September 10, 2025 • 34 mins
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Bio
DJ Matrix first emerged on the electronic music scene in the mid-1980s with the release of “It’s Time to Rock” in 1986 and “Feel My Bass” in 1988. Though he stepped away from music shortly after, those two tracks went on to achieve underground fame and built him a lasting fan base within the Electro and Miami Bass communities.After nearly four decades, DJ Matrix has returned with “Hypnotic,” a powerful, high-energy track that channels the same bass-driven intensity that defined his early work while fusing it with a modern EDM edge. The single features legendary artist Egyptian Lover, whose music first inspired DJ Matrix to pursue a career in electronic music, making the collaboration both full circle and deeply personal.DJ Matrix’s journey is as dynamic as his sound. Following his early music career, he served in the U.S. Navy and later in the Marine Corps, including deployment during Desert Storm. Music had to be put aside as he focused on military service, raising a young family, and building a career outside of entertainment. He transitioned into corporate finance, becoming a stockbroker and later cofounding Randolph & Main Capital Group, where he continues to champion women and minority-owned businesses as Managing Director of Digital Assets. He also owned and managed professional basketball teams, including the Miami Pit Bulls of the ABA and the East Kentucky Miners of the CBA.Still, music never left his spirit. Encouraged by Egyptian Lover and rediscovering the international impact of his early songs, DJ Matrix returned to the studio with a renewed sense of purpose. His upcoming album, expected later this year or early next, will bridge classic Electro and Miami Bass with today’s EDM landscape. With additional singles and a possible EP on the horizon, he is determined to give longtime fans the sound they have been waiting for while also introducing his style to a new generation of listeners.With “Hypnotic” leading the way, DJ Matrix is proving that his music remains as innovative and relevant as ever. Blending nostalgic analog energy with modern production, he is poised to spark a renewed appreciation for the Electro and Miami Bass sound that helped shape dance music culture.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.
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Bio
DJ Matrix first emerged on the electronic music scene in the mid-1980s with the release of “It’s Time to Rock” in 1986 and “Feel My Bass” in 1988. Though he stepped away from music shortly after, those two tracks went on to achieve underground fame and built him a lasting fan base within the Electro and Miami Bass communities.After nearly four decades, DJ Matrix has returned with “Hypnotic,” a powerful, high-energy track that channels the same bass-driven intensity that defined his early work while fusing it with a modern EDM edge. The single features legendary artist Egyptian Lover, whose music first inspired DJ Matrix to pursue a career in electronic music, making the collaboration both full circle and deeply personal.DJ Matrix’s journey is as dynamic as his sound. Following his early music career, he served in the U.S. Navy and later in the Marine Corps, including deployment during Desert Storm. Music had to be put aside as he focused on military service, raising a young family, and building a career outside of entertainment. He transitioned into corporate finance, becoming a stockbroker and later cofounding Randolph & Main Capital Group, where he continues to champion women and minority-owned businesses as Managing Director of Digital Assets. He also owned and managed professional basketball teams, including the Miami Pit Bulls of the ABA and the East Kentucky Miners of the CBA.Still, music never left his spirit. Encouraged by Egyptian Lover and rediscovering the international impact of his early songs, DJ Matrix returned to the studio with a renewed sense of purpose. His upcoming album, expected later this year or early next, will bridge classic Electro and Miami Bass with today’s EDM landscape. With additional singles and a possible EP on the horizon, he is determined to give longtime fans the sound they have been waiting for while also introducing his style to a new generation of listeners.With “Hypnotic” leading the way, DJ Matrix is proving that his music remains as innovative and relevant as ever. Blending nostalgic analog energy with modern production, he is poised to spark a renewed appreciation for the Electro and Miami Bass sound that helped shape dance music culture.
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/creator-to-creators-with-meosha-bean--4460322/support.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
If you love entertainment, current events, and Hollywood, don't miss
Creator to Creators, Hosted by the filmmaker Mio Shabine, known
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Speaker 2 (00:17):
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Creator to Creators.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hi, guys, welcome to another episode of Creators to Creators. Today,
today we have a special guest.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
DJ Matrix.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Welcome.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Thank you, thanks for having.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Me absolutely, you know, I love going back to the beginning.
I always say the beginning, you know, chart chart, trajectory
in life, our little habits we pick up along the way,
follow us into our adulthood. Tell me a little bit
about your childhood. What was that like and and when
did the love for you know, being for music and
being in DJ started.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Childhood?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
You know what, I've done quite a few interviews the
last a month or so since since I dropped Theypnotic,
and I've never been asked that one.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
About my love childhood.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
But thanks for asking that, because I had a great childhood.
Actually I grew up in uh In, l A, deep
in the heart of La south central in the hood.
But my early years were some of the best years
in memory. A lot of friends, a lot of family,
(01:43):
you know, and and and those earlier years were before
things got a little crazy in l A.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
But you know, all of my memories are great memories.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
You know, a bunch of kids playing out in the street,
you know, no worries about people coming and you know,
trying to you know, put drugs in our hands or
kidnap anybody or anything like that. It was just a
good time, you know. And as far as the music,
I grew up in music. My mom my stepdad, they
(02:14):
were both singers and they were pretty pretty good. They
put some records out themselves back in the day. They
toured with the o Jys and the Spinners, and you know,
they good classic R and B sound, and everywhere I looked, everywhere,
you know, there was just music everywhere.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
So it's in my blood.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's beautiful. I mean, and
you know, you know La, you know, we got some
so many artists, known artists from there that come out
of there. That that are in music. When did I mean, like,
did you know, like you know, for me, I got
to an age where I was like, Okay, yeah, this
is this is the this is the path I'm gonna
(02:56):
I'm gonna definitely do this. Like when did you know, Okay,
this I'm gonna. I'm gonna I want I want to
be a DJ and I'm not gonna do anything else.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
All right, So this is actually one of the best
parts of my story in my journey. You you mentioned,
you know, some big names coming out of l All well,
about ten blocks from where I grew up, the Egyptian
Lover grew up and.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Who you know, he's.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Featured on on on Hypnotic, But you know, when I
was in high school, Egyptian Lover was part of his
crew called Uncle Jam's Army, and they put on the
biggest parties you've ever seen. They would sell out the
La Sports Arena, so we're talking, you know, thousands of
thousands of people coming out for them. And Egyptian Lover
(03:53):
was one of the key members and one of the
key DJs, and he he inspired me to want to
become a DJ, and I started, you know, it's crazy,
I started learning how to DJ with a one of
those old component sets with the where it was integrated
(04:14):
with the tape deck and the and the turntable was
on top of it. It was all one, one uh piece
of equipment. And I used to make mixtapes using the
pause button on the on the cassette deck.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
And you know, could well, you know.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
I've come up and you know, my family we didn't
have much, you know, come from nothing pretty much, and
couldn't afford you know, two turntables. So I basically improvised
with one.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
UH.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
Play a few seconds of a song, hit the pause button,
you know, pick another section of the song started recorded,
you know, hit the pause button. But I did pretty
well with that thing. So I started to make a
little bit of name for myself. And when I was
finally able to get a full you know DJ set
up two turns tables and mixer and the speakers and
(05:01):
everything like that, Egyptian Lover released Egypt Egypt. And when
I heard Egypt Egypt, that was the spark that made
me feel like, hey, I want to actually make music.
I don't want to just be a DJ.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
But right about that time I talked earlier about my
earlier years out there, everything was cool.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
And that was like eighties right that time.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Well, my earli years were in the seventies.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
But when I was in in high school my senior
year in nineteen eighty four, you know, right in that area,
early early eighties is when crack started to make an
appearance and things got crazy, you know, and you know,
I had friends and family dropping from book from gunfire
(05:48):
and and you know, drug deals gone bad and all
that kind of stuff, and I just I needed to
get out of there, you know. So eleven days after
I graduated high school, I joined the new Oh nice,
appreciate that. And when I was in the Navy, you know,
I was lucky to be stationed kind of close to home.
(06:11):
I was stationed up near Fresno, California, which was only
about a three and a half hour drive back home,
so I would come home all.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
The time when I could.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
But you know, I took the DJ in with me
and started, you know, DJ and some little barbecues on
base and stuff, and a couple of people, you know,
saw what I could do, and uh, and I actually
got lucky and ended up being a DJ at the
at the club.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
On base on the weekend.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
Yeah, so so, you know, and I got better and
better while I was in the military. So you know,
those earlier years again, you know, kind of groomed me
for what was to come. But when I was in
the military, you know, I went in seventeen, but I
grew up pretty quick. You know, first time away from
home by myself in the military. Will death, you know,
(07:01):
make a man out of you or a woman out
of you, very very fast.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I love I love I love it. I love it.
That's amazing, you know. And I you know, think you
know when you said when that song when the Egyptian
Lover Egypt Egypt came out, and it's eighties, and I'm
thinking to myself, like, wow, you know, I think eighties
had some really good I was like, the music then
was just so different than what it is now.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
I mean, yeah, I mean music actually, you know, meant
something back then.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Man.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
I mean when you listen to the lyrics of that era,
you know, you know again they had me today. You know,
It's just I don't know, man, I mean, I'm just
I love music, but it's just just, you know, not
what I would like to be hearing on the radio.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
A lot of time.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
So so you know, I'm starting to see kind of
though and feel like there's kind of a resurgence of
the eighties style trying to come back, and I want
to be a big part of that. And when we
a little further into this interview, you know, talk about
what brought me back, but you know, first let me
talk about what you know got me going and what
(08:20):
you know kind of derailed my career a little bit,
if you don't mind me.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Kind of going there.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
But like I said, I was in the Navy and
as a DJ, I couldn't find vinyl anywhere really really
close to the base, so I would have to drive
to Fresno and there was a record store that I
bought all of my my vinyl from. It was called
Jam City Records, and I got real close with the
owner and he ended up hiring me to be the
(08:50):
opening DJ for somebody acts that he was bringing into town.
And he used to do some big parties just like
UCL Jam's Army did, but he would do his parties
at the the Presnel Fairgrounds. And I remember the first
big show that I did, I was opening for two
Live Crew, a Freestyle, a bunch of those those guys
(09:14):
that kind of started the whole Miami base thing, and.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
You know I started to dig that as well.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
So after that show, we went back to the record
shop and I don't remember what song was playing in
the store, but I was playing the beat with my
hands on the on the counter and the owner, his
name is Alan, He said, man, you know if I
give you, if I put a drum machine in your hand,
would you be able to recreate that beat? And you know,
(09:45):
as a kid, I was a drummer. I was self taught,
but I ended up playing drums in the church when
I was six years old and it just never never stopped.
I mean, the beat has always been in me. So
when he asked that question, I was like, man, this
is he So he took me in the back and
he had a drum machine. But this was my first
time ever really seeing a drum machine up close, and
(10:08):
I didn't really know how to program it, but you know,
he called his engineering there.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
It taught me a.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Few things, and you know, in a few minutes, I
created that beat for him. And he was like, man, listen,
I got this new record label and I'm calling the
jam City Records, like the record store and you're like
the type of artists that I've been looking for. You know,
would you would you consider, you know, putting some music
out And I said, man, yeah, it's a dream of mine.
(10:36):
But I'm in the military, and you know, I won't
be able to travel, I won't be able to really
promote and do do live shows and stuff like that.
And he was like, you know, right now, that doesn't
matter to me. I just want to get some get
some music out there. So long story short, you know,
he put me in the studio and again, I had
never learned how to you know, read or write music
(11:00):
that I'd never known how to play a keyboard, especially
two hands, so I literally had to teach myself how
to do all of it. And again it's just you know,
it was an amazing thing. And I give it all
to God to to give me that gift. But I
picked it up, you know, very very quickly, and within
a few weeks I completed my first single, It's Time
(11:23):
to Rock, and It's Time the Rock came out, and
you know.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
It was that was you know, great experience, man.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
I mean I had never been on the receiving end
of you know, that kind of attention and love and
and you know, it was just it was a lot
of fun.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
So it wasn't you know about money for me.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
At the time, I knew I wasn't going to be
able to really get out there and max out because
of my military situation. But I had a blast. But
you fast forward a couple of years. I got out
of the Navy in eighty eight, and right before I
did the label you know It's time Rock was doing
(12:07):
well and the label started to feel the pain of
me not being able to be out there doing shows.
He was losing some money behind that, so you know,
I told him. I was like, look, man, you know,
do what you gotta do. You know, I just appreciate
the opportunity. And he was like all right, and I
put it's time to rock out under the name Matrix.
(12:28):
I said, you know, yeah, I'm gonna have to put
somebody else in the studio, and I'm gonna have to,
you know, allow him to use your name. You know,
your contract, you know states that we on the name.
So you know, I'm gonna have to keep that momentum going.
I was like, man, no problem. So when I got
out of the Navy, you know, I decided I was
going to start my own label, and I filmed bad
(12:49):
Boy Records before Puffy had bad Boy Entertainment, and I
just put DJ in front of Matrix. So yeah, I
put out Field my Base as DJ Matrix and Feel
my Bass, you know, was in my opinion, a much
stronger song than It's kind of rock. It's time of
(13:10):
rock is kind of like you know, it was almost
experimental for me, you know, that's what I learned.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
That's what you know.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
I was learning how to make music. Then I put
out feel my Face. I was a little bit you know,
better at it, and and I was more I was
I was more proud of that song than I was
of this kind of rock. But it's Feel my Basse
came out and it was starting to gain some traction.
But at the same time, you know, I wasn't really
(13:38):
making any real money and I had a very young family.
I had two kids at the time, and I had
to make a decision on what I was gonna do
to to to provide for the family because the music
really wasn't doing it. And my fear was you know,
that type of music. You know, when I when I
put out Feel my Bass, it was starting to give
way to hip hop hip hop was really making its
(13:59):
way west at that time, and and then next thing
you know, you had new Jack Swing and you know,
a house was coming. So you know, I was never
a singer or a rapper. I was more of a
b creator and a producer. And I just felt like,
you know, that type of music wasn't gonna, you know,
carry me. So I made the decision instead of putting
(14:21):
all my eggs in the music basket, I made the
decision to go back into the military for stability.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
But I didn't go back in the Navy. I went
into the Marine Corps. Okay, so I became a marine, and.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
I never really thought about the music in the in
the first couple of years I was in the Marine Corps.
But then Desert Storm happened, the Gulf War broke out,
and you know, I was an airtraffic controller in the
in the in the Marine Corps, and when Desert Storm
or Desert Chield before Desert Storm, when that, when that happened,
(14:57):
we had to go over there and start stetting up
the airfit and everything like that, and and flying all
the equipment in and all the troops and everything like that.
So in my eyes, you know, the music was definitely
you know in the rear view there was it was
just no way right. So you know, that was kind
of the end of the music situation for me. And
(15:20):
then you fast forward thirty.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Six years Wow, and I get.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
A message from from another artist out of the UK,
out of London, who reached out to me and said, hey,
are you the same Dimitrius Ford. That's my name, Dimitrius Ford.
That was also DJ Matrix. You know, back in the
eighties they put out fiel my base And I was
like yeah, and he said, man, listen, the Egyptian Lover
has an army of people out there searching for you
(15:48):
right now. Do you mind if I give him your
contact information? And I was like, by all means now
when I heard Egyptian Lover.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, oh yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I didn't know what he wanted to talk about, but
I was like, hey, yeah, yeah, I want to talk
to him. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
And then so a couple of days go by and
like and we connect and he basically said that he
was getting ready to do a series of three albums
called nineteen eighty five, eighty six, and eighty seven, and
he wanted to feature me and wanted me to collapse,
you know, on the album, and I was excited as hell,
(16:27):
but then I got you know, real nervous and ancient
at the same time, because I was like, man, look,
I mean I haven't done anything in music in almost
forty years.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Man, wow, I don't know if I'm still that guy.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
I mean, I just you know, I really appreciate the opportunity,
but I just don't know what I'm going to be
able to, you know, do for you. So he was like, man, listen,
you do do you know that feel My base is
still you know, being played all over Europe, all over
the world. Yeah, and you still have a pretty big
(17:01):
fan base, and you know, people are dying for you
to come back. And I was like, what Because I
didn't make a nickel.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
So you're like, how where what?
Speaker 4 (17:11):
I mean?
Speaker 5 (17:12):
I left it in the rearview and never followed up
because again I didn't hear it on the radio.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
You know, nobody was talking about it. You know.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
I just felt like, you know, that was because I
couldn't really promote it and I couldn't perform.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
It, so it just died.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
You know, I just thought it was it was so
explaining that to me like, man, I'm gonna ready send
you some links and then I want you to, you know,
hit me back after after you you know, read these
these look through these these sights that I'm gonna send you,
and and and pay attention to the comment. So he
sent me for YouTube links of my song feel my Base.
I had no idea that they even existed. I never
(17:51):
googled my name, I never googled my songs anything. I'm
telling you when I left it in the rearview, I
really did forget about it. And so I'm starting to
look at these these sites and I'm looking at at
at the comments, and I'm telling you that they brought
me to tears talking about how they had one national
(18:14):
or international breakdance competition to to to fill my base,
how it was, in their.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Opinion, with the best song ever.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
And you know, how could he, you know, make a
song like this and just disappear without a trace. We
need him back, DJ Majrix all this kind of stuff,
and I was just like blown away. So I reached
back out to him and I was like, man, I
had no idea, And he said, listen, man, you know,
it's like riding a bike, you know, if you start
(18:43):
to put a studio together and just you know, put
your mind to it. I'm sure you know you can
come up with with with something that that'll that'll you know,
you know, excite your fans. And I was like, all right, man,
you know, give me a little bit of time. Let
me see, you know what I can do now. In
the mean time, Over those thirty six years, you know,
(19:04):
when I left the Marine Corps, I became a stockbroker
and then ended up owning my own farm that was
focused on helping women and minorities with better access to
and I raised hundreds of millions of dollars for minority
and women businesses. I ended up owning two minority minor
(19:24):
league basketball teams, one that played in the ABA, one
that played in the CBA. My ABA team, the Florida
pitt Bulls, which was two thousand and five, two thousand
and six, I pulled NBA Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway
out of retirement. He played for me as a player
coach GM So I did all of these different things,
(19:47):
and when the music then came back to me through
Egyptian Lover, I had a very very full plate. You know,
I had a lot of investors, that were depending on me,
you know, to get deals done and all the other stuff. So,
you know, but I was like, you know, I'm almost
sixty years old, but I got.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
An Holy crap.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
I appreciate it, but I.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
Was like, I got a shot, you know, to to
finish what I started almost forty years ago. And what
was bigger than that was the fact that all my kids.
I got three kids and they're all grown, but none
of them ever heard DJ Matrix any of my music.
So I'm like, you know, I got a chance to
(20:34):
show my kids. So I was like, you know what
I'm doing it. So I put a studio together in
the house. And you know, I'm one of these real
impatient guys though, so I didn't want to have to
read honest manuals and learn how to do every little
thing right and making music today it's so different than
(20:55):
it was back then. Half access to computers and digital
workstations and all this other kind of stuff. Everything was
all analog, you know, DJing was you know, it was
just it was straight vinyl. So when I you know,
looked at what was available to me now, you know,
it was intimidating because there was a large learning curve
(21:17):
But what I did is I just said, you know what,
I'm gonna take a short cut, and I just lived
on YouTube. Whatever I wanted to do musically, I just
searched it on YouTube to figure out how to do
it with what my setup right. And within a couple
of months I was back and I was starting to
(21:38):
feel good creatively and everything, and you know, I put
a couple concepts down and set them over to the
Egyptian Lover and he was like, man, you know, I
can see that you having fun, and you know you
can I can see that you coming.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
You know, you're starting to feel it.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
And he's like these songs, you know, they're great, you know,
but they're out there like great for an album. Your
comeback single has got to be just like you know,
so so so strong. And I was like, I agree
with you, but I'm just trying to show you, you know,
how I'm progressing here.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
And he's like, man, I love what I'm hearing.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
You know, just stay in the lab, and I just
was like excited that he didn't tell me. You know what, man,
I don't think it's gonna work, you know what I mean, Yeah,
the time is coming gone, and you know you missed
the step or whatever. But nah, he was like, man,
you got it, so I'll never forget. A couple of
weeks later, I was I don't remember where I was driving,
(22:33):
but I was just I was driving somewhere and all
of a sudden, the baseline and the melody to Hypnotic
just popped into my head and I literally had I
pulled over and I hummed it into my phone because again,
I can't write music, you know what I mean. So
you know, when I get an idea like that, I
(22:54):
have to put it down or I'll forget it, you know.
So I did, and I was so excited about it
that wherever I was going, I said, screw that. I
made a U turn and went back to the studio
to lay it down. And that's how you know Hypnotic
was born.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
You know, I laid it down.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
I sent it to Egyptian Lover and you know, after
about you know, sixteen bars, he was like, man, you
did it your comeback single. And I was like, man,
you know, do you want to be on this thing?
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Man?
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I want you He was like, absolutely, I want to
be on it.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
So you know, the song Hypnotic is my song, but
it features the Egyptian Lover start because the Egyptian Lover
was the spark that made me want to make music
in the first place. Of all the people in the
world to reach out to me to bring me back,
it was him and he didn't you know, initially I
(23:54):
was thinking he wanted me to do something on his song,
but he said, no, man, I want to put who
you're gonna put you out and feature me, not the
other way around.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
And I can't tell you what that meant to me. Wow.
I know I'm long winded, and you haven't had a
chance and has an story. I just I just can't
stop telling that story.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
You know, I think it's no no, the passion I
hear and it's just so beautiful to hear, like that
full circle, like you know of like your purpose, like
you are Like even if yeah, we life happens and
we live life and things and we do other things,
but it doesn't mean that you know who you are.
(24:36):
You know that part of you was dead. It was
always there and I and I think that's so cool,
that full circle moment. The very artist that inspired you
to pursue music you have a song with after you
come back. That's like absolutely that's a that's a movie.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
It is.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
And I'm gonna tell you people, I've been a pro
star already by a number of people talking about the movie, situation,
a documentary, a book deal. Want me to do you know,
start podcast? Because of my you know, finance background. You know,
if if if, if the music thing kicks off the
(25:12):
way I expected to do, you know, I can, I
can leverage that platform and that access to to to
a lot of people, and to help a lot more
people with financial literacy and and and you know, my
passion for the last thirty five years actually has been
to help you know, people that look like us, you know,
uh with with with with better access to everything, not
(25:35):
just money, but you know, things that help you get
ahead in life. So now I'm sitting in a situation
where I think, you know, I can, I can do
a lot more, uh uh for for our people, but
also on the creative side and the music side. You know,
I want to you know, be my version of a
DJ Cali or or or doctor Dre because I want
(25:56):
to help other artists you know, rise up, you know,
and and and I want to produce you know, names
that no one knows that become household names, you know.
So my endgame is not to make a whole lot
of albums as DJ Matrix. You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna finish the album I'm marketing on right now,
and I'm hoping I'm getting that out by middle.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Of next year.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Nice and the next single to follow, uh Hypnotics should
be in another couple of months. But after that, you know,
I want to I want to really focus on helping
another the next generation.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
That's beautiful. I mean, that's what it's really about, right
because I mean, like you said, you know, getting you know,
I was literally talking to a friend about that. We're
just talking about just like change, like you know, we have,
we we want change. We have to be the change
that we want to see. So it's so important to
just you know, you know, go reach back and you know,
try to encourage someone to continue, you know, continue on
(26:56):
like we are. What what would you what what what
avice would you give producers and DJs who who may
not only you know, I don't know how to get
you know, really get their name out there or having
a hard time figuring out what what advice would you
give them?
Speaker 5 (27:14):
Well, first thing, is not try to be like anyone
else out there. You know, there's you know what I've
what I've come to realize in this digital age with
the Spotify's in the world and everything like that, you know,
access is.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Tremendous.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
I mean, anybody can submit a song to to to
Spotify and get it out, you know. So there's there's
millions and millions and millions of artists and producers trying
to be heard. And the mistake that I see a
lot of them making are they're trying to chase a sound.
(27:59):
They're trying to be like what's you know, tops of
the tops.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
On Billboard right now.
Speaker 5 (28:05):
But if you look at who's top on Billboard, you know,
these people have set themselves apart because they're not you know,
like the crowd. You know, they've they've done something different. Now,
Like with me, you know, my music and it's always
been this way. You know, my voice has always been
altered through a vocoder and it's it's just it's it's
(28:29):
it's not like anything that you're here on the radio today.
But it's also me trying to bring back that DJ
Matrix feel from the eighties, that that big analogue you
know feel with that heavy bottom. So you know, I personally,
(28:51):
I don't you know, compare myself to anybody else that's
out there. And that's a good thing in my in
my in my eyes, because when you hear hypnotic, you
have to sit there and go, what is it?
Speaker 4 (29:07):
You know, how do you even categorize it? What genre
is this?
Speaker 5 (29:10):
You know, because there's a there's it's I call it
a hybrid because there's elements of you know, what I
did back in the eighties, but some of you know,
you still when you listen to the flow of the lyrics,
there's a little hip hop.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Vibe in there.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
When you listen to the melody and stuff like that,
there's some of today's d M in there. So I'm
trying to make sure that I give back to the
people that made DJ Matrix, DJ Matrix, people that still
are playing, build my base and it's time to rock.
But you know, there's a there's a whole other audience
(29:48):
out there that I believe will like what I'm doing,
you know, stuff like hypnotics. So you know, I'm trying to,
you know, have as many touch points as I can
without you know, giving up you know, my identity. But
you know, going back to your question, I would just
tell any new artists, you know, just be you, you know,
(30:09):
don't try to be anybody else.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
I love that. I have one one final question that
I love asking every guest, and there is no wrong answer,
I promise. But the three levels of influence, money, power,
and respect. And if you could choose only one of
those things, which one would you choose? And why?
Speaker 5 (30:32):
Well, you know, each one of those are important because
once you have them, you can do things with them.
You know, if you get the money, if you're the
kind of person like I am, you give back. You
try to take that money and multiply it in a
(30:54):
great way. The power, same type of situation. You know,
if you're in a position of power where you can
make change and you can, you know, touch lives in
a way that you couldn't if you didn't have that power.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
You know, that's important.
Speaker 5 (31:09):
But the respect, I think is the most important to
me because and I'm and I'm and I'm starting to
feel that already.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
You know.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
I put two songs out, okay back in the eighties,
but today when I speak to legends okay that come
from that area, that era, they call me legend.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Yeah, they I can't.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Tell you how humbling that is, you know, to hear
some of the biggest names out there. First of all,
congratulate me for coming back, the courage to come back
at almost sixty years old after being out of it
for almost forty years. But they call me legend, and
it's it's you know, with that, it gives me a
(31:59):
more powerful voice, and it gives me better access to
people that I can collaborate with to make the kind
of change I see that needs to be made, you know.
So you know, I would say the respect is the
most important for me because when you have that and
people kind of want to work with you, you know, big
(32:22):
name people want to kind of work with you. You know,
the money tends to come anyway, and and and the
power comes with you know, the money. First, you get
the money, then you got the power, you know. But
bect is most important to me.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
I love that. I love that. Well, where can people
find you on social media to follow everything you got going.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
On Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok would be all at
the Real DJ Matrix. And the reason it's the Real
DJ Matrix is you know that that that almost forty year.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
Gap from when I put out feel my base.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
There's a few DJ matrixes that are popped up, and
you know, I gotta add a step, you know, make
sure people understand that I'm the o g Yeah, the
original so so uh yeah, the real DJ Matrix. And
on Spotify, you know, just you know, look up either
DJ Matrix or Hypnotic and you can find my Spotify page.
(33:25):
My my Shopify store is linked there. So if anybody
wants any DJ Matrix merchandise, that's there. If anybody wants
is looking for vinyl right now, I'm distributing my own vinyl.
It's on my own label based Botto Americans is my label.
So if anybody reaches out to me on any of
(33:46):
my socials and and and let me know that they're
looking for vinyl, you know I can, I can. I
can ship that direct to them. I'll autograph it. It'll
have a different lovers autograph on it. So you know,
those are the best ways.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Of awesome, awesome. Thank you so much for coming on
and sharing your story. I mean, what an amazing, amazing story.
I was just glued. I'm like, wow, so inspired so much.
Speaker 4 (34:11):
Thank you for that, thank you, thank you. I can't
wait to hear this.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
This is going to be on Spotify everywhere.
Speaker 5 (34:19):
Okay, cool, I can't wait. I appreciate you taking the
time to interview me too, because the more people hear me,
the more that they'll hopefully understand that DJ Matrix is
back and it's not just about the music with me,
it's it's you know, I'm more than just.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
The music, legacy, legacy, and you're doing it. Thank you
so much for coming back, and thank you all for
listening and always remember to live, love, laugh. We'll see
you guys next time.
If you love entertainment, current events, and Hollywood, don't miss
Creator to Creators, Hosted by the filmmaker Mio Shabine, known
for the shutter Hit documentary or Noir and the acclaimed
film Anatomy of.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
An Anti Heroo Redemption. This show features interviews with filmmakers
and creatives from around the globe. Join the fun with
guest celebrities and gain valuable insights. Subscribe now and follow
Creator to Creators.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Hi, guys, welcome to another episode of Creators to Creators. Today,
today we have a special guest.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
DJ Matrix.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Welcome.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
Thank you, thanks for having.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
Me absolutely, you know, I love going back to the beginning.
I always say the beginning, you know, chart chart, trajectory
in life, our little habits we pick up along the way,
follow us into our adulthood. Tell me a little bit
about your childhood. What was that like and and when
did the love for you know, being for music and
being in DJ started.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
Childhood?
Speaker 5 (01:08):
You know what, I've done quite a few interviews the
last a month or so since since I dropped Theypnotic,
and I've never been asked that one.
Speaker 4 (01:17):
About my love childhood.
Speaker 5 (01:19):
But thanks for asking that, because I had a great childhood.
Actually I grew up in uh In, l A, deep
in the heart of La south central in the hood.
But my early years were some of the best years
in memory. A lot of friends, a lot of family,
(01:43):
you know, and and and those earlier years were before
things got a little crazy in l A.
Speaker 4 (01:51):
But you know, all of my memories are great memories.
Speaker 5 (01:54):
You know, a bunch of kids playing out in the street,
you know, no worries about people coming and you know,
trying to you know, put drugs in our hands or
kidnap anybody or anything like that. It was just a
good time, you know. And as far as the music,
I grew up in music. My mom my stepdad, they
(02:14):
were both singers and they were pretty pretty good. They
put some records out themselves back in the day. They
toured with the o Jys and the Spinners, and you know,
they good classic R and B sound, and everywhere I looked, everywhere,
you know, there was just music everywhere.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
So it's in my blood.
Speaker 3 (02:33):
I love that.
Speaker 4 (02:34):
I love that.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's beautiful. I mean, and
you know, you know La, you know, we got some
so many artists, known artists from there that come out
of there. That that are in music. When did I mean, like,
did you know, like you know, for me, I got
to an age where I was like, Okay, yeah, this
is this is the this is the path I'm gonna
(02:56):
I'm gonna definitely do this. Like when did you know, Okay,
this I'm gonna. I'm gonna I want I want to
be a DJ and I'm not gonna do anything else.
Speaker 5 (03:08):
All right, So this is actually one of the best
parts of my story in my journey. You you mentioned,
you know, some big names coming out of l All well,
about ten blocks from where I grew up, the Egyptian
Lover grew up and.
Speaker 4 (03:28):
Who you know, he's.
Speaker 5 (03:29):
Featured on on on Hypnotic, But you know, when I
was in high school, Egyptian Lover was part of his
crew called Uncle Jam's Army, and they put on the
biggest parties you've ever seen. They would sell out the
La Sports Arena, so we're talking, you know, thousands of
thousands of people coming out for them. And Egyptian Lover
(03:53):
was one of the key members and one of the
key DJs, and he he inspired me to want to
become a DJ, and I started, you know, it's crazy,
I started learning how to DJ with a one of
those old component sets with the where it was integrated
(04:14):
with the tape deck and the and the turntable was
on top of it. It was all one, one uh piece
of equipment. And I used to make mixtapes using the
pause button on the on the cassette deck.
Speaker 1 (04:27):
Wow.
Speaker 4 (04:28):
And you know, could well, you know.
Speaker 5 (04:30):
I've come up and you know, my family we didn't
have much, you know, come from nothing pretty much, and
couldn't afford you know, two turntables. So I basically improvised
with one.
Speaker 1 (04:40):
UH.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
Play a few seconds of a song, hit the pause button,
you know, pick another section of the song started recorded,
you know, hit the pause button. But I did pretty
well with that thing. So I started to make a
little bit of name for myself. And when I was
finally able to get a full you know DJ set
up two turns tables and mixer and the speakers and
(05:01):
everything like that, Egyptian Lover released Egypt Egypt. And when
I heard Egypt Egypt, that was the spark that made
me feel like, hey, I want to actually make music.
I don't want to just be a DJ.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:18):
But right about that time I talked earlier about my
earlier years out there, everything was cool.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
And that was like eighties right that time.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
Well, my earli years were in the seventies.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
But when I was in in high school my senior
year in nineteen eighty four, you know, right in that area,
early early eighties is when crack started to make an
appearance and things got crazy, you know, and you know,
I had friends and family dropping from book from gunfire
(05:48):
and and you know, drug deals gone bad and all
that kind of stuff, and I just I needed to
get out of there, you know. So eleven days after
I graduated high school, I joined the new Oh nice,
appreciate that. And when I was in the Navy, you know,
I was lucky to be stationed kind of close to home.
(06:11):
I was stationed up near Fresno, California, which was only
about a three and a half hour drive back home,
so I would come home all.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
The time when I could.
Speaker 5 (06:19):
But you know, I took the DJ in with me
and started, you know, DJ and some little barbecues on
base and stuff, and a couple of people, you know,
saw what I could do, and uh, and I actually
got lucky and ended up being a DJ at the
at the club.
Speaker 4 (06:35):
On base on the weekend.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
Yeah, so so, you know, and I got better and
better while I was in the military. So you know,
those earlier years again, you know, kind of groomed me
for what was to come. But when I was in
the military, you know, I went in seventeen, but I
grew up pretty quick. You know, first time away from
home by myself in the military. Will death, you know,
(07:01):
make a man out of you or a woman out
of you, very very fast.
Speaker 3 (07:07):
I love I love I love it. I love it.
That's amazing, you know. And I you know, think you
know when you said when that song when the Egyptian
Lover Egypt Egypt came out, and it's eighties, and I'm
thinking to myself, like, wow, you know, I think eighties
had some really good I was like, the music then
was just so different than what it is now.
Speaker 5 (07:29):
I mean, yeah, I mean music actually, you know, meant
something back then.
Speaker 1 (07:33):
Man.
Speaker 5 (07:33):
I mean when you listen to the lyrics of that era,
you know, you know again they had me today. You know,
It's just I don't know, man, I mean, I'm just
I love music, but it's just just, you know, not
what I would like to be hearing on the radio.
Speaker 4 (07:54):
A lot of time.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
So so you know, I'm starting to see kind of
though and feel like there's kind of a resurgence of
the eighties style trying to come back, and I want
to be a big part of that. And when we
a little further into this interview, you know, talk about
what brought me back, but you know, first let me
talk about what you know got me going and what
(08:20):
you know kind of derailed my career a little bit,
if you don't mind me.
Speaker 4 (08:23):
Kind of going there.
Speaker 5 (08:25):
But like I said, I was in the Navy and
as a DJ, I couldn't find vinyl anywhere really really
close to the base, so I would have to drive
to Fresno and there was a record store that I
bought all of my my vinyl from. It was called
Jam City Records, and I got real close with the
owner and he ended up hiring me to be the
(08:50):
opening DJ for somebody acts that he was bringing into town.
And he used to do some big parties just like
UCL Jam's Army did, but he would do his parties
at the the Presnel Fairgrounds. And I remember the first
big show that I did, I was opening for two
Live Crew, a Freestyle, a bunch of those those guys
(09:14):
that kind of started the whole Miami base thing, and.
Speaker 4 (09:18):
You know I started to dig that as well.
Speaker 5 (09:21):
So after that show, we went back to the record
shop and I don't remember what song was playing in
the store, but I was playing the beat with my
hands on the on the counter and the owner, his
name is Alan, He said, man, you know if I
give you, if I put a drum machine in your hand,
would you be able to recreate that beat? And you know,
(09:45):
as a kid, I was a drummer. I was self taught,
but I ended up playing drums in the church when
I was six years old and it just never never stopped.
I mean, the beat has always been in me. So
when he asked that question, I was like, man, this
is he So he took me in the back and
he had a drum machine. But this was my first
time ever really seeing a drum machine up close, and
(10:08):
I didn't really know how to program it, but you know,
he called his engineering there.
Speaker 4 (10:12):
It taught me a.
Speaker 5 (10:13):
Few things, and you know, in a few minutes, I
created that beat for him. And he was like, man, listen,
I got this new record label and I'm calling the
jam City Records, like the record store and you're like
the type of artists that I've been looking for. You know,
would you would you consider, you know, putting some music
out And I said, man, yeah, it's a dream of mine.
(10:36):
But I'm in the military, and you know, I won't
be able to travel, I won't be able to really
promote and do do live shows and stuff like that.
And he was like, you know, right now, that doesn't
matter to me. I just want to get some get
some music out there. So long story short, you know,
he put me in the studio and again, I had
never learned how to you know, read or write music
(11:00):
that I'd never known how to play a keyboard, especially
two hands, so I literally had to teach myself how
to do all of it. And again it's just you know,
it was an amazing thing. And I give it all
to God to to give me that gift. But I
picked it up, you know, very very quickly, and within
a few weeks I completed my first single, It's Time
(11:23):
to Rock, and It's Time the Rock came out, and
you know.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
It was that was you know, great experience, man.
Speaker 5 (11:32):
I mean I had never been on the receiving end
of you know, that kind of attention and love and
and you know, it was just it was a lot
of fun.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
So it wasn't you know about money for me.
Speaker 5 (11:46):
At the time, I knew I wasn't going to be
able to really get out there and max out because
of my military situation. But I had a blast. But
you fast forward a couple of years. I got out
of the Navy in eighty eight, and right before I
did the label you know It's time Rock was doing
(12:07):
well and the label started to feel the pain of
me not being able to be out there doing shows.
He was losing some money behind that, so you know,
I told him. I was like, look, man, you know,
do what you gotta do. You know, I just appreciate
the opportunity. And he was like all right, and I
put it's time to rock out under the name Matrix.
(12:28):
I said, you know, yeah, I'm gonna have to put
somebody else in the studio, and I'm gonna have to,
you know, allow him to use your name. You know,
your contract, you know states that we on the name.
So you know, I'm gonna have to keep that momentum going.
I was like, man, no problem. So when I got
out of the Navy, you know, I decided I was
going to start my own label, and I filmed bad
(12:49):
Boy Records before Puffy had bad Boy Entertainment, and I
just put DJ in front of Matrix. So yeah, I
put out Field my Base as DJ Matrix and Feel
my Bass, you know, was in my opinion, a much
stronger song than It's kind of rock. It's time of
(13:10):
rock is kind of like you know, it was almost
experimental for me, you know, that's what I learned.
Speaker 4 (13:16):
That's what you know.
Speaker 5 (13:17):
I was learning how to make music. Then I put
out feel my Face. I was a little bit you know,
better at it, and and I was more I was
I was more proud of that song than I was
of this kind of rock. But it's Feel my Basse
came out and it was starting to gain some traction.
But at the same time, you know, I wasn't really
(13:38):
making any real money and I had a very young family.
I had two kids at the time, and I had
to make a decision on what I was gonna do
to to to provide for the family because the music
really wasn't doing it. And my fear was you know,
that type of music. You know, when I when I
put out Feel my Bass, it was starting to give
way to hip hop hip hop was really making its
(13:59):
way west at that time, and and then next thing
you know, you had new Jack Swing and you know,
a house was coming. So you know, I was never
a singer or a rapper. I was more of a
b creator and a producer. And I just felt like,
you know, that type of music wasn't gonna, you know,
carry me. So I made the decision instead of putting
(14:21):
all my eggs in the music basket, I made the
decision to go back into the military for stability.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
But I didn't go back in the Navy. I went
into the Marine Corps. Okay, so I became a marine, and.
Speaker 5 (14:36):
I never really thought about the music in the in
the first couple of years I was in the Marine Corps.
But then Desert Storm happened, the Gulf War broke out,
and you know, I was an airtraffic controller in the
in the in the Marine Corps, and when Desert Storm
or Desert Chield before Desert Storm, when that, when that happened,
(14:57):
we had to go over there and start stetting up
the airfit and everything like that, and and flying all
the equipment in and all the troops and everything like that.
So in my eyes, you know, the music was definitely
you know in the rear view there was it was
just no way right. So you know, that was kind
of the end of the music situation for me. And
(15:20):
then you fast forward thirty.
Speaker 4 (15:23):
Six years Wow, and I get.
Speaker 5 (15:27):
A message from from another artist out of the UK,
out of London, who reached out to me and said, hey,
are you the same Dimitrius Ford. That's my name, Dimitrius Ford.
That was also DJ Matrix. You know, back in the
eighties they put out fiel my base And I was
like yeah, and he said, man, listen, the Egyptian Lover
has an army of people out there searching for you
(15:48):
right now. Do you mind if I give him your
contact information? And I was like, by all means now
when I heard Egyptian Lover.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
Yeah, oh yeah, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (15:59):
I didn't know what he wanted to talk about, but
I was like, hey, yeah, yeah, I want to talk
to him. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (16:04):
And then so a couple of days go by and
like and we connect and he basically said that he
was getting ready to do a series of three albums
called nineteen eighty five, eighty six, and eighty seven, and
he wanted to feature me and wanted me to collapse,
you know, on the album, and I was excited as hell,
(16:27):
but then I got you know, real nervous and ancient
at the same time, because I was like, man, look,
I mean I haven't done anything in music in almost
forty years.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
Man, wow, I don't know if I'm still that guy.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
I mean, I just you know, I really appreciate the opportunity,
but I just don't know what I'm going to be
able to, you know, do for you. So he was like, man, listen,
you do do you know that feel My base is
still you know, being played all over Europe, all over
the world. Yeah, and you still have a pretty big
(17:01):
fan base, and you know, people are dying for you
to come back. And I was like, what Because I
didn't make a nickel.
Speaker 3 (17:09):
So you're like, how where what?
Speaker 4 (17:11):
I mean?
Speaker 5 (17:12):
I left it in the rearview and never followed up
because again I didn't hear it on the radio.
Speaker 4 (17:19):
You know, nobody was talking about it. You know.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
I just felt like, you know, that was because I
couldn't really promote it and I couldn't perform.
Speaker 4 (17:26):
It, so it just died.
Speaker 5 (17:27):
You know, I just thought it was it was so
explaining that to me like, man, I'm gonna ready send
you some links and then I want you to, you know,
hit me back after after you you know, read these
these look through these these sights that I'm gonna send you,
and and and pay attention to the comment. So he
sent me for YouTube links of my song feel my Base.
I had no idea that they even existed. I never
(17:51):
googled my name, I never googled my songs anything. I'm
telling you when I left it in the rearview, I
really did forget about it. And so I'm starting to
look at these these sites and I'm looking at at
at the comments, and I'm telling you that they brought
me to tears talking about how they had one national
(18:14):
or international breakdance competition to to to fill my base,
how it was, in their.
Speaker 4 (18:20):
Opinion, with the best song ever.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
And you know, how could he, you know, make a
song like this and just disappear without a trace. We
need him back, DJ Majrix all this kind of stuff,
and I was just like blown away. So I reached
back out to him and I was like, man, I
had no idea, And he said, listen, man, you know,
it's like riding a bike, you know, if you start
(18:43):
to put a studio together and just you know, put
your mind to it. I'm sure you know you can
come up with with with something that that'll that'll you know,
you know, excite your fans. And I was like, all right, man,
you know, give me a little bit of time. Let
me see, you know what I can do now. In
the mean time, Over those thirty six years, you know,
(19:04):
when I left the Marine Corps, I became a stockbroker
and then ended up owning my own farm that was
focused on helping women and minorities with better access to
and I raised hundreds of millions of dollars for minority
and women businesses. I ended up owning two minority minor
(19:24):
league basketball teams, one that played in the ABA, one
that played in the CBA. My ABA team, the Florida
pitt Bulls, which was two thousand and five, two thousand
and six, I pulled NBA Hall of Famer Tim Hardaway
out of retirement. He played for me as a player
coach GM So I did all of these different things,
(19:47):
and when the music then came back to me through
Egyptian Lover, I had a very very full plate. You know,
I had a lot of investors, that were depending on me,
you know, to get deals done and all the other stuff. So,
you know, but I was like, you know, I'm almost
sixty years old, but I got.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
An Holy crap.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
I appreciate it, but I.
Speaker 5 (20:12):
Was like, I got a shot, you know, to to
finish what I started almost forty years ago. And what
was bigger than that was the fact that all my kids.
I got three kids and they're all grown, but none
of them ever heard DJ Matrix any of my music.
So I'm like, you know, I got a chance to
(20:34):
show my kids. So I was like, you know what
I'm doing it. So I put a studio together in
the house. And you know, I'm one of these real
impatient guys though, so I didn't want to have to
read honest manuals and learn how to do every little
thing right and making music today it's so different than
(20:55):
it was back then. Half access to computers and digital
workstations and all this other kind of stuff. Everything was
all analog, you know, DJing was you know, it was
just it was straight vinyl. So when I you know,
looked at what was available to me now, you know,
it was intimidating because there was a large learning curve
(21:17):
But what I did is I just said, you know what,
I'm gonna take a short cut, and I just lived
on YouTube. Whatever I wanted to do musically, I just
searched it on YouTube to figure out how to do
it with what my setup right. And within a couple
of months I was back and I was starting to
(21:38):
feel good creatively and everything, and you know, I put
a couple concepts down and set them over to the
Egyptian Lover and he was like, man, you know, I
can see that you having fun, and you know you
can I can see that you coming.
Speaker 4 (21:52):
You know, you're starting to feel it.
Speaker 5 (21:54):
And he's like these songs, you know, they're great, you know,
but they're out there like great for an album. Your
comeback single has got to be just like you know,
so so so strong. And I was like, I agree
with you, but I'm just trying to show you, you know,
how I'm progressing here.
Speaker 4 (22:09):
And he's like, man, I love what I'm hearing.
Speaker 5 (22:12):
You know, just stay in the lab, and I just
was like excited that he didn't tell me. You know what, man,
I don't think it's gonna work, you know what I mean, Yeah,
the time is coming gone, and you know you missed
the step or whatever. But nah, he was like, man,
you got it, so I'll never forget. A couple of
weeks later, I was I don't remember where I was driving,
(22:33):
but I was just I was driving somewhere and all
of a sudden, the baseline and the melody to Hypnotic
just popped into my head and I literally had I
pulled over and I hummed it into my phone because again,
I can't write music, you know what I mean. So
you know, when I get an idea like that, I
(22:54):
have to put it down or I'll forget it, you know.
So I did, and I was so excited about it
that wherever I was going, I said, screw that. I
made a U turn and went back to the studio
to lay it down. And that's how you know Hypnotic
was born.
Speaker 4 (23:11):
You know, I laid it down.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
I sent it to Egyptian Lover and you know, after
about you know, sixteen bars, he was like, man, you
did it your comeback single. And I was like, man,
you know, do you want to be on this thing?
Speaker 1 (23:29):
Man?
Speaker 4 (23:29):
I want you He was like, absolutely, I want to
be on it.
Speaker 5 (23:31):
So you know, the song Hypnotic is my song, but
it features the Egyptian Lover start because the Egyptian Lover
was the spark that made me want to make music
in the first place. Of all the people in the
world to reach out to me to bring me back,
it was him and he didn't you know, initially I
(23:54):
was thinking he wanted me to do something on his song,
but he said, no, man, I want to put who
you're gonna put you out and feature me, not the
other way around.
Speaker 4 (24:04):
And I can't tell you what that meant to me. Wow.
I know I'm long winded, and you haven't had a
chance and has an story. I just I just can't
stop telling that story.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
You know, I think it's no no, the passion I
hear and it's just so beautiful to hear, like that
full circle, like you know of like your purpose, like
you are Like even if yeah, we life happens and
we live life and things and we do other things,
but it doesn't mean that you know who you are.
(24:36):
You know that part of you was dead. It was
always there and I and I think that's so cool,
that full circle moment. The very artist that inspired you
to pursue music you have a song with after you
come back. That's like absolutely that's a that's a movie.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
It is.
Speaker 5 (24:51):
And I'm gonna tell you people, I've been a pro
star already by a number of people talking about the movie, situation,
a documentary, a book deal. Want me to do you know,
start podcast? Because of my you know, finance background. You know,
if if if, if the music thing kicks off the
(25:12):
way I expected to do, you know, I can, I
can leverage that platform and that access to to to
a lot of people, and to help a lot more
people with financial literacy and and and you know, my
passion for the last thirty five years actually has been
to help you know, people that look like us, you know,
uh with with with with better access to everything, not
(25:35):
just money, but you know, things that help you get
ahead in life. So now I'm sitting in a situation
where I think, you know, I can, I can do
a lot more, uh uh for for our people, but
also on the creative side and the music side. You know,
I want to you know, be my version of a
DJ Cali or or or doctor Dre because I want
(25:56):
to help other artists you know, rise up, you know,
and and and I want to produce you know, names
that no one knows that become household names, you know.
So my endgame is not to make a whole lot
of albums as DJ Matrix. You know, I'm gonna, I'm gonna,
I'm gonna finish the album I'm marketing on right now,
and I'm hoping I'm getting that out by middle.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
Of next year.
Speaker 5 (26:17):
Nice and the next single to follow, uh Hypnotics should
be in another couple of months. But after that, you know,
I want to I want to really focus on helping
another the next generation.
Speaker 3 (26:31):
That's beautiful. I mean, that's what it's really about, right
because I mean, like you said, you know, getting you know,
I was literally talking to a friend about that. We're
just talking about just like change, like you know, we have,
we we want change. We have to be the change
that we want to see. So it's so important to
just you know, you know, go reach back and you know,
try to encourage someone to continue, you know, continue on
(26:56):
like we are. What what would you what what what
avice would you give producers and DJs who who may
not only you know, I don't know how to get
you know, really get their name out there or having
a hard time figuring out what what advice would you
give them?
Speaker 5 (27:14):
Well, first thing, is not try to be like anyone
else out there. You know, there's you know what I've
what I've come to realize in this digital age with
the Spotify's in the world and everything like that, you know,
access is.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
Tremendous.
Speaker 5 (27:37):
I mean, anybody can submit a song to to to
Spotify and get it out, you know. So there's there's
millions and millions and millions of artists and producers trying
to be heard. And the mistake that I see a
lot of them making are they're trying to chase a sound.
(27:59):
They're trying to be like what's you know, tops of
the tops.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
On Billboard right now.
Speaker 5 (28:05):
But if you look at who's top on Billboard, you know,
these people have set themselves apart because they're not you know,
like the crowd. You know, they've they've done something different. Now,
Like with me, you know, my music and it's always
been this way. You know, my voice has always been
altered through a vocoder and it's it's just it's it's
(28:29):
it's not like anything that you're here on the radio today.
But it's also me trying to bring back that DJ
Matrix feel from the eighties, that that big analogue you
know feel with that heavy bottom. So you know, I personally,
(28:51):
I don't you know, compare myself to anybody else that's
out there. And that's a good thing in my in
my in my eyes, because when you hear hypnotic, you
have to sit there and go, what is it?
Speaker 4 (29:07):
You know, how do you even categorize it? What genre
is this?
Speaker 5 (29:10):
You know, because there's a there's it's I call it
a hybrid because there's elements of you know, what I
did back in the eighties, but some of you know,
you still when you listen to the flow of the lyrics,
there's a little hip hop.
Speaker 4 (29:25):
Vibe in there.
Speaker 5 (29:27):
When you listen to the melody and stuff like that,
there's some of today's d M in there. So I'm
trying to make sure that I give back to the
people that made DJ Matrix, DJ Matrix, people that still
are playing, build my base and it's time to rock.
But you know, there's a there's a whole other audience
(29:48):
out there that I believe will like what I'm doing,
you know, stuff like hypnotics. So you know, I'm trying to,
you know, have as many touch points as I can
without you know, giving up you know, my identity. But
you know, going back to your question, I would just
tell any new artists, you know, just be you, you know,
(30:09):
don't try to be anybody else.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
I love that. I have one one final question that
I love asking every guest, and there is no wrong answer,
I promise. But the three levels of influence, money, power,
and respect. And if you could choose only one of
those things, which one would you choose? And why?
Speaker 5 (30:32):
Well, you know, each one of those are important because
once you have them, you can do things with them.
You know, if you get the money, if you're the
kind of person like I am, you give back. You
try to take that money and multiply it in a
(30:54):
great way. The power, same type of situation. You know,
if you're in a position of power where you can
make change and you can, you know, touch lives in
a way that you couldn't if you didn't have that power.
Speaker 4 (31:07):
You know, that's important.
Speaker 5 (31:09):
But the respect, I think is the most important to
me because and I'm and I'm and I'm starting to
feel that already.
Speaker 4 (31:19):
You know.
Speaker 5 (31:19):
I put two songs out, okay back in the eighties,
but today when I speak to legends okay that come
from that area, that era, they call me legend.
Speaker 4 (31:32):
Yeah, they I can't.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Tell you how humbling that is, you know, to hear
some of the biggest names out there. First of all,
congratulate me for coming back, the courage to come back
at almost sixty years old after being out of it
for almost forty years. But they call me legend, and
it's it's you know, with that, it gives me a
(31:59):
more powerful voice, and it gives me better access to
people that I can collaborate with to make the kind
of change I see that needs to be made, you know.
So you know, I would say the respect is the
most important for me because when you have that and
people kind of want to work with you, you know, big
(32:22):
name people want to kind of work with you. You know,
the money tends to come anyway, and and and the
power comes with you know, the money. First, you get
the money, then you got the power, you know. But
bect is most important to me.
Speaker 3 (32:38):
I love that. I love that. Well, where can people
find you on social media to follow everything you got going.
Speaker 5 (32:45):
On Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok would be all at
the Real DJ Matrix. And the reason it's the Real
DJ Matrix is you know that that that almost forty year.
Speaker 4 (33:02):
Gap from when I put out feel my base.
Speaker 5 (33:05):
There's a few DJ matrixes that are popped up, and
you know, I gotta add a step, you know, make
sure people understand that I'm the o g Yeah, the
original so so uh yeah, the real DJ Matrix. And
on Spotify, you know, just you know, look up either
DJ Matrix or Hypnotic and you can find my Spotify page.
(33:25):
My my Shopify store is linked there. So if anybody
wants any DJ Matrix merchandise, that's there. If anybody wants
is looking for vinyl right now, I'm distributing my own vinyl.
It's on my own label based Botto Americans is my label.
So if anybody reaches out to me on any of
(33:46):
my socials and and and let me know that they're
looking for vinyl, you know I can, I can. I
can ship that direct to them. I'll autograph it. It'll
have a different lovers autograph on it. So you know,
those are the best ways.
Speaker 3 (33:59):
Of awesome, awesome. Thank you so much for coming on
and sharing your story. I mean, what an amazing, amazing story.
I was just glued. I'm like, wow, so inspired so much.
Speaker 4 (34:11):
Thank you for that, thank you, thank you. I can't
wait to hear this.
Speaker 3 (34:16):
This is going to be on Spotify everywhere.
Speaker 5 (34:19):
Okay, cool, I can't wait. I appreciate you taking the
time to interview me too, because the more people hear me,
the more that they'll hopefully understand that DJ Matrix is
back and it's not just about the music with me,
it's it's you know, I'm more than just.
Speaker 3 (34:36):
The music, legacy, legacy, and you're doing it. Thank you
so much for coming back, and thank you all for
listening and always remember to live, love, laugh. We'll see
you guys next time.
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