We recently connected with Ryan Dillard and have shared our conversation below.

Ryan , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you take us back in time to the first dollar you earned as a creative – how did it happen? What’s the story?

In 1987 i was as a novice graffiti writer who was commisioned by DJ Disco-T & his manager & uncle Carl to create a poster board of restrictions written out in graffiti fashion explaining what not to wear, use or do at his legendary teen parties. In doing so I able to secure my very first payment through hip-hop culture which also boosted up my confidence to continue working on my art form and making hip-hop culture a permanent fixture in my life as a hobby and a business.

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?

My name is Ryan “DJ STAGE ONE” Dillard my first love in hip-hop culture was through the graffiti art element which I started doing in 1985. I joined a graffiti crew in 1986 and started painting canvases, commissioned wall and some clothing like pants and the back of Jean jackets. During this time I was also an aspiring DJ so I began collecting vinyl records and started creating mixtapes and performing at school talent shows. It wasn’t until I graduated in 1990 that I started pursuing dj gigs and eventually wound up spinning at local radio stations and building a name for myself in the community which led to me organizing events and recording music.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Becoming an author was a big challenge to myself but it was also a bigger challenge convincing others that a book about my coming of age in Twin cities hip-hop could be done. I wanted to be apart of change and originality in my city so i stuck to guns finished and self published my book “The Bridge is Over”. Despite the negative comments and reactions to its inception. Hopefully it can inspire the youth to write books based on the things they love and rise to greater heights than my project. Putting my story to paper was a labor of love that I will always be proud of because it took years of stopping and starting before its completion and many people in the community supported the projects in the end.

: Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My main mission was/is to show the youth that you can make an impact and even create employment through your crafts. I remember when hip-hop in the twin cities was a small community but now we’ve grown into international artists, authors, politicians, activists and so on. Hip-hop is proof that your hobby can turn into a career and also socially aid others in need.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Djstageone
• Facebook: Ryan Dillard
• Twitter: Djstageone
• Youtube: Djstageone