DJ Drama is a disk jockey hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S who was born on April 22nd 1978. He gained notoriety as T.I’s official DJ and has since released his own run of celebrated mixtapes while working with everyone from Snoop Dogg to Lil Wayne in the interim.
Born Tyree Cinque Simmons, DJ Drama’s career in hip-hop began with a stint as fellow Philadelphia native Bahamadia’s official DJ. Having befriended her when he was a teenager, he had become her DJ for her live sets by the time he went to college in Atlanta, Georgia’s Clark Atlanta University. Being the noise behind one of the most acclaimed rappers on the east coast has its benefits, it seems, and with the heightened profile that his job gave him he was able to form his own crew while still in college, called The Aphilliates. He also began a series of acclaimed mixtapes called the “Automatic Relaxation” series, but it wasn’t until he started the “Gangsta Grillz” series of mixtapes that he began to get noticed on the national scene.
To get an idea of just how hot this series was, a buzz single was released for the first majorly released album on the “Gangsta Grillz” series in 2007. It was called “Takin’ Pictures” and it featured Young Jeezy, T.I and Rick Ross as only three of the six rappers featured on the track. This was for a track that wasn’t even going to be released, let alone chart, and needless to say Drama’s profile skyrocketed after that, especially when T.I poached him to be the official D.J for his Grand Hustle organization. Ever since then, DJ Drama has worked with anyone who is anyone in American hip-hop, from 2-Chainz and Kendrick Lamar to OutKast and Pharrell to name but a few.
Drama’s skill for spotting and working with talent old and new hasn’t gone unnoticed, and in January 2014 it was announced that he’s working as an A&R man for Atlantic Records. He still hasn’t forgotten his roots though, and his live sets can still cause utter anarchy wherever they might be held, and for that reason, he comes highly recommended.
BEN STERLING
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