We were lucky to catch up with DJ CUFF recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, DJ CUFF thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?

Well, music and sound has been apart of my life since I was literally born. Coming from a musically inclined family full of singers, musicians, and DJs it was only natural that I followed suit to the point as a baby I was banging in pots and pans on beat. At the age of 5 I was taught how to play the drums and got my first set at 8. The skill set I learned through drumming was directed into DJing. I was taught how to DJ at 13 by my older cousin and Baltimore’s finest: DJ Solo. I was taught how to blend and scratch on vinyl this immersing me into my love for hip-hop and the culture while also subconsciously exposing me to R&B and Soul through seeing how songs were sampled. But unfortunately, I didn’t see the value in the craft at that age, which was extremely naive of me. Fortunately I finally came to my sense once I got to college. I attended the number #1 public HBCU in the nation: North Carolina A&T State University. It was there I saw a great market to place myself into. So I became a campus and local DJ over my 4 years there. Due my experience during my time I was able to DJ a host of events that have led me to now. From house parties to festivals is what I like to say my journey has been and what has led to my execution. All of this has transitioned into my new endeavor of music production where I have credits with not only artists but films as well. It has been a great journey and I’m just getting started.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

As stated in my previous question I got into my industry due to my exposure to the collegiate party scene. Witnessing the club scene in college in NC but also seeing the club culture of Baltimore and DC also opened my eyes. But ultimately my love for people and music is the true reason of my beginnings. What sets me apart from others is that I have a truly authentic and eclectic inclination to music. I have a diverse array of sounds I love to play thus transferring into my production as well. With a variety of music and genres I love it is this reason why my brand is named “VarietyPackProductions”. By DJing different music but also sampling soul within a host different genres I’m able to give people what they need, not what they want. With that this is how I solve problems cod my clients for I expand my listeners ears and introduce them to different sounds.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

One of the things that helped me most has to be just my authentic self and my connections. Just talking to club owners and artsiest has helped me in both my expertise. The connections I make and networking has truly helped my reputation and has open doors that I was not even looking for. Through being my authentic self and making connections organic my reputation will continue to grow the right way.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

I’m a true believer in authentic relationships and ways of doing business. Yes, analytics, content, and other virtual strategies help increase clientele and ones network but I am truly old fashion. My best strategy is through in-person promo and marketing. I am a full advocate of talking to folk in-person and to know them in order to get to know me. So anything from mini-flyers, business cards, social media info exchanges, etc has been my most effective strategy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.varietypackproductions.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cuffieszn/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/cuffieSZN
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-KvALanG-lrbskitNdPXAA?view_as=subscriber
• Other: Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/variety-pack-radio/id1537349845#episodeGuid=tag%3Asoundcloud%2C2010%3Atracks%2F1111577794 SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/cuffieszn

Image Credits
Chris Pitts