Today we’d like to introduce you to DJ Stussy
Hi DJ Stussy, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
So my name is Dominique Jamal Taylor, formally known as “DJ Stussy.” I am a 24 year old artist, musician, poet & DJ, hailing out of the city of Los Angeles, CA. I started my music journey at the age of 3 when I first starting playing drums. I became professional by the age of six, and starting two services a Sunday in church by the age of eight. I started playing piano by the age twelve where I taught myself how to play. By the age of fifteen I started fully producing my own instrumentals on a hand-me-down Dell laptop my father gave me in high school. I wrote my first song called “Highschool” when I was seventeen and released it on Soundcloud and YouTube back in 2017. I dropped my first mixtape called “Welcome To America” later than year, and then after released another one called ” Reality.” In 2018 I graduated high school and moved to Birmingham, AL where I attended Miles College, an HBCU, for four years, under scholarship for choir. While in college, I played drums and sang tenor in the choir, while being the campus DJ, apart of the jazz band, pledged my fraternity, became a residential assistant and recorded a whole album in a dorm room during my time at Miles! I started working in education as a college advisor, turned teacher after I graduated. Took a three year hiatus from music to focus on finishing school, then released my next album “Until Further Notice” in 2023. I changed school districts, had a few life struggles, then released my last project “A Kid From South Central” on my birthday in 2024. This album reflected my time as a young man growing up in Los Angeles and how I got to this point in my music career.
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 definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. I lost my brother back in 2016 due to police brutality. He was shot and killed by Compton Sheriff’s Department in the Compton damn, and never received justice. I lost a lot of family members, friends and potential relationships along the way. My father worked two jobs, we faced homelessness twice, I almost didn’t make it to college, I was shot at when I was 5, while sleep in the back of my parents mini van, but God. My parents didn’t always have money, but one thing my mother promised me and my sister is that, “I may not have all the money in the world to buy you materialistic things, but if nothing else, I made you sure you had Jesus.”
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a professional recording artist. I create art through music. I like to tell stories about my experiences and others perspectives. For example, I have a song called “Hood Dreams” where I rap about a girl that I know, who went through real life struggles, parental hardships, got pregnant young and still managed to live the life she wanted. Even my song “Soft Girl Era” is a combination of three young ladies that I know, who’s lives I combined to make a song,
I also love sampling old school classics. Like my song “24”, the hook is an original chorus by Anita Baker called “Angel.” Kanye West and J. Dill are two of my favorite producers, and I model my sampling skills after them! What sets me apart as an artist in my entire discography. Working with little to nothing and allowing my talents to prove that I am one of the best artist in this generation.
How do you define success?
Success is the result of excellence in a field of which you’ve worked hard in to get to that point. Success is the execution of all things aligning in your favor because of yesterday’s struggle.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djstussymusic?
- Twitter: https://x.com/djstussymusic
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/-C4pOvUNOYs
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5kQzjoh3aT8Xezz7J4Qsfa
- Other: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/dj-stussy/1332935192
