Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to DJ Skillspinz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

DJ Skillspinz, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

I knew this from an early age. I was 6 years old while over my grandmothers house I over heard much older cousin doing something that I had never heard before. He was rapping. I learned his rhyme and recited it to him the next day. Fast forward to 1984 just at 9 yrs old, my mother brought home The Fat Boys “Jail House Rap” along with “Stick’em” on the B side. Also Roxanne Shante “Roxanne’s Revenge” and Rappin Duke. From that day rap/hiphop was planted in me and I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

DJ Skillspinz, 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?

My name is Antonio Biggers and I’m a professional DJ with the stage name DJ Skillspinz. I’m a native of Columbus, Georgia. I’m the Official DJ for The Lady of Rage (Death Row Records). I have done mixes for including Talib Kweli, Grammy award winning artist Estelle on The Estelle Show (Apple Music) and produced for Play (Kid n Play), Ghostface Killah (Wu Tang Clan) Theodore Unit and Def Jef (Bo$$) to name a few. I’ve also appeared on BET’s Rap City and Teen Summit.

In addition to Deejaying, I have composed music for the short film First Date which did very well at film festivals (see IMDB.com). I have produced music on the Peacock network series One Of Us Is Lying S1 E1, Netflix series Gentefied (2020) S1 E6, and the Starz network series Step Up High Water S2 (2019). I also appeared as an extra in the film Redeemed which aired on BET+.

So I think it’s clear what I bring to the table lol but all of this didn’t come easy. The struggle was real. I heard a lot of No’s and that people thinking I’m wack because I was different. They didn’t understand what was before them and sometimes it can take awhile for people to realize. Besides everything happens when it’s suppose to. With that said, I would have to give credit to my cousin, Lamar, for planting a seed when I was six (6) years old that grew into what people see today. I learned a rhyme from him that changed the course of my life forever. It was a rhyme similar to the Sugar Hill Gang “Rappers Delight” that he made his own. From just “ear hustling” I learned it and was saying it back to him the next day. I would also have to give credit to my mom for buying the first hip hop records that I heard which was The Fat Boys “Jail House Rap,” Roxanne Shante “Roxanne’s Revenge” and Rappin Duke. Last but not least, my uncle T Love for taking me under his wing and showing me how to back cue without hearing the record sound when I bring the record back. That pretty much set the foundation for me getting started in hip hop.

What sets me apart from others is that I’m genuine. People can tell when something isn’t real or trying to be something that they are not. When I’m on the turntables, I’m being me. Dancing – Bobbing my head and being crazy but that’s me. In the beginning some didn’t know how to take it but as I said, people know when someone is pretending or putting on this facade but as you get to know me, you will see and understand this as my passion. I have a strong ear for mixing different genres of music that not anyone in their wildest dreams would think sound good together but I blend it and people fall in love with it., And that just comes from loving all types of music.

I’m proud that I didn’t give up. There were many times I wanted to and did a couple times but I always came back to it because it’s my passion, my love for music and deejaying. With God and my wife encouraging me, I made it to where I am. My dad was one of my biggest supporters and he always wanted to see me on the big stage. I wear a necklace around my neck of a hammer and I have his ashes in it. When I performed for the first time with Lady Of Rage, I grabbed the necklace and said to my dad “We made it Daddy.” I know he’s proud of me and that helps to get me going strong. I’ve done some cool things in my career from having two record deals, losing everything, to joining the military, to God restoring me to my rightful place where I need to be. Where I am today. So I would tell anyone to never give up. Be you your true authentic self and watch God work. If anyone wants mixes please check out my website at djskillspinz.com

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

You know the saying, You will hear a lot of No’s but it only takes One Yes?” Over the coarse of my career I’ve had a lot of door shut. Even some that opened but closed for whatever reason(s). A time I can remember is meeting with an A&R at Atlantic Records. He listened to a few of my dj songs and was really feeling me but I didn’t get signed. That was many instances like this. I even started to question my work and if I was even good enough. I guess I expected it to come easy how my first record deal came. But even then, I wasn’t looking for one at the time, it found me. That came about from my demo tape. Remember those? My second deal came from me doing mixes for a label. That deal was horrible. I didn’t see any monetary reward from that and I paid for everything myself thinking I would reap the benefits that way the label would not have to recoup anything. WRONG!!! I got jerked. After that I became burned out plus I didn’t have the right team around me to help me continue to keep going strong. I needed a break at least I thought so. So I did a 360 turn and joined the US Army. Talk about a change. I served for six years and got out with an honorable discharge after serving my country. Even while in the Army I always thought about music and when my comrades would find out what I use to do they would ask, Why did you join the army?” After my years in the army I picked back up from where I left off so I thought. The industry had changed. Gone was the days of demo tapes and here is Social Media. Now every one is a DJ, Everyone is an Emcee. Where is my place? How would I fit in. Trying to get back into the music game was trying at times. With the game being saturated it was very easy to get over looked. Then something happened. I use to do these mixtapes in high school with certain mixes called the Meet Ups. Not trying to, I started doing them again and posted one on IG and it blew with over a million views. It just took off from there. So many legends in the hip hop game that I grew up listening to would comment, share and like my post. It was unbelievable. Then something else GREAT happened. I did a mix with the The Lady of Rage hit song Afro Puffs and she commented on it. I was hype. I felt something in my spirit. Something great so I responded and said, “If you need a DJ…” and the rest is history. Even though the days of being discovered by demo tapes were long gone, God still had a plan. I got discovered by not given up. By continuing to post even in the times I felt like given up. When know one was paying attention to me, I would still post. The moral of this is, keep going because you never know who’s watching. Your break through is right around the corner.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

This answer is two fold. First I would have to say being able to do what I love and being able to provide for my family by doing so. There’s nothing more rewarding than that. I tell my kids all the time to do what you love or find what you love and what makes you happy and figure out how to make it into something that will sustain you in life. My second answer is watching most of the artist that I grew up listening to embrace what I do. It’s like a welcoming party for me. An acceptance if you will. And that’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

Contact Info:

• Website: djskillspinz.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/djskillspinz
• Facebook: Facebook.com/skillspinz
• Twitter: twitter.com/djskillspinz
• Youtube: YouTube.com/djskillspinz