Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Campo.
Hi Jonathan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was always into music, it was always a huge passion of mine. I always found myself even as a kid at family parties wanting to be on the dancefloor instead of just playing as a kid. I used to practice dance routines from people like Usher and Nysnc and Michael Jackson and perform it for family friends at parties or talent shows.
I remember around 8th grade I started getting into writing songs and eventually started recording songs out of friend’s closet or garage studios they had. I got into music at church during my teenage years and ended up working with people like Rey King who is now a award winning producer. I dropped a mixtape and all back in 2011 but never did much with it. Fast forward i downloaded this program called Virtual Dj on my family desktop cause i thought DJ’s were cool and I always wanted to do it but had no idea where to find dj stuff, I thought it was exclusive to clubs.
The thing with Virtual DJ is if you had. computer, you could DJ. So i spent hours just having fun with it and eventually start recording mixes just to listen to when me and my friends would ride around. I had n ipod full of everything at that time and playlist for different vibes but i hated having to find the next song, I wanted a non-stop vibe hence the mixes.
So 2016 I start releasing some mixes here and there on soundcloud but not doing too much, really was too nervous to tell people cause I felt I was being a fake DJ and didnt want to get judged. Then in 2017 Lil Uzi performs at Rolling Loud and jumps off the roof into a crowd and I saw how the crowd was a wave of people jumping and I knew then I WANTED THAT. Fast forward I make an all Lil Uzi mix and it hits on soundcloud, which led to my first wedding cliet’s finding me from those mixes and booking me for my first gig and the rest is history
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not at all, it started off extremely tough. In south Florida we have such a big party scene and even more DJ’s.
Coming into the DJ game I didn’t have many connections to put me on to any party line-ups. Unfortunately down here there is a lot of gate keeping so I went a few years without really being booked much and essentially djing for free at places like Falconer Fitness Gym in Lauderhill and family and friend parties. At that time I just wanted to be heard and get some experience so it was a fair trade off for me.
In my personal life I went through alot of transgressions with my family and trying to juggle being a young father at the time. I battled alot with self guilt for pursuing these goals so strongly that at times I was absent for times I wished I could have been present for. Even to this present day its a constant conflict internally between wanting to be with my Wife and kids but knowing I have to keep going for them whether they know its for them or not.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a DJ based out South Florida. My speciality as a DJ is R&B, in recent years it’s become my speciality and what I’m known for but I have also become known for high energy sets that include ALOT of hip hop and mash ups. I have become a big fan of performing live remixes.
In my opinion one of the things that sets me apart is my ability to open up all genres during my set without it feeling forced. I feel many DJ’s these days are trying to go viral and reach for remixes and blends that truly don’t musically make any sense.
Because I grew up in a Hispanics household but my friends were of so many different backgrounds , I learned a lot of music young. Typically a Latino kid doesn’t come up also listening to Beres Hammond and Buju Banton or going to my other friends house and hearing Earth Wind and Fire, Al Green, Luther , Stephanie Mills and more. In my home I’d grow up hearing Joe Arroyo, Diomedes Diaz, Grupo Niche as well as Taste Of Honey and Michael Jackson. What that ended up doing for me musically is I truly learned a wide range of music which years later as a DJ didn’t just allow me to play it but to know HOW to play it which is a huge difference. That large diversity of music knowledge I feel truly separates me.
In my opinion my greatest skill is the ability to read rooms and not be a generic DJ. A lot of latin DJ’s may know dancehall but it’s generic like Sean Paul “Temperature” or Get Busy and although there is nothing wrong with that, it is very surface level. I have studied and learned the real dancehall that they play at the real dancehall parties and how they play it. A lot of Hip Hop DJ’s may know Spanish music but it’s generic like “Gasolina” or “Suavemente” but I again have studied and learned what and how to play. That goes for many different crowds so it doesnt matter to me who is in the room, I’ve learned how to grab their attention and play songs they love and songs they didnt even know they wanted to hear.
Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to expand my brand. I’ve entered the content creation space on Instagram and have begun speaking on various DJ topics that have gone viral multiple times and become very popular within the DJ community. I plan to launch my podcast within the next few months where I will speak raw truth. I feel too many DJs play it safe and very vanilla, that’s not me. I want to be raw and authentic, in a world full of fakes I think being real is actually different and refreshing to a lot of people not just DJ’s.
I’ve also taken over the entertainment department for Fat Tuesdays in Fort Lauderdale downtown district. We have been building the culture and party scene there and have been going strong for over a year now. Very excited to see how we continue to grow the brand and bring in fresh new talent. I view it as a chance not to just DJ but to open doors to other DJ’s that are very talented but don’t get booked as much.
I want to continue to keep honing my skill set and sets. I’ve taken my R&B sets to new levels and built great R&B parties with parties like I Love R&B Saturdays at Polo Bar and Grill and You, Me & RnB in Miami. I’ve gone against the norm of playing it safe and made it a mission to really celebrate R&B music. I enjoy playing deep cuts , creating real blends and taking the crowd through a musical journey through eras of R&B music. I am very excited of what is being built in the R&B space here in south Florida . I’ve stepped into the content game unintentionally by just talking about real topics that alot of DJ’s dont talk on and I keep it unfiltired. It’s taken off on its own when it was never my plan so I am continuing. to grow and learn as a creator in that space. Plans of a podcast and more are on the way as long as people want to hear what I have to say, Im going to keep talking.
I want to show DJ’s we can be more than just a body behind. board playing music.
Pricing:
- Pricing is dependent on the event, location, hours and other factors.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djrichhomiejon?stkn=ZTJmMG1lcDl4ZjIw&utm_source=qr
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@djrichhomiejon?si=gjybvuS1Vvy6p-mV
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/PwLyZm6mF7J7aV4vy6
