Today we’d like to introduce you to Rayven Johnson.
Rayven, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am a SURVIVOR of Hurricane Katrina, I say, survivor because many people call us refugees. So my story begins in New Orleans, Louisiana on Baronne St. I grew up around music, my mother and father opened my mind to many genres really early, and although I grew up in a divorced home. No matter where I was, my Saturday morning involved music. My next door neighbor was a DJ, and he DJ’d most of the functions on the block when I was younger. So I got exposure to the DJ culture as a youngin! I started having the urge to DJ the summer of 2014 when I was working at Waffle House. I was infatuated with Chopped and Screwed music and DJ Candlestick and OG Ron C just dropped Channel Purple. I started to think, I can do this myself, but, at the time I didn’t have a board, but a well-known New Orleans DJ by the name of Captain Charles was a regular at the Waffle House I worked at. He would come in after gigs, one time I finally got him in my section, and the rest is history after that. I had one talk with him about me being a DJ, and he offered me one of the boards he wasn’t using at the time (I thought he was playing). About two weeks went by after that conversation and I didn’t see. The next time I saw him, he came in sat at the high top and said “Go look in the truck,” and proceeded to unlock his truck. At first, I was hesitant to go out to the parking lot, I didn’t believe him at first, but I went out there and a DDJ S1 was sitting in his back seat. I looked in the store at him and he smiled at me and gave me a nod, I took the board, ran inside straight down the server isle and to the back of the store. Then I ran back down the server isle with the biggest smile ever known to man. All of my coworkers were confused because they didn’t understand that I had just received the biggest tip ever! I took that board home the next morning, and recorded my first chopped and screwed song, Floetry’s ‘Say Yes,’ but no one will ever hear it lol. What they can hear is the second song I ever did Marques Houston ‘ Sex With You,’ which sucks too but somehow has 50,000 plays on soundcloud lmao. After that summer I went back to school, Prairie View, began taking minor gigs here and there, but my focus was on creating C&S vibes. Mostly I didn’t take gigs out of fear, and from 2014-2017 I stayed in my room mostly “practicing”. I took on campus gigs, but nothing major. It wasn’t until I moved back to Dallas that I really began getting into any scene. My sister, Victoria aka Vic Honey Bee, put me in contact with MissBlkAmerika and that’s who gave me my first party one month into being in Dallas
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
NOOOOOOOO, nothing is ever smooth for me, learn things the hard way always. I have always feared failure, and that’s why I am probably not where I should be in my career. Also, I needed to figure out my lane, and just stay consistent with that. Social media can really have you second guessing your personal journey. I was looking at my peers and thinking that’s where I should be, but I soon came to realize….. I am in my own world, and being there is a good thing. Be you somebody gonna love it!
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the DJ Goldielocks story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a DJ, and I specialize in giving people experiences that they’ve never had with another DJ. I love playing music that people either are not used to hearing or have not heard before. I give people what they did not know they needed. I’m known for playing Country Rap Tunes mostly, because I LOVEEEEEEEEE the south. I am proud of the growth I have made since moving back to Dallas!
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t do luck, God has always kept me, I pray every day and he keeps me sane. In the words of Goldlink, “Pray everyday, say your grace n***a. Keep the haters, keep the demons ‘way, fam.” I wouldn’t have made it this far without prayer and understanding the path that has already been created for me.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 469.248.6123
- Email: thecuratorlocks@gmail.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/locksthecurator
- Facebook: facebook.com/locksthecurator
- Twitter: twitter.com/locksthecurator
Image Credit:
The photographer is
https://www.instagram.com/
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Glenda Bennett
August 29, 2018 at 4:06 pm
I am so proud of you sweetheart!! Continue to follow your dreams. You are a winner.