Turntablist with a wide range of skills DJ Spinz explains how he honed his craft on the 1s and 2s and went on to make hits with some of hip-biggest hop’s names.
Tell us about yourself, your background, and how you got started in the game.
[I am] Augusta, Georgia-born DJ Spinz [and] Since 2007, I’ve lived in Atlanta. In Augusta, my uncle and grandmother owned a nightclub, and I was practically born into it. As a result, I was constantly exposed to the club scene, music, and people having a good time. That ignited my interest in becoming a DJ, and I pursued it at a young age and persevered. After that, I didn’t even look back.
How did you make contact with people and publicize yourself?
My mother wanted me to go to college, so I moved as soon as I graduated from high school. In the fall of 2007, I was accepted into the Art Institute of Atlanta. Mixtapes were common at the time, so I released one in the middle of January. I met people solely through online networking, and one of those people was DJ Scream. To this day, I am grateful for him. He was my introduction to the stock market, and he put me in some fantastic positions.
What are some of the artists with whom you’ve collaborated, and how did you get into production?
I’ve toured with Flosstradamus and Virgil [Abloh] on EDM tours. I was on tour with Cyhi the Prynce and, most recently, with Future on an international tour. I wanted to broaden my horizons and learn something new, so I began messing around with beats, and it was a natural progression. Soulja Boy,… Waka [Flocka]], Rich Kids, and Travis Porter were among the artists who became stars as a result of their attendance at the club. With Gorilla Zoe, [DJ Scream] drove me to the studio. That was the first person to really just do a song on my beat, like a full song. Then after that, he took me to Tity Boi [2 Chainz]. Me and Travis Porter, being the same age, we locked in. We recorded some songs. They turned out to be “Go Shorty Go” and “Get Naked.”
