Dj Java J has rocked the turntables at some of the dopest jams in Florida over the past decade, including Red Bull BC One, Temple Rock, Brkn International, and many more.
Known for his extra dope selection and execution, Java J has been a fixture in the central Florida dance scene, with mixtapes on repeat and a series of original productions.
We are honored to interview Java J and to hear it from the man himself.
Bboysounds: Who is Dj Java J?
Java J: I am a DJ and music producer coming out of Orlando, FL.
When did you start DJing and what music were you drawn to?
I started DJing around 2013. The music that I was drawn to at the time was Hip-Hop, Funk, and House.
How did you get your name?
Not the freshest story but my cousin and I were actually searching the dictionary for words that started with the first letter of our names. Brought up the name “Java J” to someone I looked up to at the time and he said “Yo! That makes perfect sense! Since you have mad flava!” So that kinda just solidified it for me. haha…
When did you start playing for battles?
2015 was the first time I played for any battles at my homie’s jam called “Break The Chains.” Only playing prelims at most for awhile. No one trusted the new guy and I still had lots of dues to pay like anyone in their early stages.
What was the most memorable battle you ever played for?
I have many but one of my favorites were the Bgirl 7 to Smoke at Temple Rock Vol. 6. Getting to DJ alongside 2 of the DJs I look up to most was memorable. Also it was the battle that helped me notice that my DJing was really starting to mature.
What is your process for selecting music when you’re going to play for a battle event?
Honestly, I personally don’t like pre selecting my music for battles. I just freestyle what I’m going to play in the moment. Makes it more organic for myself, for the event, and dancers as well. So I can switch things up in a moments notice if I feel there is something that I can play that can make the current moment even more memorable.
If you had to give three rules to battle DJing, what would they be?
Give the dancers music you believe will help them go out and do their best. Basically impossible to do 100% of the time since everyone has their own taste of music and some people just have trash taste in music, but the DJ and dancer are here to provide each other energy, not to challenge each other and make things uncomfortable.
Dig and create… A lot of DJs only play the new trendy tracks and the old trendy tracks. Those songs are cool and all but there’s so much music out there to help you balance all the overplayed stuff with the underplayed stuff.
Trust your gut. Don’t ruin a good opportunity or miss out on an opportunity to create a dope moment in time by second guessing yourself. Learned this the hard way.
What would you say is the most important thing for a battle DJ to remember?
There are too many things that are equally important to just pick one. But I will say I believe that song selection and timing are underrated at times and should be more important.
In addition to mixtapes, you’ve dropped quite a few tracks. When did you start producing?
I started producing around 2016 extremely on and off.
What are you working on right now?
I’m working on just being more consistent. So hopefully I will be putting out my 4th segment of Breaking The Silence, many other types of mixes, and putting out more of my own produced music.
Where can people hear you on the decks?
I’ll be one of the DJs at the Red Bull BC One Orlando Cypher, you can typically find me at every Temple Rock, and at a good amount of Florida jams.
Finally, what advice to you have for the bboys and bgirls around the world?
Stay consistent and analyze yourself. There is always room for improvement but you can’t improve without knowing what you need to work on.
Shoutouts?
I wanna shoutout Chris Montoya, Vinny Vin, And Naty Lite for being some of the first people to reach out to me and trust me to spin at each of their own events. Getting your foot in the door is hard when you’re first starting and it’s not like I could do prelims to force people to hear my DJing. So you all have helped me a lot in that way. Thank you guys!
Also shoutout to the DJs I looked up to and put me on game! Felix Fusik, Basic, B Ryan and Sureshot. Learned from all of them in different ways and believe if it wasn’t for this dope lineup of DJs that came before me that I would’ve had a much rougher time on the come up. Thank You!
Shoutout to DJ Chief, my mixes would get very few plays and before we ever even met he shared my “Breaking The Silence” mix and helped get my mixes heard more around the world. Shows how much some support and a share can do. Thank you!
And of course thank you to EVERYONE that supports me. I appreciate you all!
Major thanks to Java J for taking the time on this interview. Make sure to follow him on Soundcloud, Bandcamp, Instagram, and Facebook, and add him to your playlists on Spotify and Apple Music.
