djeddieone@latino963.com

The Heavy Hitter DJ Eddie One

DJ Eddie One made a career defining realization in 2002. The in-demand Los Angeles-based street promoter and co-owner of West Coast Record Pool saw the consolidation of the music business was on course to hurt his business, so he decided to redirect his focus. I was getting all this free vinyl from the labels that I was already servicing to all these DJs, he recalls. So I said, I might as well put it to work.

Since then, DJ Eddie One has established himself as a major DJ force in the Los Angeles area. He is the mixshow coordinator at KXOL Latino 96.3 FM and can be heard on the air Monday through Friday, at 8 p.m. In this capacity, Eddie One is able to reconnect to his Latino roots by speaking Spanglish on the air and playing Reggaeton, in addition to maintaining his presence in the rap world by going from Daddy Yankee to 50 Cent, from Don Omar to The Game, from Ciara to Ivy Queen, in his popular mixes. He also holds down a radio show at Sirius Satellite Radios Hot Jamz Channel 50, and aspires to be a program director a major radio station.

DJ Eddie Ones emergence as LAs premier DJ is truly remarkable. He was born in El Salvador and came to Los Angeles in 1989, when he was 11. His family came to escape his countrys civil war, and so that Eddie One would avoid being drafted when he turned 14. Los Angeles was like another world to Eddie One. He spoke no English and had never seen skyscrapers before. Music, however, remained a constant in his life. His parents played Cumbias, Merengue and Salsa, as well as such American stars as Steve Wonder. But it was Eddie Ones uncle who had the bigger musical influence by introducing him to Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Too $hort and Eazy-E. Even though Eddie One couldnt understand all of their lyrics at the time, he was blown away by the attitude and feel of the music. Eddie One had similar feelings toward house and dance music.

Eddie One fed his love for music by promoting parties while he was still in high school. From there, he got a break in 1998 when a friend gave him a job driving a promotional van for now defunct Los Angeles dance station Groove Radio. But the station soon shut down and Eddie One transitioned by starting West Coast Street Promotions company and earning industry respect by giving such artists as Erykah Badu, The Roots and Mary J. Blige a major street push. Soon thereafter, DJ Eddie One began working on his DJ skills and established himself as Los Angeless premier DJ, a position he still holds by dominating the airwaves. My dream was to be on the radio here in LA, he says, and the LA dream came through.