The School of Greatness - 99 The World's Hottest DJ, DJ Irie on Hard Work, Passion, and Living the Life You Want

Episode Date: October 13, 2014

Greatness is living the life you want to live. - DJ Irie For show notes of everything mentioned in this show, visit LewisHowes.com/99

This is episode number 99 with DJ Irie. Welcome to the School of Greatness. My name is Lewis Howes, a former pro athlete turned lifestyle entrepreneur. And each week we bring you an inspiring person or message to help you discover how to unlock your inner greatness. Thanks for spending some time with me today. Now let the class begin. What is up, everyone?

Thank you so much for joining me today on The School of Greatness. I am very excited about today's guest. His name is Mr. DJ Irie, and he is one of the most talented DJs in the world, but also one of the most passionate and considerate and loving individuals in the world as well. I was so fortunate to have him in the studio here in Los Angeles, and I'm so pumped to share with you his story and allow him to share his story because it's very inspiring and just a passionate, happy, driven, focused guy all around that anyone in business or sports or music can really learn from. So I'm so excited for you guys to learn and connect with DJ Irie.

Make sure to follow this guy online. Check him out. He's the resident DJ of the Miami Heat. So if you're in the Florida area, go to Miami Game. You're going to see him there. He also plays at some of the biggest venues all around the world that we're going to talk about here in this interview. So I'm very excited to bring him on here in just a second. Without further ado, let's go ahead and dive into this interview with the one and only DJ Irie.

Here with DJ Irie. It's Irie. Is that how I say it? Who's that? What? Is that how you say it? Who's that? What? Is that how you say it? You got it. Because I've heard different people say different things.

No, we'll keep it. I heard Wyclef say like Irie or something. No, no, no. Wyclef goes Irie. I was like, what? And I only like to be called that sometimes, not every time because it's a lot of effort. So just I Ivy is fine. Nice, man.

Nice. Very, very excited to hang out with you today. You're running around the world and you had like an hour window in between meetings in LA. We made it happen. We made it happen. We've been connecting for a week, back and forth every day. Our mutual friend, Ben Sterner.

Big shout out to Ben. The Sterner. Who's a dear friend of mine. Yeah. We actually roomed together on the ship at Summit at Sea. You guys were roomies? We were roomies. I'm jealous, man.

Yeah, we were roomies. Oh, man. I didn't have a roomie. Really? Yeah, man. No one wanted to hang out with the DJ, man. You had your own suite. Had my own little suite that was kind of sweet, actually.

I imagine. With the ocean view. We were in the middle bunk. We were in the middle. I mean, I got to see something sweet actually with the ocean view we were in the middle we were like in the middle of us i mean i gotta see something why not the ocean you know like i settled for it you know i'm not picky i'll settle for the oceans yeah so just to give some context for people listening uh dj re the first time i experienced him was 2000, 2010? I think it was 2010. Summit Series Conference. We're in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on the way to the Bahamas. It's like the sun is setting. The laser lights are about to go off.

And then all of a sudden, you see this guy with this big guy, this guy with this huge smile it's just like jumping up and down and they're like dj and we're all in the middle of this ship like on top of it and it's the first time i heard about you right and uh but everyone was like oh he's such a big dj and you were just like spinning everything and playing all this awesome music creating an extraordinary it was great energy man experience for everyone there

yeah it was it was good man and uh it's the best feeling actually was obviously what three days was it

three days but it felt like a a month or something yeah it did it did there was something there was something happening at all times

it was amazing but it was the best experience you know for me I mean meeting all these amazing people yeah and actually getting to spend time with them and converse you know and actually make a connection and build a rapport. But, you know, that show being one of the first shows, you know, everyone kind of knew who I was and the word kind of spread.

And everyone was like, yo, Ari, that show was awesome, man. Right, right. Like, you know, what's going down again? You know? I'm like, tomorrow, let's do it. Now, how did you get connected in that scene originally? You know what? I met, at the time, the Summit Series guys were actually living in Miami.

That's right. Right? All in one big house. Yeah, that's how they do, right? Actually, this is really cool. So, a mutual friend, I think it was my man Robert Nan from Creative Rec, right? And he connected us. He's like, you know what?

My boys from Summit you know they're living in miami you're in miami you guys should definitely connect you guys are all good people and we connected and like that first day i happened to be in miami that day and um ellie was like yo come for dinner tonight i'm like i happen to be hungry tonight that works yeah every night around seven o'clock every night you know what i mean sometimes twice so um i went over right and it was like like 17 people there you know everybody's super cool but then so i mean i'm gonna guess you know we're gonna go you know sit down so it was everything in the neat right they're like let's bounce i was like so when you tell me let's bounce it means we're leaving right so i'm like i just got here where are we going he's like no

literally let's bounce they have this huge trampoline that's right in the backyard i've never seen pictures of this and you take off your shoes and you gotta bounce right oh my god so i was like all right i guess i'm gonna bounce we're like jumping the trampoline now i'm really hungry but it was great man it was really great and we just really hit it off and they said you should like well they came to like a couple of my shows. In Miami? Yeah. I was playing like Mansion Live, whatever.

At the clubs. And they came to a couple of my shows and they were like, yo, we got an idea. Let's get you to do a show on the ship. I was like, it works. Let's do it. Wow. And that's how you met Ben and a bunch of other people. Yeah.

So many people. Have a lot of things since that event supported your career? Have you got a lot of gigs from it? Absolutely. You know what? Probably, I mean, a lot of cool things came out of it, but probably the one thing that's probably the coolest was, you know, I always wanted to play a big show for Google. This is one of the things I wanted to do, right?

And I met a guy named Alex Abelin, right, at Summit. He was like Google's community affairs person based in New York. And we kept in touch, like we hung out when we were in Miami. I went to go see him at headquarters when I visited New York. And- The Google headquarters in New York. In New York, yeah. Not the main one in San Francisco. Not the main one. Yeah, the one in New York, which still is no- It's big.

It's big. It's a block. It's amazing. Yeah. It's a city block. All right. It's not no joke. So I went and had lunch over there. Just in Chelsea. Yeah. North of Newpac, right? Right across from the Chelsea Market. Yeah, yeah.

It's a big building. Huge building. Huge building. So I went over there and had lunch with him, hung out. And then I actually told him. I was like, you know what? I'd love to do an event for Google one day. And probably like a couple weeks later, he's like, hey, man, I actually met the girl that's planning the holiday party.

Oh, my gosh. And I told her about you. And she's like, try to get him. And I'm like, I'm gotten. And you know what? We did this huge, it was at, was it Capital or Barif, one of those big party halls in New York. I mean, it was like 5,000 people. Wow, really? I mean, it was like 5,000 people. Wow, really?

I mean, it was Google. It was like, oh, Google, and there are significant others. Sure, sure. And Eric Schmidt was there, too. Wow. But you know what? It was just an awesome party. And I was like, I got to do it.

A bunch of tech nerds can dance, huh? Listen, man. Listen. They can get down. Listen, they can party just as hard as anybody else, man. I was like, respect. You know what I mean? That's hilarious.

They wore me out. That's for sure. Wow. It was a lot of fun. What's been the best gig you've ever done in your life? That's so tough, but there's so many. I'm sure every weekend is probably the best, right? Every weekend is amazing.

What's one that just stands out to you like something something okay out of your like an out-of-the-body experience that you've never felt before okay the one that probably really stands out that i'll never forget just because i'm i'm i'm a music connoisseur music fan you know um that's what got me here i'm just really really passionate about music and passionate about the people behind music you know the artists and so jam Jamie Foxx is a really good friend of mine, right? And we've done all kinds of amazing stuff and toured the world, all kinds of cool stuff. But he calls me up one day and he's like, yo, you got to get out to Malibu.

We're going to do a birthday party for Robert. He lives in Malibu, right? So Jamie lives in Thousand Oaks. Yeah, yeah, okay. Right? I have a friend that used to live there. Yeah. So maybe, you know, he used to live,

he used to live like in, not in Malibu, but I think he used to live in like the hills or whatever. Yeah, yeah. But he's been living in like Thousand Monks, like right outside of Calabasas for a couple years now. And so he calls me, he's like, hey, we're doing a birthday party for Robert. So, and you know me, like we always, we're always cool,

you know? So like, I'm like, I'm supposed to know who Robert is. Right? Like, who's Robert? So I'm like, Robert Red supposed to know who Robert is. Who's Robert? So I'm like, Robert Redford. Downerine Jr. I was like, yeah, I was at Downerine Jr. But I'm supposed to be playing it off, right?

And he's like, yo, this is the date. You can get it open, right? And I'm like, I don't know. What the heck's going on? I'm like, you know what? If you say we've got to be there, yeah, date's open. We're going to make it happen, right? I'm like, oh my god, date, please be open.

So he's like, Susan's going to email you, right? So I'm like, what the heck is Susan? Because I know Susan doesn't work for him. So anyway, I get an email the next day from Susan Downey, right? And I'm like, okay, it's Robert Downey Jr., right? And I'm a big fan. I think he's amazing, know what he's been through in his life in his career yeah you know this is right he did iron man as well right so um he's great

yeah amazing amazing so fast forward we put all together we do the party he has this amazing estate in malibu right um we're doing the party it is the who's who like thank god nothing happened there because if something happened literally like 75 of hollywood would be a rap you know what i mean everybody was there it was it was just truly truly amazing and you were the dj and i'm rocking out wow i'm rocking out jamie performed that night as well so i'm rocking out i'm doing my thing and i'm kind of looking at over the crowd and i see sting oh man walking off the dance floor right so him and his girl come on to the floor and i was literally just about to play this roxanne remix oh no like this

is just out of a movie right so i'm i'm starting to mix it in how did it sound it was like all your heroes is a little little right so you can tell it's coming right so i'm like i'm looking at him i'm like just locked in right he's not looking at me right i'm being really weird and creepy so but i'm like i know he's got to feel my eyes on him right so everyone's eyes yeah exactly so finally he kind of looks up at me and it's right before the first hook's about to drop right and i look at him i'm like giving him that look like sting you with me right you don't know me but but you with me right and he kind of gives me like this nod no way we synced up

we're saying he looks at me he kind of gives me this nod. I throw the mic. The other time, he's like in the middle of the air. No, you did not throw the mic. It was a movie. You threw the mic? It was a movie. I throw the mic. He catches it. No, he does not.

One hand? One hand. Shut up. Right on the first. No, and sings it right. Shut up. Shut up. I was like, yeah.

So the whole place erupts. Oh, my goodness. Everyone thought it was rehearsed. Shut up. Everyone was like, wow, when did you guys get to practice that? I was like, never! Right? Everyone thought it was rehearsed.

And I'm like, that just happened, right? And it was 99% perfect until I screwed it up. What did you do? Because he rocks it out. So it's towards the end of the song. So then he throws the mic back at me perfectly. Right to your head. Right.

I was like, put my hand out. And it would land right. Like hit you in the face. You would think it was a hot potato right out of some boiling water because I'm like fumbling. I'm like fumbling it.'m like fumbling in it. It's still on.

So everyone's here like, do, do, do. Oh, man. Right over the speakers and it drops. Like, boom. Big old thud. Everyone looked at me like,

really? Really? You just couldn't catch it and everything was perfect? I was like, yeah. Leave it to me to screw it all up. Oh, man. But that was like,

that was an epic, epic, epic, epic night, you know? And there's just so many amazing opportunities. And, you know, the thing about it is I went on this journey for music, you know, my passion for music. And next thing you know, you're seeing the world, you know, and you're meeting the most amazing people. I imagine. And, you know, sometimes at night I go back and I have like a little studio at home and

I walk past the studio and there's these two turntables and a mixer. And I'm like, it's all you guys. You know what I mean? Yeah. It's where it starts and where it ends. You know what I mean? And it's pretty amazing. And I think I listened to an interview of yours where you talked about how you got into

music where you guys, your family would actually have a music room. My family, we didn't have a TV room. You didn't have a a tv and so you'd go and you'd listen to i think you said like bob marley you'd listen to other people peter tosh you know the whalers tv wonder like all the motown stuff and so i was like this this young kid with kind of an old soul you know because especially like saturdays and sundays my dad had these speakers that literally were from the the ceilings to the floor. I mean, it was massive. He was just this whole sound freak, right?

Sure. And the house would just be full of music all day, Sunday, all day, Saturday, like on the weekends, all day. And I would just be pumping in my head to the point where I just loved it. And I'd get home from school, and I would just kind of sneak in there and go through the records that I liked, you know what my head to the point where just i just loved it you know and i get home from school and now just kind of sneak in there and go through the records that i like you know what i mean and then i just put it on and just be like dang that bass line is going off you know you know what i mean those lyrics are dope did you play a lot of instruments growing up or sing or were you just more honestly i appreciate i had a love affair with with uh turntable the turntable and vinyl

you know to the point where it was it was actually like an addiction like you know if a song came out if i if i would just hear like a snippet of a song and i liked it i had to find that vinyl i had to own it wow no matter no matter what it took i had to have it so before i even graduated high school you know i already had like probably over 12 000 records oh my god right i had stopped eating lunch i wouldn't afford it anymore i mean you're only buying i had to buy records so i hung out i always make sure i hung out with you know some really cool and kind of paid friends whatever so hey you get another one of those oh yeah i got you you know some pizza you can eat your cornbread you know and um yeah i would just literally but you know what they knew

they know that man this guy's buying records man you know yeah a lot better a lot better no legal type of drawing it was a joke for the soul but um yeah and then just literally you know some other things happened in my life and the whole you know dj thing kind of came about but it's all started from me having to like collect these records i had to have them now you grew up in other countries right is that what i heard so i was born on an island well i was born in the virgin islands in saint croix right um lyrics kind of just popped out was passing through for real my parents my entire family's from jamaica yeah right at the time my mom was a nurse and it was a much better opportunity there was a shortage

um in saint croix sure so uh they picked up you know went over there and then there's a better opportunity actually in california and they're from from saint croix to california california to galveston texas and then from Texas to Miami. All that happened within two years. Whoa. Because I was living in Miami by the time I was two. Wow. And then stayed in Miami a couple years up until about middle school. And then my parents were like, yeah, you're going to boarding school in Jamaica.

No way. Yeah. I went to boarding school. Did you? Yeah. Where? In St. Louis, Missouri. Not as exotic.

Same, same. St. Louis, Missouri, Manitoba, Jamaica, same, same. But I went in eighth grade. I moved to- Yeah, that was right about the time that I went. Great experience for me. Listen, my very first year, I thought my parents hated me. I thought they just wanted me gone and discarded.

Sure. By the second year, it just really dawned on me how big of a sacrifice it was for them. It's probably really expensive. I mean, it just really dawned on me how big of a sacrifice it was for them. Yeah, it's probably really expensive. I mean, it was expensive. You know, I'm in another country. They have to be paying for all my food, they're paying for all these different things. And the fact that their kid is away from them. Yeah, they probably miss you.

Yeah, of course. But it totally hit me. And I was like, wait a minute, I really have to make the most of this because my parents are really making a big sacrifice for me, you know? And I learned so much, you know, and it became just this great place for me that I didn't even want to leave. So the only reason we're here speaking right now, to be honest with you, is because of Hurricane Andrew. Wow. 92. Hurricane Andrew. I was in Miami visiting because my parents basically threatened me because I didn't even want to come. I was like, you guys come down here. They're like, no, we have to work. Like, we want to see our kid, like,

come home for the summer and i'm like ah they were living in miami they were living in miami jamaica i was gonna come for holidays so i'd come with christmas how far is that flight oh it's really it's like it's like an hour and a half two hours yeah not bad not bad at all you know and i'll do it on my own you know and um the hurricane hits and wipes out everything jamaica or in miami miami yeah so i was here visiting i was in my i was in miami visiting and the hurricane comes literally everything was gone. Everything

I owned, everything my parents owned. Your house was gone. The house was gone. We survived the hurricane by going in the cars and going in the garage and backing the car up to the garage door. I mean, I didn't even think that we would live through it. It was the scariest thing in my entire life. Whoa, how long were you in the cars for?

Probably about two and a half, three hours because towards the end, what happened was we were in the house and bit by bit, the roof was tearing away. So you could see it. I was in my room, like laying down in a close-up. I can see the sky.

I'm like, who turned the sprinkler on in the room? Oh my gosh, really? It was getting wet. I look up, I'm like, wait a minute, that's the moon. Wait a second, where's the roof? the roof and so the roof was tearing away and i went to my brother's room roof's tearing away go to my parents room roof's tearing away and we jumped in the in the cars in the garage and that's where we we uh wrote it out and then it was just unspeakable destruction man it was it was amazing and i felt bad i'm like there's no way i'm going back to paradise. Because really, my situation in Jamaica was a really good one at that time. Compared to...

I mean, yeah. I mean, they just lost everything. And I was like, there's no way I can do that in good conscience. So this was like a Christmas holiday break type of thing? This was a summer. Summer break. Summer break. What year were you?

This was 92. I mean, what year in school? Oh, so in Jamaica it was a little different. Because they don't have grades. They go by forms. Okay. So I think I was in probably... Or or how old were you probably 11th form 11th forms which is the equivalent of like uh like 10th grade no actually it's the equivalent of like 12th grade really so

you're like a senior yeah so when i came back what i stayed and i did one more year i said my senior year and gotcha in miami in miami so you stayed one more year there oh gotcha okay yeah so i didn't even go back interesting okay so i didn't go back to jamaica to stay so what did that what impact did that have on your life afterwards i mean it was oh my gosh man that was a life-changing experience you know um i mean i lost everything that was near and dear everything material wise you know in terms of you know your your memories and memorabilia you know and it was just you know to start over you know then seeing your family go through, you know, in terms of, you know, your, your, your memories and memorabilia, you know, and it was just, you know, to start over, you know, then seeing your family go through this, you know,

we all moved to an apartment, like a single bedroom apartment, and it was four of us, you know, and it was just, it was, you know, at that time, more than anything else, it just really made me appreciate, you know, the simple things and appreciate your family, you know, because when you go through this as a family and as a unit and you, and you get through it together, it really, you know, the simple things and appreciate your family, you know, because when you go through this as a family and as a unit and you, and you get through it together, it really, I mean, you're already strong as just as, as a unit. Cause you know, I'm blessed with this great family, but it made us, you know,

that much stronger, you know, and, and, and really everything else came second. It was like, keep your family strong, keep it together. And everything else comes second. You know, you guys still pretty strong today. Oh, absolutely. Wow. Absolutely. They're still in Miami. They they're actually in jamaica no way we switched i'm in miami wow and they don't want to come visit now they come out here wow yeah yeah we kind of switch but no i get on there visit them all the time they come up and visit me sure and it's uh okay it's cool so after that experience i guess how did you get your first gig you You're a senior.

You're about to go either – did you go to college or did you – Yeah. So actually, I got my first gig as a senior in school. Are you playing like in your home, in your basement? Yeah. I had my little setup in my bedroom. Yeah. Right?

And let me tell you something, man. There was nobody better than me in my bedroom. I was rocking that thing nightly, right? And let me tell you something, man. There was nobody better than me in my bedroom. I was rocking that thing nightly, all right? I mean, because you know what? It was just my little fantasy festival and fantasy club. So I made it to anything I wanted it to be. Because I actually had, the way I had it set up, I had the turntables, the mixer.

It was on my dresser. So I had the mirror. So I'd look into the mirror, but I wouldn't see myself. I would see people either going, boo, when I did a bad mix, you know? Or i'd do something really dope and everyone's like oh man that was awesome i'm like thanks bro you know you actually visualize the crowd yeah man it was like my own you know like fantasy studio you know and um it was just it was wild because you know i just visualized myself doing all these like you know things And I was just in my bedroom. Wow. But what really, I don't know if you knew about this part. I've spoken about it in a couple of interviews before. But the way I got my very, very, very first gig outside of my bedroom.

Besides your family coming. Not even that. Taking a ticket to come in the room. No, they would come in the room and be like, yo, turn that crap off. You know what I mean? Sure. I'm like, don't you see this crowd over here what are you talking about so um this is actually a pretty wild story so there was there was a girl uh that went to every story starts with a girl yeah and ends that's that's how i got out here are you serious i moved

here from new york city for a girl and it ended with that Starts and ends. But it all worked out a long way. It all worked out. Yeah. I guess it kind of worked out for me too, man. Pow. Put it right there, man. So this was a girl. I had a huge crush on her, right?

Yeah. And my next door neighbor, who was my homie at the time, he knew. And he was friends with her. I didn't even know her, right? But he was friends with her. He set me up one day, right? So they're hanging out at his place, right? I get up from school.

I was usually the first one home from school. And you know me, first one home, you know, you get up from school, you're like, it all hangs out. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I had my little He-Man underoos on. You know what I mean? Some socks.

That's it, you know? And a bowl of Froot Loops. You know what I mean? I'm chilling, you know? Getting ready to watch my cartoons and stuff. And ding dong it you know and a and a bowl of fruit loops see what i mean i'm chilling you know getting ready to watch my cartoons and stuff and um ding dong you know like i was at my door i looked at the peephole it's my neighbor and he's he's with her right are you light yeah and i'm in my little i'm in my little underoos and socks i'm like they're like spider-man underwear yeah i'm like uh nobody's home i'm like darn now they don't home so i'm like hold on and i go and put some clothes on and i open the door i'm like uh hi what's going on and i was like yo we're just over my crib just

kind of chilling we came over to come hang out with you a little bit right i'm like okay cool so like you know can we come in i'm like yeah yeah so they come inside and um we're talking for like two minutes and my neighbor he's like oh my gosh i gotta go no he did not do that i forgot i gotta do something my mom dipped out leaves me alone with her right it's either good or bad right now it's either good or bad now i just that's a great wingman if you're ready for it but i had no idea idea. He had prepared me. Yeah. Oh, man, I had the candles lit. You know what I mean? An extra bowl of Froot Loops.

You know, I had it all set up, right? The incense. So he leaves. I forget the English language, right? I was like, oh, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So she's like totally confident. She's like, so show me around the house, right?

Right, right. I'm like, oh, yeah, there's some stuff over there. There's like, so, you know, show me around the house, right? I'm like, oh, yeah, there's some stuff over there. There's some stuff over there. There's some stuff back there. There's some stuff over there. You're good. So I wanted to do anything but show her my room because I had records everywhere. I mean, records were literally everywhere.

In the bed, in the pillowcases. That was part of the condition to me being able to buy the records, that they weren't all over the house. As long as they're in your room, you can do whatever you want, right? So she insists to see my room. Fine'm like oh my gosh she's the biggest freaking geek because i'm a record collector right she goes and she sees all the records her face lights up she goes oh i didn't know you were a dj i love djs no way my face you're like yeah i'm like girl don't think all the records are for right now she's like i'm like just because you're not cool enough to come to my parties don't mean i don't do my thing right she's like oh my gosh i don't even dj i'm like a long time you know so anyway and you're in high school right now right you're in high school it's like my senior year right yeah

and this is towards the holidays now too right so this is like early december sure and um so she's just like you know what so now like everything flips i have all the confidence now yeah what's up girl put your arm around her i'm like if you're lucky i'll invite you to a party one of these days right so before she leaves right so we have this now everything was great. Like we're chilling. Like, you know, the ice was broken. Everything's all good. And so she's about to leave. And she goes, wait a minute.

What are you doing for New Year's? And I'm like, what are you doing for New Year's? I'm going to hang with you. She's like, oh, so you're not booked like a party or anything? I'm like, no, I don't usually do that that early. You know what I mean? Now that's like the biggest night of the year. I'm like, oh, I don't do it that that early. You know what I mean? Now that's like the biggest night of the year. I'm like, oh, I don't do it that early.

That's what happens. She goes, great. I'm going to have my dad book you for our New Year's party. Shut up. Dead ass. Wow. Dead ass. Her name was Sarah.

She hadn't heard you play yet. No, she saw like I had a room for the records. We spoke about music. Yeah, yeah. She felt it. Yeah, I had the right tunes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I'm like, okay, I already put my foot in my mouth, right?

So I couldn't backtrack now. So she leaves and I probably stood stoic at that door for like a good 20 minutes. What did I just commit to? What do I do now? You know what I mean? Should I relocate? Should I have facial surgery? Like what am I going to do?

Then I was like, you know what? Maybe I'll just do it. Right? Right, right. Because you wanted to, right? Eventually, you thought about doing it. I mean, I had just in my mind. Right, right.

Not in actuality. Did you ever think about you wanted to be a DJ? No. Or were you just doing it for fun? I was doing it for fun because in my mind, I was like, I can't be a DJ. Really? DJs are DJs, not me. Right, right. I just have some records, you know what my mind i was like i can't be a dj like really djs are djs not me like i just have some records you know what i mean like i can't be a dj so yeah next thing you know i just i got the courage i was like all right

dad the dad called wow and he's how much you're working for he's like how much you charge on that i was like I have a guy that talks all that stuff I'll ask him and he's like okay alright alright

you can tell he's like man this is weird right yeah right so anyway he's like you know what he's like whatever my daughter wants we'll make it happen right

so um I ended up charging him charging like 500 or something like which at the time you were rich and i was like i was like five five hundred maybe like i'm asking for a favor and he's like are you saying 500 i'm like i'm like he's like all right no problem you know that's a steal for me. Yeah. I guess I was like, wow, I have like $500 now. So anyway, I didn't have the full set. But I had friends that were DJs. So I bought a speaker here.

And it was new here, so everybody was working. So I ended up with this Frankenstein of DJ sets because there was no two brands the same. But when you plugged everything in, sound came out. So I was like, all right, we're good. A Sony speaker, a Samsung. Yeah, oh, man. Onkyo, Sanyo.

Like, oh, it's crazy stuff. And we, my dad had a pickup truck. So he took me over there, right? And I remember we pulled up in front of the house, and the dad came out. And the dad was like, what's that? Because everything looked so terrible, right? And he goes, that's going in the house? I was like, if that because everything looked it looked so terrible right and he goes that's going in the house i was like if you want to party it's like all right i guess wow so now i'm doing this party so but the thing is i didn't know how to dj meaning you know djs they they

scratch and they beat mix right they interact and they do all that stuff no that's that's not what i did i just played records in my room so but at least i had good records right so i had good taste in music so i'd play a song can you imagine casey casem doing a nightclub that's what it was okay because i'd play a song all of the song oh man so i'm gonna fit that and i'd be like all right that was a goodie i think it's over no it's not because here's another one like a radio jockey and i'll just play the other song i remember one of the guests came up to me and they were like don't you do that stuff like that djs where they kind of mix it all in and you kind of keep the flow going? And I was like, no, no, don't do that.

Not my style. I'm just going to play some songs and pray they get out of here in one piece. That's about it. But you know what? I don't know how or what. I mean, maybe it was because of Jose Cuervo and Johnny Walker and the rest of the homies. But people had a good time, man. Wow. To the tune of a week later, her dad comes back.

Now, here's what I didn't realize. Her dad was the general manager of Planet Hollywood. Oh. Right? And they had one in Coconut Grove at the time. Wow. And it was kind of like a party scene because on the weekends, it would get kind of crazy. Sure.

And just without a DJ, it just had that vibe. Yeah. And he calls me he goes i'm not sure he knows but you know i managed the the planet hollywood and i have an idea i want to start bringing you as a future dj one of the weekends and i was like i mean do what i did at your house the jerky system and i was like i could probably do that again i said you give me more money too i was like all, all right, let's do it. And that was actually my first like gig gig,

you know? So you had a plan in Hollywood for like every week, every weekend? Every weekend. And my parents- Did you start to learn how to like mix it in

and like you start to see what other DJs were doing? Yeah, I mean, that's when I was like, wait a minute, if they're going to keep- I got to learn

how to do this for real. I had to like really get together. So I kind of, you know, started really working a lot more and getting my mixing down and all that kind of stuff. And my mom gave me hell because I was getting home at like 2, together. So I kind of, you know, started really working a lot more and getting my mixing down and

all that kind of stuff. And my mom gave me hell because I was getting home at like 2, 2.30 in the morning, you know? And you're like 18, 19. Yeah, man. I'm still, you know. 20 maybe. Exactly. I'm still in school and stuff.

And she was like, nah, this isn't going to work, you know? Wow. But you're like, mom, I can pay for rent. Yeah, right? Like I can buy my own drawers now. You can, right? And so she pressured me so much that I quit. I stopped doing it.

But at the same point in time, I had an offer from the local skating rink in my head to DJ offer. So I picked that up. They closed at midnight. Yeah. I was a little bit earlier. Wow. Yeah.

And then graduated and went off to college, went to FIU. And that's a story in and of itself. Florida International. Yeah. Florida International. Yeah, Florida National University. And that was a story in and of itself because not only, because my brother didn't go to college, right? He started working right after high school. And so for my parents, I was the first one.

And I got a full scholarship. Wow, that's great. And my parents were like, all right, well, you're going to be a doctor or a lawyer. So you're a pig. But you can be anyone you want. I was a doctor or a lawyer. That's how Caribbean parents are, man. Wow.

And they were serious. And I was like, I guess I'll do more good as a doctor, I think. So you couldn't say, I really like this DJ thing? Oh, are you kidding me? That wasn't even oh no i said i had caribbean parents man what are you kidding so i get this scholarship and i mean my name's in the paper the whole thing no way i mean my mom is walking around with this thing like taped on her forehead like that's my son you know what i mean it was like their proudest moment wow and

my very first year here's what happens right so remember i'm doing the dj thing so i'm doing on the side on the side but now the people at the skating rink are also going to the clubs and they're like yo there's this this guy that's like kind of killing it at the skating rink you guys should have met this club and i started getting some opportunities at the clubs in miami which is a big scene in coconut grove though not in south beach right okay so like the world of college crowd right and i'm doing like the fraternity parties and sorority parties and kind of make a little name for myself to the point where in the middle of my first semester i was doing like six nights a week. Shut up. Yeah, man. And getting paid.

And getting paid. Six nights a week? Six nights a week, right? I bought a new car. Wow. Of course, I had rims on that thing. Of course, spinners back then. I had a lot of the big sound system. But the problem was I also had classes at like 8.25 in the morning. And you're going to bed at like 4. And I'm going to bed

at like 4, if I'm even going to bed. If I get to class, I'm sitting in the back. I'm dozing off. Sleep, yeah. And my grades took a huge hit, right? To the point where the first semester, I lost my scholarship. Ooh, because you got like a C minus average or something.

Yeah, exactly. I fell below the average I had to maintain. Lost the scholarship. That was academic scholarship. That was academic scholarship. Oh, man. Right? Yeah.

It would have been the most devastating news my parents could ever get. Of course. Okay? So after it happens, a bolt of reality just hit me. And I was like, I need to figure this out. Right? And I got to figure this out without involving my parents. Yeah.

So they didn't know you lost the scholarship. Well, yeah. The reason I didn't know is that I literally, I knew the process. I knew they sent a letter. And you were like, I'm getting that mailbox. Every single day I was there before the mailman pulled up. Oh, my gosh. I collected the mail.

And it took about four or five days as I timed it out. And I intercepted the letter. No way. And that didn't even go into the house. I tore it out and I intercepted the letter no way and I didn't even go into the house I tore it up right you didn't read it 80 well I opened up make sure you lost it it was it tore it up and we had a little uh gutter right there and it went right down the gutter oh man and that was it that was it so then uh the next semester is coming around uh-huh and I had to still go to school and it's like 10 grand bills coming in.

Exactly. Books, right? There's books. Tuition. There's fees. But guess what? I'm working. You're making money now.

I'm making money, but I can't buy the new kicks anymore, and I can't do the stuff to the car. I literally took every penny that I had. Shut up. And paid. I still remember writing that first check for the tuition. That's expensive too.

Oh my gosh. You're like, that could have been a new car, Escalade. No, I was like, man, all those hours, those late nights. I wrote that check and I gave it to him. And that was a life-changing moment. Wow. Because I still worked. Actually, I worked more.

I worked more, right? I worked more. I worked more. I was doing all those late nights. But guess what? I was early to class. I sat in the front because I said, you know what? I can't let all this money go to waste. You know what I mean? Of course.

I was asking every question that needed to be asked. I was staying after class and saying, okay, we got to do this again, professor. Because I got to get this. And my grades went right back up. And unfortunately, once you lose, You can't get it back. You couldn't get it back,

right? And because I was already, you know, so deep into it, I couldn't, you know, apply for, the only thing I could think I got was like financial aid or whatever.

Sure. And I was like, no, I'm just going to do it. And I worked and I paid. Three and a half years. I did it all. You paid for it all. My parents never knew. Shut up. They never knew. They know now, no, I'm just going to do it. And I worked and I paid. Three and a half years. I did it all. You paid for it all.

My parents never knew. Shut up. They know now, obviously, right? I told them a couple years ago. Shut up. And they were like, shut up. They were like, are you serious? Wow.

And they didn't believe it, man. I was like, yo, that's exactly what happened. They were like, wow. You never told them. I don't know how you keep that a secret. Shoot. Very carefully. Wow. Man, listen. When you had the kind I don't know how you keep that a secret. Shoot. Very carefully. Wow.

Man, listen, when you had the kind of whipping coming that I was going to get, trust me, you figure it out. They would have kicked you out of the house. Oh, my God. They would have disowned me, man. Quick. Oh, my goodness. But what a great lesson and experience for you to be disciplined moving forward in the

rest of your life with your business, your career. And that was it. And that was it. Wow. So that was one of the first major, that was it. And that was it. Wow. So that was one of the first major, major lessons that I actually put myself into. Wow. And I remember before you mentioned

how Miami, that scene is such a big scene, so important. My dream at that time was to play a club on South Beach. Right, because it's like the biggest clubs in the country are in South Beach. Really, when you look at the scene, right, this whole music scene and the mecca, I mean, you're talking about like Vegas when you look at the scene, right, this whole music thing and the Mecca, I mean,

you're talking about like Vegas, you're talking about like Ibiza and you have to talk about South Beach. You gotta talk about Miami, right? Because what's the biggest event there every year? Oh,

we're in a music conference. Yeah, we're in a music conference. You know what I mean? So it really is, we talk about a staple in a nightlife Mecca or whatever, Miami is up there,

right? And so I was always on the outskirts, you know, I was downtown, I was in the the outskirts. I was downtown. I was in the Grove. Right. You hadn't made it yet.

Yeah, because any club that was a club, they're booking top talent. T.S. Dillard and all these other people are coming and whatever. Yeah, I mean, back then it was, no matter who it was, it was just the best. Right.

And I was like, gosh, I want to play in a club on the beach one day, right? Wow. And I remember there was this promoter that actually used to work at the skating rink that now is like the kind of hot promoter. Shut up. On the beach, right?

And he was like all like arrogant and all that because, you know, one of his underlings was a good friend of mine. He kept barking his ear like, come on, man. You got to give Harry a shot. He's ready for it. He's ready for it, you know? This is after a few years of you practicing and honing in your craft. Now, the boy was okay.

I got some moves. I mean, I could keep a wrecking hole in the room together. You know what I mean? I'd put in a lot of work by this time. Sure, sure. And I felt confident that I was ready. Yeah. Right?

You'd mastered the craft to that point. Yeah. I felt like I knew what to do to keep the party going and make people respond. And out of the blue, I'm actually at the skating rink. It's a Saturday night, right? And I remember that my homeboy's name was Daryl. Still playing at the skating rink. I just started my session.

I did like two sessions on Saturday, right? And now there's a crowd coming for you at the skating rink. Oh, yeah, yeah. It was my thing. It was called like Ivy Fridays. It was like my thing, right? And I remember Daryl running on the skating rink because you couldn't, you know, not to walk in the rink, right?

You have to have your skates on. And he's running, right? And the skate guards are like, hey, whatever. And he's just running. He's going against the traffic and he's getting over to me. And I'm like, what? What's going on? And he busts your door.

He's like, you got to DJ the club tonight. Shut up. I go, what? Right? He goes, I just spoke to Angel. The DJ that they had isn't coming. Shut up. They need a replacement.

He's giving you the job. Oh, my gosh. Because you have to do it. And I'm there working, right? And it was probably like in two hours I needed to be there. When's your set? Is it going to be your set's over at like midnight, and then you got to show up?

Well, I was supposed to be playing, so I did my first session. I would have to miss my second session, right? Thank God the manager, his name was Richard, cool dude. I just grabbed my phone and said, hey, man, I have a shot to DJ in South Beach. I got to go. He's like, who's going to do Ivy Fridays? Like, do you have an Irie?

I'm like, no, but can we work this out? He's like, get out of here, man. Wow. He's like, we'll put some music on or whatever. He's like, we'll figure this out. Just get out of here and get their own time. Because you made them a bunch of money. You've been, you know.

He was a cool dude. And he just saw something in me. He's like, man, this is a good opportunity for you. Wow. He didn't hold me back. He could have, you know. Yeah, of course. If you would have said, hey, man, you can't go, I would have stayed and do what i have to do you know but i went down there how nervous were you on the way over so so nervous man and i didn't have all of my records right because i said the stuff i was

using in the skating rink not what i do at the club right different stuff but i just i just not old school funky like we can dance it out for the skate you know you know what i mean you know what i mean all that little skating stuff but you know what though i just kind of like worked it out wow made it happen i had a friend there brought some of his records and i just it was an awesome party wow it went It went off, man. It went off. And then at the end of the night, the promoter says, you know what? I'm starting a new party at a new club, and I'm going to have two rooms. I'm going to have a retro kind of 80s room, whatever, and I'm going to have like a hip hop R&B room, right? He goes, I'm going to give you the hip hop and R&B room.

Wow. Right? After that night, first night. Yeah. But this was a smaller room, right? And he goes, but here's the deal. The room had no equipment. So no lights.

Shut up. It was just four walls. So you got to bring your own stuff. Had to bring my own stuff. And he's like, I'll pay you $200. Oh. A night? To perform from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Wow. I was like, absolutely. And how much were you making at the skating rink? Oh, my gosh. First of all, between the skating and parties I was doing, like in Coconut Grove and all that kind of stuff, oh, man, I was doing my best party, I was doing close to $1,000 a night without bringing any equipment.

Again, as a 22, 23-year-old. Are you kidding me? Just making money, baby. That's some good math right there. Yeah. I mean, no, I was like 19, good cash right there. Yeah. I mean, it was. Matter of fact, no, I wasn't. I was like 1920. Wow. You know what I mean?

That wasn't even legal yet, right? 1,000 bucks a night. That's good cash. Yeah, man. It was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. So I was like, yeah, because he was like the hottest promoter, and it was a club on the beach.

But now here's the problem. I had like turntables, but I didn't have speakers. I didn't have amps. It's like 50 grand, 20 grand or something. I mean, to go and rent it, right?

Yeah, I mean, first of all, I didn't have the money to buy it, right? I didn't have enough to buy it. But I had a friend that was a DJ,

had all the equipment. But remember, it was a Saturday night. He's booked. He's booked. But he's like, you know what? I can just,

I'll hook you up. Wow. He goes, give me a hundred bucks bucks half of what you're making oh my god i'm like oh like all right all right but it's your shot i gotta do it boom 100 bucks right wow he's like you gotta have lights too you can't just have a dark room i didn't have any lights at all found somebody with lights he's like man give me a hundred bucks give me a hundred bucks wow okay so now i'm working my ass off for nothing yeah right still one more problem

how am i gonna get it all there you need a truck i didn't have a truck i had a car right i had a little cute acura integra right and um i had a friend sounded good so i had a buddy that had like a little uh he did pool cleaning um so he had a pickup van or something yeah well yeah he had a pickup everything fit in and but he had to his schedule he'd work early because sunday mornings was like his peak time to do his thing right so he's like man i'm gonna start like you know a couple hours later now and I'm gonna lose some money. He's like, man, I'll still hook you up.

Just give me 50 bucks. Sure. I paid $50 to work all night for a good probably seven months. Seven months? I thought you were gonna say like a month and then he was like, okay, now we'll pay you some money. Seven months.

Seven months. But you know what happened? What happened was- What a schmuck for not paying you. Seven months. But you know what happened? Wow. What happened was- What a schmuck for not paying you. Seven months I did it for. Every single weekend. Every Saturday night.

Every Saturday night. It was like the hottest night, right? It was the hottest night. But remember, it was, the club had two rooms. It was a big room, big main room, right?

Where, you know, that's the big money in the, you know, and they had a small room. But it was one entrance to the club. So if you got through the ropes and you're in the club, then you're in the main room, right? And then you have to go through another entrance

to get into my room, right? What happened in that seven-month time- Everyone was in the small room. Everyone to the point where the room would be packed like in the first 45 minutes. And outside, that whole other part of the club was just people standing around waiting to get into that room. Shut up.

To the point where it only made sense to switch. Of course. Right? So what he did was, but he didn't want to succumb to, wow, this guy ended up being- This is the man and bringing everyone together. And he was like, you know what I'm going to do? I'll pay you like $250. Oh my.

But just come in the main room and do like a 30-minute set during the other guy's stuff, right? So I was like, you know what? I said, you're done messed up now. Everyone's going to be in. I'm never going to leave. I'm never going to leave. I said, you know what? Now, in my hands anymore, it's going to be the crap, right?

Because I would go and do my 30-minute set and the place would go crazy, right? And everyone would be in that room. And then they would stop. And then they'd move. Well, no, no. I wouldn't even. They closed that room. Oh, wow.

They closed the side room because it didn't make sense. It was like a hazard at that point in time because the only way someone would get in is somebody to go out and go to the bathroom. Sure. And then they're pissed off because the bathroom's quick, and then they can't get back in. So it was like a big problem over there. So they closed it, right? And I would do my little 30-minute set.

People would go crazy because the whole music was changing at the time, right? Uh-huh. a big problem over there so they closed it right and i'll do my little 30 minute set people would go crazy because the whole music was changing at the time right and the other guy would go back on and people would be like oh right they're not by not that he was the other guy was bad but just the taste of music was changing you know what i mean like so and i and i said and i wouldn't leave i'll just sit inside and be like, how do you like me now? Look, I was just giving that look. You know what I mean? And how much was the other guy getting paid?

Oh, the other guy was probably making like $1,500. Oh, man. He was making like $1,500 a night. And I remember they did it for like two or three weeks. They tried that, right? And then by like the fourth week, he came up to me and he's like, next week I'm just going to try something. And just like.

See if this works. Probably just have you play this room. But he tried to kind of sneak it by, like, I'm going to just do your favorite gig. And I was like, nah. You got some other gig. I was like, you know what? At this time, you know other people are already calling. Right, of course.

And I was like, nah. But you know what, though? I was extremely appreciative that he gave are already calling. Right. Of course. And I was like, but you know what, though? I was extremely appreciative that he gave me a shot. And he's still one of my best friends today. Right. And but as a businessman, right, as someone that need to establish, you know, a certain brand, a certain level, you know, I had to play some hardball. I missed the time to play it.

He messed up. He messed up. Right. You know, you should have tried to find a win-win. Exactly. You've been killing it. I appreciate you. Exactly.

Everyone's here because of you. So what we want to do is we want to give you the big room and we're going to pay you quadruple. You know what? I would have totally just worked. Whatever you would have done at that point, I would have been cool with.

Just acknowledge it and be like, let's make a win-win. It was like pulling nails that made for him to succumb to, wow, this is the right thing to do. And he's probably a 30 or 40-year-old and you're a 20. Yeah. win-win it was like like like pulling nails you know they made for him to succumb to wow you know this is the right thing to do and he's probably a 30 or 40 year old and you're 20 yeah as a matter of fact he was 32 so he doesn't want to lose his ego and the music at that time was like it was

still like his taste and i'm playing the stuff that people want the next younger generation wanted to hear you know and um so he was just like well you know i was like no we're not going to try that i said you know what this has been fun no, we're not going to try that. I said, you know what? This has been fun, but this is not really what I want to do. I'm going to look at some other opportunities. He's like, what do you mean? You got to work with us. Like you started with us.

You know what I mean? So you have the whole like I own you kind of syndrome. And I was like, I was like, reality check. I haven't been making squat for seven months. Yeah. I said, it's a reality check. I said, listen, man, this is, you know, I earned my spot here. Yeah.

By paying for work for free. And you know what? He called me the next day and he apologized. Wow. That's nice. And he was just like, you know what? This is just a transition that wasn't really like anticipating, whatever. And he ended up paying me like $2,500 or something like that.

Up front? And rebranding the party like $2,500 or something like that. Up front? And rebranding the party around me. Wow. And we had the sickest run ever, man. Wow. For a time, I even said, you know what? This is my guy. I put it out there that this is who I work with.

Everybody wanted to do different things. And I said, you know what? This is who I work with. This is my guy. Because he made it right. He made it right. And I was like, you know what and at the end of the day even though you did it for various reasons you gave me that opportunity yeah you know wow and we're still

like great friends today but you know what like i said no one i mean people might look at me today and they'll see me doing a festival doing you know gma or whatever and no one would ever think that well my first opportunity real opportunity to dj somewhere i wanted to dj i was paying 50 bucks you know and working all night you know yeah but you saw the vision of like okay this is the hottest yeah strip to work on in the country i knew yeah i knew i knew what it can be yeah and listen after that it wasn't long before people were coming up to me at the end of the night and saying hey i have a club in hamburg germany you know i have a club in griot brazil from all over the world everybody comes to miami like dang this kid is hot yeah you know what i mean and now i'm like because one of the things i was like you know

what i remember when i started doing clubs i was like what if one day what if one day i can actually like take my music and go like on a plane or maybe a bus or something i don't know but go somewhere else than miami and play music and kind of perform that'd be so cool right yeah and i was on a plane going to germany doing like a six city tour you know what i mean and i was like what is happening right now you know like you guys i want to go there and play musics you know i was like, what is happening right now? You know, like, you guys want to go there and play musics? You know? I was like, all right, they can do this, you know? And that was wild.

That blew my mind, man. And now you go all over the world. Every week you're flying back and forth from another country, it seems like. Yeah, I get around quite a bit, you know? But it all stays in perspective, you know? When you have, you know, a start like that, you it's it's never far from your mind you know what's the dream now it seems like you've you know the dream then was to just get a gig and like say that yeah but you know what okay here's what's what's kind of been crazy about my career right if i

15 years now right it's about 15 17 years of dj yeah at least at least you know i mean and all these different things have happened you know i mean from the miami heat situation you know i mean radio you're still doing the miami heat yeah i'm going on my i'm going on my uh 15th season and that kind of happens yeah my listen my very uh my very first year djing on the beach is when they called me. Wow. And I was like, what do you mean, official DJ for the team? Do you show up at every home game?

So, yeah. Wow. I mean, it's crazy because it's like we're part of the fabric of the entertainment. Wow. You are like the entertainment. I mean, it's really – I mean, I'm sure some of you listen to Adventure Game. If not, please come because it's very entertaining. I'm sure it is.

And we're very friendly down there. It's all good. But it really is an experience. But I mean, from that end, have three championship rings. I can barely dribble a basketball, man. I have no athletic skills. I just played today. I'm a big basketball fan.

Really? You're better than me, just so you know. We've never played, but you're a lot better than me. Are you sad that I'm from Ohio? Oh, so you're better than me just so you know right we've never played but you're a lot better than me are you sad that uh i'm from ohio oh are you else you're happy i'm very you're happy i'm sad great all right cool i was sad for the last three years yeah or four years you know what man the whole the whole uh you know lebron situation i mean i mean do we wish that he stayed in miami absolutely of course i mean hey we like four straight trips to the NBA finals, yielding two championships. Like, that's amazing.

You know what I mean? And I think, personally, I think that chapter kind of ended prematurely. I think they had a lot more greatness to achieve, you know? Sure, sure. But, you know, at the end of the day, you know, everyone's got to make a decision, you know? Yeah, yeah. So why do you continue to, you know, obviously now since LeBron's gone,

why do you continue to come back? I'm what's called, you know what? I'm what's you continue to you know obviously now since lebron's gone why do you continue to come back i'm what's called you know what i'm what's called and you know what i feel like now and don't get me wrong it's a huge commitment every home game right it's i mean there's probably a few games because i was like super bowl and you know sundance you know all these places i have to be yeah yeah and they're extremely supportive and they work with me you know what i mean but it's still a huge huge commitment because you could get a big paying gig somewhere else it's like a hundred grand this is true where you're like you know and i'm not making a hundred grand at the games all right i can imagine they're getting wrong for

the situation and what it is they do their best to take care of course no question about it you know i mean in various ways you know i mean mean? They are just a top of the top organization. Sure. You know? I love them for who they are and I love them for the opportunity that they've given me. Yeah. And they have given me a huge amount of exposure. And you get exposure from being there.

100%. I mean, listen, just the fact that I can wear three championship rings. You got rings too? I have three rings, man. What? You got rings? That's like DJ Irie on them. You should have brought them.

No, they don't leave Miami, man. I'm not. My guess, you know, is if you're entertaining them. There are some dishonest people in this world, believe it or not. That's true. That's pretty cool. But yeah, I have three championship rings. You know what I mean?

That's awesome. If that's not family, what is? You know what I mean? That's pretty cool. But yeah, I'm what you call it. I'm a heat lifer. That's our term for it. You know what I mean? That's pretty cool. But yeah, I'm what you call it. I'm a heat lifer. That's our term for it. You know what I mean?

And it's not about this player or that player. Yeah, yeah. It's about the sport condition of the team. You know what I mean? And it runs really, really deep for me. It really does. That's cool. So you're going to keep coming back for as long as you can.

So yeah. But I mean, obviously, in life, there are transitions. Always. You know what I mean? And there's different chapters. So to say I'm going to be there the rest of my life indefinitely is probably a far tale. But I do make a very large concerted effort, you know what I mean, to be there as much as I can. And I think especially this particular year and this season coming up, it's important to be there.

They're going to need you. You know? They're going to need some entertainment. All those losses listen there's been some changes but there's also um a lot that's still in place of course at least i can be counted as something that's still in place that's great nice very nice so that's important to me interesting so and you know what's the dream moving forward then because you've done a lot of great yeah oh so what's all saying so here's the thing so do i have you know dreams and aspirations in the next chapter? Absolutely.

But you know what's funny? A lot of people say, like, what's the plan? You know, I made it a point to not plan. And here's why. And this is for me, okay? And this might apply to other particular careers, you know, and other disciplines. But here's the thing with me, right? If I would have plotted a course for myself, let's go back 10 years.

If I would have plotted a course for myself, right, that course probably could, you know, incorporate a lot of different things. There's no way that course would have official DJ of the Miami Heat. There's no way that course would have had DJing on Good Morning America. There's no way that course would have had doing the World Cup. There's no way it would have had all these amazing things that have happened, you know, in my life, right? And it could have been a really cool course still, right? But I kind of feel like if I did set a course and destination

for myself, I probably would have been setting myself up for something else and not those opportunities, right? So what I did was a little bit different, right? What I did was I kind of started to do self-assessment. And I said, there's one thing, but there's a couple of things that are very consistent. And that is anything that I do, any performance that I do, I do it to the best of my ability, right? Every performance, no matter where it is, from the skating rink to the World Cup. No matter what it is, right? If it's three people in a club or 5,000 people,

I'm going to give them the best show possible, right? And I'm going to stay consistent as possible, right? I'm going to take the best care of my clients, my partners as possible, right? And maintain the best relationship as possible, right? I'm going to take the best care of my clients and partners as possible, right? And maintain the best relationship as possible. And I'm going to try to do all these things at a very, very high level. And what I understood was if you do these things consistently at a high level, the right opportunities, the right people, the right way, we'll take notice of that, right? Because hard work never goes unrewarded right and if i'm working get myself in the circles right of of

people and of of opportunities that i want to be around it's going to create that that positive edge and opportunities will present themselves yeah right i i truly believe that right so i focused on keeping those things positive the next thing you know every moment next thing you know i'm playing at the finals at the world cup yeah you know what i mean i could never have set that as a goal you know what i mean how do you do that give me the president people's number he's gotta have me you know how do you do that you know but when you're consistently working hard and creating great experience people are going to come to you yeah you know what because it's attractive like

who doesn't want to work with that you know i mean i want to work with that you know i mean like when i have the opportunity to you know hire talent to be around that's what i look for you know what i mean and and there's so many people that um i have some amazing people kind of based in miami that have amazing opportunities now in of themselves that you know what i noticed them and i was able to put them in an opportunity that yeah really changed their life of course you know what i mean um and a lot of times they tell me hey you know what like i i see how you do your thing and i see you operate and like um um that's that that's for me you know what i mean who did you look up to that was this way when you were

kind of growing in the business that you're like okay i need to set this standard because that's what you know how did you know to do this what you're doing now um you know what not to sound not to sound um narcissist or whatever but right right um a lot of it was was intrinsic yeah i would probably say and this is this is true I probably had more examples of what not to do than what to do. So you're like, I'm just not going to do those things. And yeah, it was more motivating because, you know what, especially as a DJ, there was such a negative connotation of being a DJ in the corporate world, right? Like back, I mean, it's definitely changed quite a bit now. right?

Like back, I mean, it's, it's definitely changed quite a bit now, but, um, at that time, if you went to a CEO of a major, you know,

brand or whatever, and probably, or a VP of marketing, whatever, and you say, Hey, what's your opinion on DJ? They'll just be like,

Oh, just probably somebody that, you know, drinks all night and sleeps all night, you know, maybe can sleep all day. Yeah. You know what I mean?

Hooks up with women. And yeah, definitely not the most responsible, you know, hardworking person in the world. You know what I mean? uh it takes you a lot of teachers are like that right i know a lot of them right and you know those are kind of examples that i said that's that's that's not yeah what i want to do you want to build a brand and a business exactly and that's and so you know what so my examples really came from not so much you know other djs i mean musically i was inspired

by the djs right but in terms of thinking as a brand and as a business, I looked to entrepreneurs. And I looked up to other business luminaries and CEOs. Who are some if you haven't even stood out? Man, you guys might think I'm totally weird. My audience won't think that. Don't worry. All right.

Jamie Dimon. Okay. I think he's absolutely amazing. My audience won't think that. Don't worry. All right. Jamie Dimon. Okay. I think he's absolutely amazing. Scott McNeely. Larry Ellison. Wow. Who else? Wayne Huizenga.

So many. You know, guys really like trailblazers. You know what I mean? And there's so many more. Sure. I mean, if you had me on know i mean i was i was if you kept me on a plane i was reading fortune and forbes you know what i mean like all the time you know i mean uh entrepreneur or whatever you know what i mean and it didn't take long

uh for me to really change my trajectory and we're gonna get you on entrepreneur.com just fyi oh i'm down this gets syndicated on entrepreneur serious? Yeah, so this episode will be out there. Big shouts out to all the entrepreneurs. What? It didn't take long for me to really change my trajectory and reassess what I was doing from a business perspective. It was

a drastic change because one of the first things I did at this particular time in my life, I was doing what's called residencies, right? Yes. But home residencies. So I was playing at Club A every Monday, Club B every Tuesday, Club C every – And then you pay a flat rate every time. Yeah.

So it was great because I can go and financially plan and say, okay, I'm going to do X amount of revenue for the month. You knew. Yeah, yeah. You knew because I'm going to work this many of revenue for the month. Yeah, you knew. You knew, you know, because I'm going to work this many days, whatever. And so that part was great. It brought you a certain level of comfort, right? But that's not how you build a brand,

especially in entertainment because there's nothing really special about that because especially for the folks in Miami, hey, if they didn't catch you, they'd say, oh, we'll go tomorrow, whatever, you know. We'll tease around, you know what I mean? It's not an event. It's just something

that's kind of happening, right? And the first thing I said is, you know what? Anytime I perform needs to be an event. You know,

it needs to be something that people are going to put on their calendar and they're going to make a point. You know what I mean? They're going to miss out. Yeah,

exactly. You know what I mean? FOMO. Major FOMO. So, I started calling all the promoters and say,

hey, listen, nothing, no disrespect, nothing against you's you personally whatever but i'm not going to do this anymore you know and um i got tons of backlash you know but it was one of the toughest and the best decisions ever made you know um because you start seeing other people doing that as well like some of the bigger names who are well out not doing well not in miami no one else i was probably one of the first ones to really take that dive in the world but in the world i would see other guys that are building brands and you were like oh that's how they do it exactly you know they're doing a show you're reverse engineering their success exactly exactly you know what i mean i was like you know what i need to be doing a show once a month in new york once a month in in vegas different places you know what i mean and really spreading spreading the brand interesting and uh so that was the first thing i did you can't

do that if you're stuck you know in one one place all the time you know wow interesting what was this thing this was probably like 2000 maybe 2005 okay wow yeah like yeah like like four or five you know that's the first major move you know interesting and then other things started you know falling in place and you know it's as as talent, it's commonplace for a talent to have an agent and a manager. It's not just a manager. But a lot of times, if you're at that level, you have an agent and a manager. Managers managing your day-to-day. Your agent's shopping you.

Exactly. And booking you. Promoting you. Yeah. So I had an agent. And my agent's job was to book my club appearances, my shows, right? But then there's this whole other part, the whole managerial side of things. And I was like, I can't have a manager. And I'm also not going to be quote unquote self-managed,

right? That's a whole other part. Anyway i said i said i was like you know what structure what is the right structure right and it it really hit me because of all these other guys are looking up to and and how things happen in corporate america right and i was like a corporate structure right um because at this time this is when we first started doing some of our brand partnerships. Yeah, yeah. Right? So, like our legacy brand is a company called Premier Beverage. They're a distributor.

They operate in a bunch of different states, but they're huge in Florida. Like their portfolio includes Red Bull, all the Bacardi brands, all the Brown Foreman brands, et cetera, et cetera. You know, huge, right? So, they were the first ones to actually do a formal brand ambassadorship. What does that mean, that type of partnership? So basically what we do is not only do I personally endorse their portfolio and their products, but it goes beyond that and we find unique opportunities for partnership and exposure

for their brands. Sure, sure. Perfect example. At your your events they would put signage up yeah so for instance if uh a lot of times we're the first it's either the venue and the dj the first thing people try to secure then everything else kind of comes together right so for instance so we know about the big events that are coming up because we'll be a part of it right yeah and we have that connection with the promoter right so what we'll do for them is- So let's activate this new brand or this new product. So we actually have a thing that we do where we, actually, they're called activations,

right? And what we'll do is we'll say, hey, you know what? Instead of paying us our $100,000 fee, you know what? We're going to do the show for 80 grand, right? But you're going to let us bring in our spirit partner and activate and that partner could be stoli or goose whatever right they're gonna give away free samples and how people by the way if goose would have approached them directly and said hey listen we want to do an activation it's 100 grand for them it's 100 grand off the top off the top yeah

right at the top so you can partner with them and say hey give us 70 grand or whatever yeah so so we already have our we have our we have a long-term deal, right? That's right. And it's amazing, you know what I mean? So now, so it's huge value on their part, you know what I mean? And there's a bunch of other things that we do, but one of the biggest things is access,

you know what I mean? Yeah, of course. So that's, and there's, I mean, today, I mean, we have probably about 14 different partnerships. Wow, that's awesome. But we work with probably about 40 brands in different capacities. Some of the things don't even involve me at all. That's great.

It's just some of the services we provide. But now going back to that structure, when I fully realized the potential of that particular partnership, I was like, you know what? They can't speak to a manager, but they should be speaking to the vice president of business development, right? For your brand. For our array of services. Because DJIRI is just a cog in this system. It's bigger than DJIRI, right?

DJIRI definitely brings lots of time because he has access here and there and he has these different resources. But this particular team carries an amazing set of skills, right? And we're able to communicate those skills because we're not talking to a manager. You're not talking to a manager and the manager's like, oh, yeah, no, the manager's job is to talk about their artist, right? And so if I had a manager having that conversation the manager would say and no respect to managers

sure great right but just my particular vision was a different vision you know a manager would say hey let's lock in irie for 10 shows and he'll do five appearances and he'll make you a mix sweet all right good all right well okay you know what we can do that any day of the week 10 shows and he'll do five appearances and he'll make you a mix. Sweet. All right, good. Well, okay. You know what? We can do that any day of the week, right? There's a lot of other needs as a company that this company has that we can actually fulfill, right? But it takes a different person to have that conversation. So now our vice president of business development, they have a conversation about the entire entree of services, right? Give you a perfect example.

Cadillac is one of our partners, right? They're great. I've got a Cadillac. Do you really? 1991. Eldorado. Look at you. Eldorado.

Baritz. Yeah. They only made 16,000 of them. Are you serious? And it's got 50,000 miles on it from 1991. You're not riding dirty though, right? No, no. Make it short, make it short, make it short. Are you serious? It's got 50,000 miles on it from 1991. You're not riding dirty though, are you? No, no. Make it short, make it short, make it short.

No, that's dope, man. I do the big seats, man, because I'm a big guy. There you go, man. I had a Prius when I moved to LA and it was so small. Switch that up, man. I was like, I need to relax. You went from one spectrum to the other, man. Good lord. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's awesome, man. But with Cadillac, they were doing, they had the new Escalade, the 2015 Escalade.

So this was going back last October, November, right? Sure. They wanted to do the event early December. And they wanted to book me to host the event. Right. That was their intention of picking up the phone, right? Right, right. And you were like, wait a minute.

Well, once I understood what the nature of the event was and the fact that that was one of the first phone calls that they made, they knew that the event was going to happen and they're just starting to get together. I immediately had them speak to our vice president of business development, right? Her name is Lacey. She's just amazing, amazing talent. She just gets it. Her name is Lacey. She's just amazing, amazing talent. She just gets it.

And by the end of the phone call, we had secured the contract to produce the entire event. Wow. So it's much more than you just showing up and planning on getting a fee. It's the entire event with brands and sponsors. Well, so to give you the big picture now, because Synergy is a big thing for us. Sure. So one of the interests that we have business is actually an exotic car rental company. Uh-huh. And we did things a little bit differently that we actually have a showroom for the fleet.

And it's not your average showroom. We have like artwork. Yeah. You know what I mean? It's high end. It's nice. It's a very attractive place. Yeah.

But it's great for events as well. Ooh, so you have it there. So we had it there. So you're also promoting your stuff. Yeah. Oh my gosh. So we had it there. Right? We also promoting your stuff. Yeah. So we had it there. We had it there.

Guess who provided the cocktails? Your brand. For me and Beverage. And at the time we had a partnership with Heineken as well. So you're getting paid

from Heineken. Well, you know what? It's the synergy. Of course. So first and foremost we bring in our partners and we really try and make it

an all-encompassing type of experience. It's a totally different experience when working with your partners because you have a rapport with them. partners, right? And we really try and make it an all-encompassing type of experience, right? It's a totally different experience when working with your partners because, you know, you have a rapport with them, right? So you're getting things done really quick and really great, you know? And the event just was, it was amazing. It was absolutely amazing. I still hosted, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I still hosted the event. But now we were able, we got that credential as, hey,

we produced this huge unveiling, you know what I mean, for Cadillac. But that never would have been an opportunity if they would have spoke to my manager and my manager said, okay, hey, well listen,

yeah, I will do it this time, but can we do the one for the next cartoon? You know what I mean? Like, oh, hey, like,

oh, big win. We're hosting twice. You know what I mean? So I mean, but listen, some people, that's their thing. But I just, my thing is is i just kind of see a much bigger you know opportunity

and we have those skill sets because we've been around for so long i i know the right people you know what i mean we have all the resources why shouldn't we be you know what i mean retaining that business of course and we know we can execute at a very high level you know what i mean right why wouldn't we you know what i mean um so. Why wouldn't we? You know what I mean? So that's really the approach that we take. And today we're doing, I mean, all kinds of things for our partners. You know what I mean? From digital marketing, you know what I mean, to event production, you name it. And it's because I changed the trajectory and I changed that vision.

Right. I changed the trajectory and I changed that vision. Right. I mean, what good is it to have an amazing relationship with the VP of marketing or the CEO of an amazing company and they want to do things with you and you're just going to limit it to just this one little niche, you know what I mean? Sure. When you can really kind of spread your wings and bring in people with different talents, you know what I mean, and skill sets and be more of an asset to them.

Right. You know what I mean? Right. Yeah. That's awesome, man. That's what we did. That's so cool. I have so many other more questions I want to ask you.

And there's so many things I want to ask you after this about business and just what you're up to because I think it's fascinating what you've created. Whatever you want, man. So hopefully we can connect more. uh um you know i'll come to some shows if i'm in miami or vegas where's your where's your residency in vegas again um it's at drays drays okay so it just opened in um open labor day weekend okay uh it's past yeah no no memorial weekend okay it is the most beautiful nightclub really in the world and it's a sick the most beautiful nightclub if you haven't been there go online look up drays nightclub in the world. And it's a sick. The most beautiful nightclub. If you haven't been there, go online.

Look up Dre's nightclub and beach club. It's at the Cromwell. It's on the Strip, right across from Bellagio and Caesars. Sweet. Like 5,000 person capacity. Wow. Absolutely amazing. When do you-

I play the nightclub on Thursdays, so twice a month on thursdays okay and then um during pool season which it's pool season's ending now now but next pool season um we'll also be playing the pool wow during the pool parties there that's saturdays and that's uh friday afternoons friday afternoons okay cool so thursday every so you can just go to your website and find out so yeah so dj.com you know on our facebook or and um so i've got two more questions for the show then hopefully we can connect some other time no worries um but you know this is i could talk to you for like hours because this stuff's fascinating to me man yeah you were really easy to talk to no wonder you do this man yeah good lord

i was like and then when i was five, my mama said. Well, there's so many more questions that I'm fascinated. You know, my brother, my brother Christian, he's the number one jazz violinist

in the world. What? He played with Les Paul for 10 years in New York City. Goodness. He's played all over the world. You know, he goes on tour 200 days a year.

He's the title in the family, man. All I could, I learned how to play guitar because I felt so ignorant that I couldn't play an instrument. So when I was 18, I picked up the guitar. I was like, I'm learning some Bob Marley.

Well, the turntable's an instrument. I play that. Right? So it's just I'm fascinated by music. I really appreciate the art, the creativity. Even though you're not a, let's say, musician, you're really creative. No, absolutely. The whole process of it.

The whole thing is an art. Absolutely. It really is. It really is. It's not easy. So I can really appreciate 100 captivating an audience keeping them engaged understanding the energy of the room and knowing how to turn it up a lot of parts man yeah what you know put on the music the lights everything yeah it's it's it's it's all an in sync you know performance you know i mean and it's really got to come natural yeah exactly yeah and this has

got to exude from you years and years of hours and dedication of you and learning and practicing. More than a little bit. Yeah, yeah, exactly. So I definitely appreciate that. I want two final questions. One is, what are you most grateful for recently? I'm grateful for so, so much.

But recently, if you think that maybe it's something else, but for me, I was able to have a dream kind of materialize recently. I started my own foundation two years ago. What is that? It's called the IRE Foundation. Okay. Our focus is at-risk youth, like the middle school level. And we're starting in our hometown in South Florida and kind of working on know, working on there first and kind of spreading

our outreach, you know, from there. And I wanted to build a music and literacy facility, right? I spent a lot of time in different schools, like literally with the kids, speaking to the kids. I do a lot with Teach for America and I've been teaching for a day so many times. And I get to, you know, speak to them firsthand and hear about, you know, their dreams and aspirations and things that, you know, they wish they had access to but they don't, you know. And really after school is a major issue because, you know, a lot of the kids, especially in the inner cities, they don't have many options,

right? And even though they want to do well, right, and they want to continue learning and be able to go on to higher education, all those different things, the second they're out of school, it's survival mode because they're in the streets. Or when they go home, it's a broken family. So there's only one parent, and that parent is the sole breadwinner. So they're working three or four jobs. So they're not even home until late at night. You know what I mean? So these children are fending for themselves, you know? So they really need more programs that kind of provide

not only a safe haven, but somewhere that they can be productive. Be creative and expressive. Exactly, you know? And music is, I mean, you see how the music is driving the youth. Of course. You know what I mean?

And so, you know, they want to be able to express themselves, or at least have the opportunity to kind of give it know that is you know what i mean so you know they want to be able to you know express themselves you're at least to have the opportunity to kind of give it a shot you know sure and um so you built a facility yeah we partnered with the partner with an organization called motivational edge and um we came up with our our game plan and we worked hard and we raised the funding and and we got it done and it opened last week. What? No way. Congrats, man. It's called the Ari Foundation

Alapata Music and Literacy Center. That's awesome. Where is it in Miami? It's an area called Alapata. Alapata. Is that?

It's like Northwest 33rd Street. All I know is South Beach. So how far from there is that? It's about 20 minutes from South Beach. Okay, cool.

It's kind of over the bridge. You know what I mean? And I implore people to really, really explore because Miami is so much more. I mean, South Beach is awesome. I kind of over the bridge you know what I mean and I implore people to really really explore because Miami is so much more I mean South Beach is awesome I'm not a fan of Miami because that's the only place

I've been yeah no there's so much more to Miami there's so much culture you know a little Haiti a little Havana I gotta check it out next time

there's so much there you know I mean so explore it all you know okay cool awesome but um do you think of something else

no that's yeah that's pretty I mean that's pretty awesome there's all kinds of great things Okay, cool. Awesome. But do you think of something else? No, that's pretty awesome right there. There's all kinds of great things that's gone in my life. Of course. The reason I ask you that question openly is because I'm not saying what are you most grateful for in your business. It's like what are you most grateful for? No, yeah. In my life, that's it. And it's a dream come true.

That's cool. I literally sat down and said, man, we actually had a place. Amazing. And it's there. And that's, it's such, it's a dream come true. Yeah, that's cool. I literally, you know, sat down and said, man, we actually had a place. Amazing. And it's there. Amazing. And there's equipment. You can go in there. You have pictures online?

Yeah, absolutely. We'll post them on the show notes on the podcast. Okay, great, great, great. Yeah, it's, so it's irifoundation.org. Okay. That's the website. It's irifoundation on Facebook, IRE Foundation, FB.com, IRE Foundation,

Instagram, IRE Foundation. We'll link everything up. Check it out. We'll link it all up for sure. That'd be great. That'd be great. And final question.

Before I ask you the final question, I wanted to acknowledge you for the amazing energy that you have and the positive force that you are in the world. I appreciate that, man. Everything I've, from the moment I saw you at summit series to the videos and you know the exchanges with ben

yeah about what you're up to you're just up to so many amazing inspiring positive things that's very cool and it doesn't matter what profession anyone's in but that you're in the space where a lot of negative things could happen later oh yeah and i see it yeah i i just want to uh really acknowledge you for the gift that you are in the world and the smiles and the joy you bring to everyone so thanks for i will share that same sentiment with you man seriously yeah you're you're really really doing your thing man and thank you you are you are blessed with a certain personality and a certain energy that really just kind of brings that out of other folks. You know what I mean?

I felt a certain sense of just comfort just kind of sitting here and hanging with you, man. I was like, I get it. I was like, Lewis is that guy. He's that guy. I appreciate it. Yeah, thank you. I get it, man. I get it.

I get it. I see what you mean, man. I see what you mean, man. Well, thank you for that. The final question, it's what I ask all my guests at the end, is what's your definition of greatness? Ooh. Ooh. Truthfully, I would say greatness can be so many different shapes, forms, sizes, yeah, but really, and this is something that I apply

to myself, greatness is living the life you want to live, okay? This applies on so many different levels, right? The one thing that bothers me most is to see individuals in situations that they don't want to be in, that's causing them strife, that's causing them misery. And what they're not understanding and getting is that the person that has the power to change that is in the mirror. It's you. You know what I mean? And so many individuals do make that choice to say, hey, you know what? I'm going to live the life that I want to live. I'm going to do the things that make me happy, right? And that's going to lead to greatness because if you're doing something that you're passionate about and you're doing something that makes you happy, you want to do it. You want to do it at a high level, right? Matter of fact, if you don't do

it at a high level, you won't be happy. You see what I mean? And that's what leads to greatness. Have you ever seen anybody be absolutely great at something that they hate? And then they're miserable at? You know what I mean? I don't know. Maybe it exists, but I haven't seen it recently. You know what I mean? But that is greatness. You know what I mean? I don't know. Maybe it exists, but I haven't seen it recently. You know what I mean? But that is greatness. You know what I mean? And it's a decision. A lot of people just feel like whatever, that's what life dished up.

So that's what it's got to be. It doesn't have to be that. What's got to be is what you say it's got to be. You see what I mean? Because anybody, if you take two people and you juxtapose them and you have one person that is living the life that's making them happy and they're experiencing greatness on whatever level because it's not about money or social stats whatever it's just about hey this is what i want to do right that's it period that's it whatever level it is and you juxtapose that person with the person that is doing something they just hate doing and their

life is just all kinds of terrible stuff is going on the only difference between them it's not aptitude it's not that one's smarter than the other and one has you know it's that one wanted this for themselves and the other doesn't believe right they don't believe that they can create that for themselves. And they don't take those steps and they don't take that ownership of their lives and say, hey, I am going to create this and I'm not going to stop until I get there. You know what I mean? But that, and no matter if it's a long journey or a short journey, that window is the greatness. You understand what I'm saying? I love it. That's that window of greatness because you've now taken control of your life. You've now taken control of your destiny.

And you are going to create something that makes you happy. You're creating your own bliss. If that's not greatness, I don't know what is. You know what I mean? Right. And it doesn't matter how socially impactful it is, because it's not about anybody else but you. Sure. But you.

If you want to work at that ice cream parlor, because you know what? You just love being around ice cream. That is your thing. And you're selling shoes. Going through what it takes to make that decision to get to that ice cream parlor is greatness. Yeah. Because now you've gone from being not so happy to being happy. You're around ice cream. You know what I'm saying? You're around ice cream. It's not about anybody. You've changed your life. And the fact that you've changed your life and now you're a happier person, guess what? Other people around you will be happier. You know what I mean? And you can be a more positive influence

because that happiness is contagious, man. You know what I mean? How'd you get so happy? Man, I started selling ice cream. What? You know what I mean? You know?

I mean, it's cool, man. I love it. But yeah, man, just taking charge of your life, man. Doing what you want to do. I love it. Thank you for the definition. You're welcome, man.

DJ Irie, you are the man. I appreciate you coming on. Hopefully we'll have you back sometime when you've got another big event or something you want to promote. We'll bring you back on and celebrate your life and what you're creating. Hey, man, I'm just happy to be here. This has been a blessing, man. Great conversation, man.

Thank you, man. Appreciate it, man. Thanks, man. There you have it, man. I appreciate it. All right. Thanks, man. There you have it, guys. I hope you enjoyed this awesome interview with DJ Irie. And again, make sure to follow him online everywhere. Check him out if you get a chance in Vegas some night to see him at his residency there. Or if you're in Miami, check him out at the Miami Heat game.

And you're going to get all the show notes to where to find him over at lewishouse.com slash 99. lewishouse.com slash 99. If you enjoyed this interview, if one DJ Irie said spoke to you or you connected with him in any way, then please share this online over on Twitter, on Facebook with your friends, and let people know about this inspiring interview. I feel like everyone could benefit from hearing his story and his message. So please share this online. Again, lewishouse.com slash 99 for all the show notes. I'm so appreciative. We are one episode away from 100. Very pumped about this milestone. If you guys have not listened to a couple of previous episodes,

Krista Tippett from On Being was an extraordinary interview that we had. I'm getting so much great feedback from this online. People were just in shock with the answers in the interview that she gave. And then, you know, we've had some incredible guests before. Make sure to check those out. We've also got some awesome guests coming up.

So stay tuned. I'm so pumped for you guys. We're almost at 100 and we've got 100 more in the next round so thank you guys so much for all you do to support the School of Greatness podcast please leave us a review

over on iTunes if you have yet to leave one and you know what time it is it's time to go out there and do something great Thank you.