Born and raised between West Philadelphia and the city’s Germantown sections, DJ Drama became a fan of DJ culture since copping his very first mixtape. It was DJ S&S’s Old School Part 2- after a trip to New York City with his older sister. But it wasn’t until being captivated by Omar Epps’ character DJ Gee Q in classic hip hop film Juice would he step behind the ones and twos himself.

Early on, DJ Drama created a local buzz selling Hip-Hop mixtapes in his high school and deejaying at house parties. After graduation, he moved down south to attend college at Clark Atlanta University and brought his hustle game along with him. He began peddling mixtapes on campus with a catalog that included a reggae series, instrumental series and neo-soul series. But his bread and butter came when he dropped his first southern-based tape Jim Crow Laws, his fastest-selling tape to date.

DJ Drama Mixtapes
Quickly recognizing the demand for southern mixes, he renamed the series to Gangsta Grillz and asked then-upcoming crunk king Lil Jon to host. It was an instant hit. Before long, Drama got a call from Grand Hustle co-CEO Jason Jeter, who wanted DJ Drama to do something that had never been done before- compile an album-like mix tape with only artists from the label’s group Pimp $quad Click. And classic mix tapes from many of the rap game’s top players came back to back.

“The brand has been the success of many careers- myself included. It’s helped Young Jeezy’s career; it’s helped DJ Don Cannon’s career. It’s helped the Aphiliates’ career; it’s helped T.I.’s career. It’s helped the streets,” Drama insists.