Many claim to be the best in their field. But, in order to be the king of your craft you must cover certain criteria. Most importantly, you must be able to expand and dominate surrounding territory, have the respect of your people while possessing the vision and drive to rule for many years. Although DJ MLKshares the initials of a legendary king while providing the sounds for a hip-hop king, he has quickly produced a track record worthy of his own crown.
DJ MLK was born Marlon LaTodd King and even though his name denotes royalty, his beginnings were humble. “I’m a country boy from Washington, GA. It’s a small town an hour away from Atlanta. But, growing up there taught me to go get it.” This is a lesson DJ MLK learned well by growing from having his first turntables in 5th grade to quickly becoming the chief party rocker of Washington, GA. Always looking for the next challenge, Atlanta began to beckon DJ MLK.
“In Atlanta, you’ve got to keep yourself very busy,” DJ MLK resigns. To that end, DJ MLK holds court over 100,000 party goers 7 days a week by spinning at various clubs throughout the city. As a result, “I’m able to play all types of music at these venues from hip-hop to dance to Top 40 so it gives me a lot of flexibility.” This adaptability works well for DJ MLK as it gives him the ability to also rock corporate events as well including those for Heineken, Ciroc, and Hennessey.
In between the numerous gigs, DJ MLK manages upcoming writers and producers under the Life Without Music umbrella. Plus, he collaborates with Black Bill Gates and DJ Scream along with the Hood Rich family to create a mixtape circuit with a reach numbering in the tens of thousands. DJ MLK proudly recalls, “I’ve done mixtapes with the entire Grand Hustle camp” including the King of the South, T.I. of whom DJ MLK is also the official road DJ for.
“Thanks to this blessing, I’ve been all over the world and been on national TV shows such as VH1’s ‘Story-Tellers,’ BET’s ‘Rip The Runway’ and ‘106 & Park,’ in addition to ‘Live from Rockefeller Plaza’ in NYC for New Year’s!” But, DJ MLK is not afraid to do the dirty work either as he fills multiple positions throughout Grand Hustle from mixshow promotions to the street team.
In addition, to this impressive resume, DJ MLK has a grasp on the future as well – digital music promotions. DJ MLK adds, “I also have a digital promo site called ugotwax.com.” This portal has become the industry standard for the posting of breaking music via mp3s as well as videos. But most importantly, the site provides feedback for artists aching for a chance.
Because DJ MLK reigns over so many realms within the music industry world, he understands that “goodnight don’t exist in Atlanta.” Meaning, no matter your background or hustle, you will always be up working on your craft. To demonstrate its validity, after DJ MLK coined the phrase, it has gone viral thanks to his branding and marketing skills along with the 50,000+ followers of his twitter (@DJMLK), Facebook (DJMLK), and blog (djmlk.posterous.com) accounts to become the official hashtag of the streets.
As T.I. once proclaimed, “I call myself the king, I got my reasons.” Now that you’ve experienced DJ MLK’s claim the reasons are clear why he will be king of his craft for many years to come.
