Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Angelo Burris. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Angelo, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
My mission is to introduce people to Black electronic music because what is not understood is that electronic music IS Black music. Beyonce’s “Renaissance” and Drake’s “Honestly, Nevermind” take influence from Black Club music. A lot of people aren’t used to hearing these sounds at all, especially not in mainstream media.
Angelo, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Hi, I’m LUKANG. I’ve been DJ’n for coming up on 8 years now. I originally started learning from a friend, kind of just goofing around with the DJ controller and songs we ripped from SoundCloud. I didn’t take it seriously at first. Eventually, I started practicing more and recording my own mixes. As time passed, I fell in love with my craft and started getting booked for local venues and weddings. While the bookings started rolling in, I never stopped recording mixes and practicing. Shortly afterward, I joined a collective with some other great local DJs in Chattanooga (Swimwear, Paradiso, and Ben Lee) who were already throwing parties. With these guys, I was able to open for DJs such as Kush Jones, Mina, Murder He Wrote, DJ Alyaz, and more. Fast forward to the present day, I’m currently wrapping up my second DJ residency and preparing for out-of-town bookings, all while continuing to create mixes and produce my own music. I’ve had several mixes played on the radio all over the globe, and have released music independently as well as with Memphis-based record label Future Everything. My sounds are heavily influenced by percussive sounds. As a young child, my mom used to always take me to “battle of the bands” events featuring local Black high schools and HBCU bands. My admiration for these sounds fueled my love for the style of music that I play today which varies from Chicago House, Baltimore Club, Jersey Club, footwork, breakbeats, and the list goes on. I’m versatile and deadly behind the decks! My goal is to take people on a musical journey with songs and sounds that they wouldn’t expect to hear.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
Being able to support myself financially with something I love to do is definitely the most rewarding aspect.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
In February 2020, right before the pandemic hit, I was gearing up for a multi-city tour with shows booked in Atlanta, Detroit, Raleigh, and Chattanooga. The next month, due to COVID everything was canceled. That really hurt and I was nearly ready to give up. But instead, I continued to practice nearly every day after work and on the weekends. I did live streams and continued to send out mixes. So when things started opening up again, I came out swinging. I never looked back and now I have returned to consistently being booked. The moral of the story is that when the impossible happens DONT GIVE UP. When things that you are passionate about have not come to fruition. DON’T GIVE UP. Where there is a will there is always a way. You gotta have that grit.
Contact Info:
- Website: lukang.bio
- Instagram: lukang.423
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LUKANG423
- Twitter: @LUKANG423
- Other: https://lukang.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Jerigray Eduave