Today we’d like to introduce you to DJ Lil Vegas.
Hi DJ Lil Vegas, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Born in 1994, I’ve always been into music—even as a newborn. I have a picture of me at just two days old. It’s an overhead shot, and it looks like I’m holding one hand up to my ear and the other toward my mouth. My mom told me it looked like I was holding a microphone and headphones. I’ve run with that ever since.
My parents thought I was going to be a dancer. Anything with a sound, pattern, or rhythm—I was dancing to it. With my mom being into music and my dad being a DJ, I was around music about 95% of the time. One day, when I was three or four years old, my dad was throwing away an old record player. I followed him outside and asked, “Can I have it?” He thought about it, then said I could play with it after he removed the power cable. He set it on top of my toy box in my room, gave me an old vinyl he didn’t use anymore, and played one of his mixtapes from a recent party. I had a blast. It’s all caught on camera—I even posted the video on my Instagram.
Ever since then, my passion for being a DJ grew. I went along to weddings with my dad, learned how to set up equipment, and even DJ’d a little when he wanted to take a break. That followed me into my school years. With my mom on the PTA board, I was automatically volunteered to DJ school events and dances. The kids loved it—having someone their age DJing their events was a hit.
During middle and high school, I started getting interested in radio. I listened to 102 Jamz a lot growing up. I’d study the personalities and the mix show DJs, trying to replicate what I heard at home. I even made mixtapes of my own “radio shows” to play during family trips.
Eventually, I wanted to be on 102 Jamz. I did everything I could to get in contact with someone there. How dope would it have been to have a young kid or teen DJ on the radio? Word started to spread that I was making a name for myself, and I caught the attention of DJ Polo—this was back in the MySpace era. He reached out and invited me to 102 Jamz to shadow him during his noon mix show. That visit really sparked my love for radio. Seeing the studio and watching them work took my dream to another level.
Years passed, and by the time I was a freshman in high school, I had already DJ’d everything from parties and weddings to concerts at the coliseum. I was doing a lot around North Carolina A&T at the time, and a friend of my dad’s who hosted a show on 90.1 WNAA FM (A&T’s college station) invited me to do a guest mix. The response was incredible. The station’s director, Ms. D. Cherie, reached out and offered me my own mix show. I was ecstatic—nobody could tell me anything at that point! Just one step closer to my dream. I’ll always be grateful to Ms. Cherie and the staff at WNAA. Without them, I wouldn’t have been ready for the next step.
I was also doing a weekly event with radio legend Busta Brown—Midnight Basketball at Barber Park in Greensboro. It gave teens a safe place to hang out on Friday nights during the summer. One night, Busta told me that DJ J Flex from 102 Jamz wanted to get in touch with me. Biggest news of the night! The next day, I called J Flex and invited him to meet at my parents’ house. He came over, met my parents, saw my home studio, and asked what my plan was. I told him straight up—I wanted to be on 102 Jamz. I wanted to be part of the Mix Squad. He told me my time was coming and to be patient.
We stayed in contact, and I’d ask if I could come shadow him during the 5 o’clock remix. Fast-forward to senior year, I decided to do my senior project on radio—perfect opportunity. I chose DJ J Flex as the focus. One Friday night, I went to the station to get the info I needed. I ended up getting an A+ on the project. But more importantly, from that night on, I started going up to 102 Jamz every Friday night to hang out from 10 PM to 2 AM.
God bless my mom’s soul—she played a major role in making all this possible. I didn’t have a license then. She’d work a 12-hour shift, get off at 6 PM, take me to the station by 10 PM, wait in the car until 2:30 AM, then drive back home—only to get back up at 4:30 AM for work again. My mom did a lot to support my dreams, but that’s a whole other story.
Eventually, I got my license, so she didn’t have to do that for too long. Hanging with Flex at the station opened the door. Since he was in charge of the mix show DJs, I started covering his sets when he couldn’t make it. Then I started filling in for other DJs too. I eventually got my own spot on Sunday nights at 10 PM with Showdown. Then I got offered the 9 AM morning mix spot, which led to the 12 noon show.
Then the pandemic hit—and I got moved to the 10 PM slot, Monday through Saturday. That led to me landing the 5 o’clock remix when the world opened back up. Eventually, I got a full show on Sunday mornings from 10 AM to 3 PM. And finally, I earned my last spot: Monday through Friday, 6 PM to 10 PM, with the “Mixtape @ 8.”
Many years later, I’m now part of the world-famous Heavy Hitter DJs—one of the biggest accomplishments of my career. I’ve launched my own internet radio station, WVEG-DB. I’ve had the opportunity to meet and DJ for a number of celebrities. And most importantly, I have the best support system behind me—my wife and kiddos.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t always a smooth ride. There were plenty of nights I cried because I wanted to pursue my radio dream so badly. There were events I didn’t want to do, but I felt like I had to if I wanted to grow my name. A lot of people doubted me back then because of my age. It wasn’t like it is now, where people can watch your videos on social media and book you instantly. Back then, you had to take every opportunity you could just to get your name out—and everything moved by word of mouth.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
The radio branded me as a remixer—someone who could take one song and blend it seamlessly with another. Around 2013 or 2014, there weren’t many DJs doing that, especially not live on air. That became my thing, and it turned into a challenge for my colleagues: “What can Vegas mix today?” I’d walk into the building at 8 a.m. to callers already asking if I could mix two wild, unexpected songs together.
Keep in mind, 102 Jamz is a Hip-Hop and R&B station—so I’d get requests to blend something like “Hotel California” with a current track. And I did it. Live. Then it became, “Let’s see if Vegas can do a full 20-minute set of live blends.” I did that—twice. Live. Eventually, people started asking me to do mashups and live blends at parties and events. I loved it.
At the time, I think that’s what set me apart—along with my scratching. A lot of radio DJs weren’t scratching much back then either. But J Flex always told me, “Let the people know someone is in here mixing live.” Now, you hear blends and mashups everywhere, but back then, it was something new and exciting.
What I’m most proud of is that when I perform, I can take the listener and the crowd on a musical journey. Every DJ has access to the same music—it’s all about how you play it. What can you play that no one else is thinking to play? Can you make people forget their problems for a moment through music? Can you make someone smile with a song? Can you create a moment? For me, it’s all about the music and connecting with people through it. Telling a story. Creating a flow. Setting a vibe.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
It’s hard to say at this point—this industry is constantly evolving, especially with the impact of social media. There’s nothing wrong with that, though. It’s actually dope to see new, creative DJs emerging—to see how they think and how they move through music. Of course, you have to take the bad with the good, but I really hope the DJ and radio industries continue to grow in a positive direction.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djlilvegas
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/djlilvegas
- Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/djlilvegas
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lilvegastv
- Other: https://www.mixcloud.com/djlilvegas
