What’s your stage name and where are you from?

DJThriller – Los Angeles, CA

What’s the story behind your stage name?

I used to be a big fan of Michael Jackson. And combined with my love for dance, instrumentation and song writing, he has been a inspiration for my art as well as my mission for my art to be represented

Describe your musical journey in three sentences.

My journey began with a deep connection to hip-hop, jazz, and gospel, inspired by artists like Tupac, A Tribe Called Quest, and J Dilla, It channeled a passion into rapping and producing eventually founding the Hustle Nation, my own personal collective of underground artists. I help develop their sound and brand while blending music and visual storytelling to create content that resonates with people

Share an interesting experience you had while creating your latest track.

Every instrumental that I create for myself or for my artists is an experience. Depending on who it’s for, the song is crafted around the artist to show its true versatility. An example of this is the song “in my feels” where a guitar loop made me instantly create a chant phrase that turned into a hook

What message do you want to convey through your music?

Through my music, I convey messages of resilience, empowerment. I am a voice for the voiceless, striving to create songs that reflects personal experiences and facing their own challenges. Using hip-hop, jazz, and soul elements also gives the edge it needs to innovate and expand on the rooted tradition, of offering a musical journey to others that will inspires and uplift

Tell us about a challenge you faced during production and how you overcame it.

Soul Therapy is one of my first mixtapes that I have produced for myself, but it was also a tough time where I was struggling mentally. My grandma passed away in October 2023, and it messed with my mind to where I was second guessing my artistic vision, as well for myself. Being able to combat through the grievances of my family, during a hard winter break of finding my spirit in a dark cold place. I tell the story of how I overcame obstacles as a child, and preventing a suicide attempt to teach the younger generation on the importance of life, and the importance of fighting through the struggle for a better life ahead

If you could collaborate with any artist, who would it be and why?

Leon Thomas due to the fact that he has worked so hard to get where he is and finding his comfort zone in his mindset of music. As a fan of RnB and Neo Soul, I used a lot of those elements in hip hop. and as a young artist training myself to genre fuse, I use Leon as a reference of sound, but of professionalism in the industry as a black man

Where do you see your music taking you in the next year?

I see myself taking my Hustle Nation Sound to be an independent record label for artist to be able to develop, market themselves, and find a home for their music to grow. A way to give the artist control of their success, but also teaching them the importance of accountability and responsibility. As humans, as people, both sides need to be on top of each others work and habits, as we help each other to live the dream we all aspire to have

What’s the next big step for you as an artist?

To be the best producer in music and in documentary production. While using my music to inspire others that anything in life is possible to accomplish if you believe in yourself, even when there are those who want us to believe we are not

Where can we hear/watch your most recent work?

Spotify, instagram,