My earliest influential musical memories stem back to childhood where my parents would listen to WBLS every morning while getting ready for school. Being exposed to various forms of rhythm & blues, classic soul and early hip hop growing up, had a profound influence on my musical palette. Another huge impact on my musical perception was my father's record collection that spanned so many artist genres from James Brown, Hector Lavoe to Christopher Cross. I eventually  used his music and the records I “borrowed'' from my college radio station to spin my first basement fraternity party. They asked what name to put on the flyer and I said.. Dj Derick Spaulding because I had no cool Dj name; and it stuckThe strong, driving force behind deciding to buy my own set of 1200’s was a desire to record mixes with the specific records I wanted to hear and in the order I wanted them played. Learning to spin and master mixes was not easy. My friends would throw objects at me if my mixes were off-beat...LOL... Looking back, this unique lesson taught me how to effectively hold a blend for extended periods of time, which would eventually form the base of my dj style; blends over scratches.All the musical influences growing up allowed me to be a chameleon of music genres. I learned to spin and eventually fuse odd elements of music together to develop my own Dj style. Blending hip-hop with fused rock loops, mixing reggae and salsa together, while seamlessly navigating numerous  levels of house music allowed me to grab gigs all around the city favoring whatever type of music the crowds wanted me to play. I made my name as a hip-hop dj, but could step in and flip house, reggae, rock, merengue, salsa, bachata like it was my specialty. I was known as the Dj that would flip records fast, playing mostly hooks to create that crazy crowd energy all night. It worked! My club experience and collaboration list is long because I had the benefit of growing up in the golden age of hip-hip and clubs. Playing venues like Latin Quarters, Palladium, Roxies were a regular part of my Dj lineup.  I was blessed to work with so many key promotional teams around NYC and beyond that gave me access to many key venues to promote my name. I have been on the same Dj lineup with OG’s like Kool Herc and Peter Parker to modern day legends like Camillo, AM and Enuff. I have earned my Dj stripes and now listen with enthusiasm and encouragement to the next generation of turntablist. 

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