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

Francis , appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Earning a full time living from your creative work is no easy task especially as DJ in this day and age. Growing up I fell in love with hip hop music in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. In high school I started experimenting with the different elements (b-boying & graffiti), however I found myself gravitating towards the music. I began DJing in 2003, my little brother had a pair of turntables and a small record collection that was gathering dust. He was a freshman at Santa Barbara city college, a well known party school at the time. He was slightly underage 19/20, and I decided to make a life changing deal with him. I traded my ID for his turntables and records (which I still have to this day). I told him, “I will make something of these, I promise.” That is the day I vowed to become a DJ. My first DJ experiences were at the local teen center where my friends and I held hip hop cyphers with open mics and b-boy sessions. This is where I sharpened my skills and learn how to mix. It took me a solid year to learn how to properly mix, then I began to DJ house parties, high school dances, weddings and eventually bars and clubs. Being from Marin county, a suburb outside of SF, posed as challenge, as there were virtually no clubs or bars to DJ at locally, so I began a new creative endeavor, which I could make some consistent money and that was BARBERING. It started like my Djing had, at my house taking clients in my garage and eventually gaining notoriety within my community. I had it figured out, I could cut during the day and DJ at night. Barbering could support me when DJ gigs were sparse and vice versa. Eventually I found a crew in SF and had a few DJ residencies. However, the industry is very finicky, and as most creatives know, there is an ebb and flow that comes with the gig economy, and with that being said there are times where I earn a full-time living and there are times where I must rely on my other creative outlets to make a living. I believe the most effective way to make full time living is to get with a crew. This will get you to collaborate and align your vision with others, as well as force/create network opportunities.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hello, my name is Francis Andrews, aka “Starboy Yoda”. I am a multi-cultured, multi-faceted creative/entrepreneur raised in the Bay Area, now residing in Los Angeles. To some people I am a DJ, to some I am a barber, to some I am a promoter, to some I am an A&R, and to some I am a manager, but to most I am “Yoda”. It’s very hard to pin me down to one discipline, but if you were to categorize me, I would tell you I am a DJ first. All of the other disciplines come from necessity and act as a compliment to my DJing. I moved to Los Angeles 8 years ago to work at the world famous Franks Chop Shop, however my talents as a DJ were quickly utilized and I had my first DJ gig in LA for the Franks Chop Shop Grand opening w/ DJ Lethal and Funk Doobiest in 2016. Within the first few months I began my first residency (in LA) at Bar Marmont, an upscale lounge attached to the infamous Château Marmont hotel. While there, I hosted and DJ’d events with members of ASAP MOB and clothing brand 424. I began to DJ pop ups at 424 on fairfax as well, most notably Fear of God, Born X Raised, and Dior. While doing this I also found myself becoming a celebrity barber, cutting several artist, actors, and celebs including artist like Uzi Vert, Flo-Rida, Freddy Gibbs, Brillz, Moneybagg Yo, Happy Colors, Boi-1da & Bushwick Bill (R.I.P.), actors like Max Greenfield, Benjamin Flores, & Daniel Kaluuya, and celebs such as Rajon Rondo, Zack Bia, Serge Ibaka, & Anwar Hadid. During the years of 2018-2019 I began to take my talents abroad. I accompanied some friends to PFW (paris fasion week) and scored my first European gig in Italy for a Nothing Crazy (a Los Angeles street wear brand) pop up. That is when i got the itch for traveling. I then found myself traveling to Japan to work at Franks Chop Shop in Okinawa and Kyoto where I was able to book DJ gigs at clubs such as G + & Area Asia. When I came back, my travels were put to a halt due to the pandemic. During that time I joined White Durag, a creative marketing agency originally based out of the DMV, that was making waves in the LA underground party scene, and started making music with artist Ferg JP (co-founder of White Durag). As my relationship with him and the company began to flourish we began to create events that were very unique to the LA scene, our first major event was called “Bad Habits” and featured an eclectic DJ line up which included myself, tech-house DJ, Topgun, DC based DJ, Domo, & Soulections, J. Robb. The event was a huge success and continued monthly for the next 6 months. Our next event was “First Fridays” at the Soho Warehouse. Our focus was to highlight black creatives in the form of a Q&A panel, some notable guest include artist/actor Guapdad & art gallery owner Brittany Bryd. Currently I am managing West Hollywoods very own TRENDSETTERS BARBERSHOP, hold residency at Apt 200, working on our next White Durag event set to take place in Japan 7/23 & managing and touring with recording artist FERG JP. One thing I believe sets me and my team (White Durag) apart from the rest is that we set cultural precedents when others only follow.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I would say the goal of my creative journey is to be able to fully express myself through music and create a global community. Being in LA I am blessed with the opportunity to meet people from all around the world. From Asia to Europe to Africa to Southern America, I become educated on various aspects of culture from food to music to art to etiquette. It’s a very beautiful thing.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a DJ is being able to connect with a crowd. There’s no better feeling than seeing the dancefloor move to unique selections that, perhaps delivered in a different context, would get zero praise. An example of this would probably be at my last Apt. 200 gig. I ended my set with a couple Drum N Bass tracks that I know for a fact would have gotten a negative reaction, but the way i was able to blend it in and hype these tracks using my voice gave them context and the crowd had received it VERY well. The owner even said I had one of the best sets yet, even though I know he isn’t a fan of DNB. There are other rewarding aspects to some of my alternative creative endeavors which would be creating communities and movements. I would say that being a barber and managing a barber shop has allowed me to build community, from having monthly comedy shows to quarterly donation drives to help those in need around our community, creating a sense of purpose for myself and those around me.

Contact Info:

• Website: Whitedurag.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/starboy__yoda/
• Other: Soundcloud- Starboy Yoda: https://soundcloud.com/starboy_yoda White Durag: https://soundcloud.com/whitedurag