Interview with DJ Immortal from Outlaw Radio 97.7 FM Canada’s #1 Uncensored home of Hip Hop
As promised, I’ve been busy with new material for the readers at ROX-TV. Besides the actual music that is bumping the underground, I also have mad respect for people in the game who are giving my favorite brand of music a place to be heard. I come from the nineties and it wasn’t so long ago that the underground sound was literally that. There were no radio stations willing or able to play the type of music that I thought had real value.
For those of you that are too young to remember, back in the day, access was limited to live events and in-store meet and greets. It was a different time and the fans really had to “want to be there” to see their favorite groups. Likewise, the artists had to work extra hard to get their music and message out. Nowadays it seems that so much can be accomplished with the click of a button on the computer, I feel that people forget or don’t know how different the landscape looked “back in the day”.
I remember though because I was there and because of that, I feel like it is my duty, with my position at ROX-TV to celebrate the history. Like I mentioned above, the artists have my upmost respect for breathing music into their ideas and turning them into songs for people like me to enjoy. But there is another side and that is the delivery systems. I tip my hat to the underground record companies, street teams, and of course any radio station brave enough to give the music a place to be showcased.
I recently interviewed my good friend DJ Immortal about his life coming up in the hip hop world and wanted to speak on Outlaw Radio. This is a guy who has love for the music as an art form and actually has a place at his Radio Station for the underground sound. I know I mentioned it above, but that is huge. When I was a kid, that sort of thing was unheard of. There were no “rap stations” available. At best, there might be a top nine at nine show on 92.7 WDZZ or 97.9 WJLB or 105.9 on the FM dial.
To hear hip hop and underground rap “all day long” would never have happened in the nineties. I know because I used to listen on my wack ass mini-boom box, struggling to hold the fucking signal long enough to “tape” (record) the top rap songs of the day on a mix tape. Well, I’m glad to say that those days are behind us and places like Outlaw Radio 97.7 FM, Canada’s #1 Award Winning Radio Station, featuring all the best shit from the 80’s, 90’s, early 2000’s, and of course the Underground really do exist!
I caught up with my homie DJ Immortal to talk to him about the dope work he is doing north of the border and he was kind enough to speak with me. So here is the interview for your reading enjoyment while you fire up a blunt of the “kind bud” or the newest shit flying off the shelves at the local dispensary. Let’s get to it….
- DJ Immortal, you’ve obviously been in the music business for a minute. The level that you’ve been able to take your radio station doesn’t happen overnight. It comes from hard work and determination. But beyond that, without a love for Hip Hop, none of this would be possible. I must ask you when exactly did you first fall in love with rap music as an art form?
My up bring was definitely different from other kids I grew up in Foster homes and Group homes from the age of 8yrs old till I was almost 18 so when I first heard Hip-Hop was when it was coming from the other boys at the group home, but the one artist I heard was Tupac his music when I first heard him I was like I need more! So dove right into the Hip-Hop genre it became my drug!
- Once you knew that Hip Hop was going to be a passion, what did you do from that young age to delve deeper into the scene and the culture?
I did research, read books did googling but the Internet wasn’t as big as it was today this was the early Myspace days so they didn’t have a much Information to digest as they do in 2021 so majority of my Information came from books I rented at the library and sneaking into the TV room at the group home to watch RapCity On MuchMusic I got into a lot of trouble for Doing that but that story is for another day lol but I can definitely tell you it was Worth it
- What did your friends and family think about the music? (Supportive, dismissive, any reaction?)
As a young boy living in a group home they hated it, some staff even tried to tell me made up stories about some of my favorite artists to try and stir me away from the Hip-Hop Genre but the more they tried the more I fell in love
But as an adult I’ve been a fan for such a long time, that it doesn’t really bother Individuals much Then have come to realize its who I am. my wife is super supportive of my passion for Hip-Hop she can tell that it has been a Coping mechanism for majority of my life so she is very supportive
- As you got older, how did your involvement with the music transform? (Did you know music was something that you wanted to do long term?)
Well my involvement grew and grew and grew throughout my life! I always dreamed of being in the music Industry in some way shape or form I just didn’t know how, when i was around 18 i attempted to make my own music but very quickly i realized i sucked and I put the Microphone down, I knew that if I was laughing at myself so would everyone else
After that I moved on, but kept being the hardcore fan, me not having enough Talent to be an artist and if kept on doing it that would be disrespectful to not only the Artists I idolized but to the entire Hip-Hop Culture I truly adore
- Can you explain the origins of the Outlaw Radio station and how that came to be a piece of your life?
The Radio Station originally started out as 2 Hour Show, I started with a Cell phone and a pair of ear buds and the organ behind that was I ended up losing my job, and i couldn’t find another one i tried and tried and it was bumming me out. I told my wife I need to do something doing nothing is killing me I’m gonna start a podcast.
Then when I started it, I had like 30 people Listening and they loved the music I was playing they were like Damn I have heard this in years, so I thought I have something here so I created some Social Media accounts based on the Station and then with only 5 Followers Deuce Deuce who does a lot of work with Young Noble of Tupac’s Outlawz group messaged me and said “You Have A New Platform, We Got A New Record, Can We Set Up An Interview?” Growing Up loving Tupac I was of course an Outlawz Fan who would say No, and that’s how the Interviews truly transpired
- How has Outlaw Radio transformed over the years? (Lots of changes? Maybe Not?)
As I mentioned above we were originally a Podcast/show but after our 1 year anniversary I was getting so Many Interviews and Song Submissions that I could never fit anything into a 2 hour Broadcast so me being the Visionary I am looked up Internet Radio Stations and realized I had all the equipment I needed so I made it happen, the next day i set it up got everything Licensed and within 24 hours I had a 24/7 Radio Station! And It was the best choice I ever made! Podcasts are fun, but owning your Licensed and fully functional Radio Station now that’s Business! I’d rather do Business then have fun!
- When did things really start to come together for you in the industry? I know that you can’t get top name acts from all over the world and from the underground without hard work, an ear for the good stuff, and good business sense. How did you do it?
Honestly things happened so fast that it is hard to really decipher when things started to come together for me I think what really made a lot of these opportunities happen and grow so quickly is that I looked at it as a business perspective some individuals look at it as a game but if you look at it as a business individuals are going to take you more seriously if you look at it as a game then the game is going to play you at the end of the day it’s the music business so
What I did from the beginning always thought two steps ahead if I did this what will be the next move would this be a good opportunity or should I not do it I always made sure I did what was right for business
- What was the biggest challenge or obstacle in your career or with the station? (Funding, outlets, resources, reaching artists?)
As much as this might not sound believable I don’t really find what I do challenging it comes so naturally to me but when I first started there was obviously some challenges and I would say the biggest one was resources since I was a growing so fast not having the proper equipment with such a limited budget at the time definitely was a struggle
- When did you know that you were really on to something? It must have been exciting for you to watch your program really take off?
When I first noticed that I was really on to something is when I started having individuals reach out to me telling me that they listened and they love what they heard it really fueled me to keep going and then when I started having the legendary hip-hop artists slide into my DM that’s when I knew this is something magical.
As a prime example this is a true ordeal as well one afternoon myself and my wife we’re sitting just having some alone time and my telephone rings on the other end was Alonzo Williams many West Coast hip-hop fans know him as the individual that helped N.W.A in the early years and of course Boyz In The Hood was record in his basement. that was a surreal moment for me because growing up NWA was one of my biggest inspirations growing up being bullied 24/7 their music definitely inspired me and taught me to stick up for myself so having the individual that worked with my favorite hip-hop group of all time call my phone inquiring about an interview blew my mind and after that telephone call commenced I cried because I knew that this is what I’ve always wanted and it’s finally what I’m always going to do the rest of my life giving love back to his honor of music that helped me
- What role has the social media revolution played in your career? Does it make things easier/harder and why?
I would say social media has played a key role in everything I am doing after all I am located on the east coast of Canada if it wasn’t for social media none of these opportunities would have truly been possible so I would say it makes things very much easier but also at times makes things difficult because there’s a lot of scammers and janky individuals out there so at the same time you have to be smart know who to do business with and who to not
- You recently started Canada’s first ever awards show for Hip Hop and underground artists? Was this something that you had been planning for awhile? What was the driving force for this big time move?
During 2020 as everybody knows worldwide a lot of protests due to the unfortunate racial acts of the government and police forces and of course the world pandemic with the covid-19 the world was in chaos everybody’s lives got turned upside down because of the pandemic individuals lost their jobs their lives family members so many legendary individuals within Hip Hop suffered so many losses from Hip-Hop losing Miami Base Legend “Kenny G” To Fred The Godson and so many others I wanted individuals to have a fresh start for 2021 something bring some positivity and joy into the new year this idea came to me less than two weeks before January 1st which is the day the award show went down so I took that 2 weeks did some major promotion got the awards together and gathered up the nominees I feel for a first broadcast it wasn’t the best there was some minor mistakes but everybody enjoyed the show and we ended up giving away 13 Awards we honored some legendary individuals within hip-hop and we also gave back to the independent and underground hip hop Community as well it is something that I plan on doing every year so January 1st 2022 will be our second annual event.
- What has been your favorite guest of all time? One or maybe top five all time big names you have interviewed? What did this mean to you as a fan of the art form?
I have interviewed so many amazing people that I can’t choose just one so it’s up 5 would probably make things a little bit easier for me.
Mopreme Shakur
Daz Dillinger Of Tha Dogg Pound
Kurupt Of Tha Dogg Pound
Vin Rock Of Naughty By Nature
Trick Daddy
Sir Mix-A-Lot
I know that’s 6 but it was hard to choose
- Do you have any advice for young cats looking to break into the industry? (Do this a certain way/Steer clear of pitfalls?)
My best advice would be if you have a vision go for it but make sure you stand out in this day and age there is so many individuals that are conducting interviews hosting their own podcast running their own radio stations think of ways you can make yourself stand out in some situations running with a pack of wolves isn’t the best decision especially in the music industry because people aren’t going to see you they’re going to see everybody else as well
Focus on positivity rather than the negativity a lot of artists get asked the same questions and majority of them are based upon their previous beefs or legal trouble but when it comes to the Hip Hop culture document something that is worth listening to 20 years from now ask the artist about a Timeless record ask questions that nobody else is asking these individuals and that is how you stand out as not only professional but an individual that has nothing but love for the culture
- Going forward what are some of the big moves we can expect from DJ Immortal coming in the near future? Also from the radio station?
As for DJ Immortal myself I have ventured into other parts of the music industry I became a publicist where I represent 3 extraordinary individuals the first one is a bay area artist by the name of Cadazone the second one is a West Coast hip-hop Legend formerly known as a Young Dee of the young murder squad now known as (Devoted 2 Tha Streets) and last but not least Canadian hip-hop Legend Memo Moreno of The Halfsizegiants
It has definitely been an eventful couple years for myself but I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing with the radio station that is my main focus but if I can help other individuals grow then I most definitely will do what I can I love being a publicist I love being a DJ and I love owning my own business it’s a 24/7 job but I would never change it for the world
And as for what’s next for 97.7 Outlaw Radio FM I’m going to keep providing you with the best top notch radio station but most of all I’m going to keep booking some of the best hip hop artists
- Biggest regret in the business? Perhaps missing out on interviewing an artist who passed away before their time, Anything that you wouldn’t do again? Why?
I would say my biggest regret is not starting my platform sooner there is so many individuals that I would have loved to interview before they passed away the most notable one would be MCA of the Beastie Boys anyone that knows me personally knows that’s my favorite East Coast hip-hop group after all I got the Beastie Boys logo tattoo on my arm every Beastie Boy fan knows how much of an adventurer MCA was so his stories would have went past even further than hip-hop he travelled the world even made friends with monks so I think that would have been such an extraordinary interview being able to hear his life stories from inside hip hop and also Beyond
- Do you have a message you’d like to share with the ROX-TV “Source for the underground” fans out there?
My message is most definitely keep supporting this amazing platform not only are they giving myself an opportunity to plug my platform but they also give other amazing individuals opportunities so make sure you stay locked and stay Poppin with the number one source for the underground ROX-TV
- Anything you’d like to plug for your station or personally?
Station wise I would just like to say make sure you follow us on social media that way you can stay updated on everything we are doing whether it’s interview wise or different content we are airing on the radio station I personally try my best to make sure I provide a top-notch quality platform for listeners of all demographics worldwide
Our official website: www.outlawradiolive.ca
Instagram Handles: @dj_immortal94 & @OutlawRadioFM
Twitter: @dj_immortal94 & @outlawradiofm
Facebook: 97.7 Outlaw Radio FM
And of course you can always Google “97.7 Outlaw Radio FM” and all of our information will pop up
- Last but not least, gotta give the shouts out homie? Put down everyone you want to shout out!
As for shout outs first and foremost I have to thank my amazing wife Victoria when I get overwhelmed she is there to help me she is nothing but supportive of what I do
I also have to thank the radio stations sponsors Tre Boogie Of Boogiez Flav & MJs Hip-Hop Connex those two amazing individuals believe in my company to not only associate their brand with mine but also help fund what I do so I have to give them a huge shout out for their unconditional love and support
Also huge shout out to all the listeners worldwide whether you’ve been listening from the beginning for you’ve only tuned in one time and scoped out our radio station I thank you for listening and giving myself a little bit of your time I have listeners all the world that tune in all throughout the day and night to listen to the station so I thank you all for your unconditional support after all a radio station wouldn’t be anything without the listeners
Most definitely thank you for having me it was an amazing experience and definitely an absolute honor! Thank you ROX-TV
That concludes the interview with DJ Immortal. I hoped you enjoyed the reads. Please keep coming back for news from the underground, the industry, and beyond.
Signing Off,
Mike Shepard
ROX-TV Head Writer
“kidvicious810” on Instagram
shepard2909@hotmail.com
