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 One
thing that stands out about
Don Juan is his grind. his
work ethic is impeccable.
people in the DMV area know
this about him. its one of
the main reasons why they
support the Don Juan
movement. His on stage
presence, overall persona,
talent and song writing
ability give validity to the
hype. Don Juan is the
definition of credibility.
DCMM: Can you tell me bout
some of your influences?
Before you were Don Juan the
entertainer you were of the
fan of the music so can you
tell me who you listened to?
DJ: As a child I always
wanted to be like my uncle.
My uncle was a rapper by the
name of Wild Child. It was
sort of like a family thing,
like they said in American
Gangster if the dude would
have been a football player
I would have been a football
player. Everything he wanted
to do I wanted to do. I was
not a big rapping fan, I was
an “uncle family fan”.
DCMM: Can you tell me a
little more about your
family? You come from a big
family right?
DJ: I have no brothers, I
have no sisters my mother
and father are my
supporters. My mother is my
heartbeat and my father is
the blood that goes to the
heart. Family is first.
Family is the reason that I
choose not to curse in my
songs. My mother is the
reason that I treat women
the way that I treat them. I
treat them with respect I
treat them the way I would
want a man to treat my
mother. I talk about
positivity in my songs
because in my household is
not negative. When I am at
home it is always happy it
is always fun I do not see
negativity. My parents are
still together which is rare
in today’s society. I am a
family oriented guy Ray.
DCMM: Tell me about how you
got into the DMV music
scene?
DJ: It was a struggle and
battle I was at Suitland
High School in 1999. I was a
freshman and I was a
battling everybody and this
is a secret; little did they
know I was rapping my
uncle’s raps.
BOTH (Laughs)
DJ: I am thankful to God
that I had my uncle and that
I was able to develop my own
skills. I was known as the
rapping bamma and I was just
another loud mouth dude that
was rapping. Then I
developed my own group that
toured the backstreets of
Capital Heights. We were
just some neighborhood dudes
that was rapping as a hobby,
like kids do. Then, I ran
into a group called the
THURO-Breads and with them I
made the transition from a
basement rapper into a
performer, an entertainer.
Backstreets was my first rap
group and then THURO-Breads
was my next; they took me to
Miami, introduced me to
Dermarr Johnson and that is
when I took music seriously,
that is when I realized that
I had something and that I
could make a life with this.
From there I just took
it,... I think the reason
the DMV respects me is
because I respect them. I
never say I am better than
anybody even though the
crowd may say it; I respect
them.
DCMM: You know the DMV
claims as you as their own
but you are from the Bronx
New York. How long have you
been here now?
DJ: About ten years now.
DCMM: Where else do they
love Don Juan?
DJ: Well Don Juan gets love
from New York,.... then I
came out to the DMV and from
the DMV I went out to
Denver, Colorado. I made a
home and I made an
atmosphere. You know what
Ray this goes on no matter
where I go. That is how I
know that it is something
about me and not the state
or the area that I am in...
I mean from Denver I went to
Atlanta then I gained a fan
base and trust system out
there from Atlanta I went to
California and I gained a
crazy fan base out there
then I was in Miami for a
little bit. I currently
reside in D.C. making it
happen.
DCMM: I know that you have
made some other moves as far
as the label situation. Were
you with Capitol Records?
DJ: Oh yeah that, I was with
Nu Entertainment. I was in
Atlanta when I got signed to
Big Reg. Big Reg was with
Death Row and he used to be
Krupt’s manager. I got
signed to him in Atlanta he
actually broke the deal to
Interscope. Nu Entertainment
is signed to Interscope I am
signed to Nu Entertainment
which makes me an Interscope
project. Before Interscope,
I was in negotiations with
Disney Records but they
didn’t quite know how to
market me. I went and talked
to Capitol Records and they
were interested in signing
me because of the buzz of
another D.C. artist they had
J. Holiday they thought
another D.C. artist would be
a good look. I didn’t want
to go there also because
they were folding they were
financially unstable and if
I did that it wouldn’t be a
good contract on my part.
I’m currently signed to
JIVE/BATTERY/NU
Entertainment. My label
mates are GS Boyz and V.I.C.
DCMM: It seems like a lot of
D.C. artists have to go out
of the area to go solidify a
deal. How do you feel about
that?
DJ: I feel like D.C. artists
would have to go out of the
area is because D.C. has
never had it before and
labels are scared to take a
chance. When people think of
D.C they think of go-go. I
think the best way to
understand go-go is to go to
a go-go. When you are
dealing with music you have
to deal with what the people
like and what the streets
are calling for. In D.C
there has never been that
role model that has been
successful music wide that
can be a bench mark so that
people can stamp it, most
artists feel like they have
to run outside to bring it
back inside. So the” Wale’s,
the Tabi’s and the Don
Juan’s” we have to go out of
state and bring it here and
give the labels a reason to
go look at D.C. As of yet we
haven’t given them a reason
to look at D.C. You have
Jermaine Dupri and Ludacris
that has been doing it for
years in Atlanta. You have
Bun B and Scarface that have
been doing it for years in
Texas. I can’t tell you who
has been doing it for years
in D.C.... I think that is
the reason.
DCMM: You have always been a
credible artist. Your work
ethic has always been
different so tell artists
what they need to do to get
the exposure that they
really want.
DJ: I am going to tell them.
I say this after all of my
speeches when I talk to
people there is a lot of
talent in this world Ray but
there are few hard workers.
If you have a talent and
music is that talent you
have to go out and get that
deal. It doesn’t matter if
you are the hottest dude on
your block but the world is
bigger than your block. You
need to be all the way
dedicated to what you want
to do. If you are dedicated
if your talent is music than
out of 24 hours out of the
day then 22 needs to be
focused on music if that is
what you want to do. There
is no reason for an artist
to be outside the studio if
the artist doesn’t have
anything else to do. Nobody
wants to deal with someone
that is lazy. People would
rather deal with a hard
worker that may not be as
good; rather than lazy
person.
DCMM: True indeed.
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