bridges. It's beautiful. The Andy Warhol museum is there.

B (29:13)

Oh, nice artist.

A (29:14)

You know, so definitely worth checking out and, you know, good food.

B (29:19)

And the Steelers are out there.

A (29:20)

And the Steelers. That's right.

B (29:22)

If you weren't DJing, what. What would you be doing? Do you think this is your true passion?

A (29:27)

I. Well, you know, it. I was trying to say this is like, okay, the DJ part is what it is. It's a. It's a part of me. But I think the bigger thing that. And I don't like to necessarily like, say this because I don't want it to sound like braggadocious. Like, I just like helping people. So whatever, whatever. Again, if I was a master of puppies, like, I'd probably be helping people with that. And. And so it's just helping people to meet. Music is my vehicle to help. To help people, man, and help recognize their greatness and, you know, the program. Yeah, right. So, like, I really, I've had like a. A message for a long time about love and really trying to spread that and use love is like a big message. But I've been kind of filtering and not kind of spewing that too much because I, I need to be the example. I think when you realize that we need to be example, I could tell a bunch of how to live their life. But if I'm still doing not, you know, if I'm still doing that I shouldn't be doing, then who am I to like Be telling people how to live their lives. So I'm just trying to be the example at this point.

B (30:35)

I love that. And most people I would say that you meet are pretty selfish. So how did you change that mindset to want to help people out? Were you always like, oh, I think.

A (30:42)

I was always like that, man. I'm definitely in my mom's son. You know, she's, every year we send stuff to the Philippines, and she's always giving if, you know, if you worked with my mom, she's just like everyone's mom. And so I just think that's, that's a part of me. So something I did, like, I'll give you an example. When I was living in Minneapolis, I did this thing called 10,000 hoodies for the 10,000 lakes. And my mind frame was. And I like to, I like to speak the message from where people can understand it. In a way then that's, that's just different than, hey, why don't you donate? Like, to me, that's like, not, that's fake. It's fake. And like, yo, you got all these, like, celebrities who are rich as trying to ask you for money. Like, didn't make sense. So the way I, I, I launched it through the radio station I was there with, and basically I said, as hip hop kids, as music lovers, the culture's all about stuff, right? Like, you go to how many hoodies have you bought at a concert or whatever, right? And I'm just like, we bombard the messages to our, to our next generation, to kids that, like, if you don't have the illest sneaks, if you don't have this. And to me, there's got to be, like, a responsible part of it that's like, reuse, recycle. Like, how many hoodies are you sitting on that you don't wear a lot? And guess what? In Minnesota, it's cold as, right? So, like, as a culture, look cool. If you work hard and you want to buy stuff, by all means, celebrate. But as a culture, how are we showing the next generation that we got to be able to, like, reuse, recycle, be economic about how we spend in the hip hop culture? Because it's like, if you're going broke, buying the coolest shoes. And so, like, let's give that, let's push that. Because, you know, there's. What I realized going through that was that there was a lot of homeless. There's a lot of kids that go to school and they're homeless, you know, and so I reached out To a whole bunch of people like, listen, send me your hoodies. I was getting hoodies from around the world. But imagine just a kid and you know, maybe we're teaching them a little bit of commercialism at that. But imagine a kid who is homeless and you got him like a just a dope Nike hoodie that someone wasn't wearing. And that kid might just feel a little bit more confident at school. And. And so that's why I just think it's important to reuse, recycle and to reprogram ourselves not to thinking that we need all this shit. Like on my birthday this year, I promised myself that for the rest of the rest of the year. And you know, it's kind of bleeding into this year that I wasn't going to buy any clothes.

B (33:18)

Wow.

A (33:18)

At all. Shoes or clothes. Now, you know, when I went to the Philippines, like I was like, listen, like, let's not be too extreme here. You know, I want to grab this or grab a piece of merch or something like that. But that just really helped me unlock that habit and that programming of I need this, I need this. And then what I realized was it was actually making me value what I had already, you know what I mean? So going back to Minnesota, I was able to collect. I didn't hit 10,000. I had like 7,000.

B (33:44)

So insane.

A (33:45)

Which is a lot. And I had to deal with it, you know, package it and you know, I donated it to a bunch of like, you know, shelters and salvation armies and, and distributed all these hoodies and there was some fly ass shit that people were sending and I was like, can you imagine? All of this is just sitting in people's closets. So I'm trying to find out what that version is here in Vegas. And you know, I'm looking to do something for the community here, but I'm gonna figure that out. I want that to come naturally and not force it or just be like, hey guys, donate for this. Like, I want it to be meaningful and I want it to help someone who needs to get rid of like, you know.

B (34:17)

Yeah, I'd love to help with that, man. I got probably 50 clothing items that I don't even wear.

A (34:21)

So. And that's what I'm saying is that I think that we can be cool and have the cool clothes and flashy or whatever, but we also can be conscious about what we're doing with our extra. And I think that's important in hip hop. How many times you hear a. In hip hop saying like recycle and reuse. And, you know, I think it's important.

B (34:38)

Yeah, they buy the thousand dollar J and you use it. Once I heard.

A (34:40)

That's what I'm saying. And you know, I. I love that. Like, I'm again, but, man, support local and just be a crew, you know, be creative of how we do that. Not just. Don't just be a consumer, you know, be conscious consumer.

B (34:53)

Absolutely. Where can people find you and what you're up to, man?

A (34:56)

So at djbonics, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Twitch, they can find me at Hardeen during the week or, you know, on stage with Whiz or at different clubs here in Vegas. Been moving around a lot, so please reach out to me. Would love to connect with you. And yo, thank you for, you know, having this platform and having me on it. And congrats to your success, man, and seeing all the people that you have on here, the numbers and, you know, you know, just being a cool dude, man.

B (35:23)

Thanks, man. Means a lot. I think this episode was great. I think people can take a lot out of this one.

A (35:26)

Yeah. Thank my Asian bro. Half Asian bro over here.

B (35:29)

Man's got to stick together.

A (35:30)

Appreciate you. Big shout out to Hardeen real quick. Thanks for rocking it.

B (35:33)

Yeah, Dispenser in Vegas. Got some CBD products for tonight. See you guys next time.

A (35:38)

Let's go.