DJ Apaza Bio
Let the music play he won’t get away,
Just keep the groove and then he’ll come back to you again, let it play.
Let the music play he won’t get away,
This groove he can’t ignore, he won’t leave you anymore. . .
This quote from the legendary artist Shannon on her wildly popular single Let the Music Play captures DJ Apaza’s signature sound and energy. A music industry multihyphenate, DJ Apaza has cultivated a legion of diehard music fans across multiple genres and epochs through his unique DJ mixes while also lending his talents and decades of experience to music production, promotion, live hosting, disc jockeying and more. He has been profiled in various media publications and with a monthly audience reach of more than 11 million unique users, DJ Apaza currently has 125,000+ followers and counting on his Facebook page.
In 1999, DJ Apaza founded Apaza Entertainment, a full-service DJ and live event promotion & entertainment company. Through this venture he has secured contracts with major events such as The 116th Street Festival and The Puerto Rican Day Parade in New York, The Calle 8 Festival in Miami, and The Dia Nacional de la Zalsa concert in Puerto Rico. Additionally, he has participated in a host of other festivals and concerts in numerous states spanning the East Coast region of the US. His clientele includes Grammy award winning artists in both the English and Spanish language music industry.
After nearly a decade of success for Apaza Entertainment, DJ Apaza recognized the opportunity to reach bigger audiences and establish his digital footprint by joining La Vieja Guardia Show as a host and disc jockey. During his tenure he helped introduce Reggaeton and Latin Hip Hop music to his international audience by launching and promoting new Latin artists on the scene. Additionally, he has interviewed esteemed Salsa, Merengue, and Bachata artists such as Tito Rojas, Maelo Ruiz, Paquito Guzman, Tito Nieves, Fulanito, Andy Andy, La Makina, and Lalo Rodriguez and was named Best Internet Radio Personality by sabordelacalle.com.
In 2008, he joined Wutang Latino as a resident DJ. He produced two mix albums under the imprint entitled Diamonds in the Rough and Summer Explosion. Both projects gave rise to talented emerging acts and quickly garnered mass appeal. With over one hundred thousand hard copies and digital downloads sold, the popularity of DJ Apaza’s work validated his keen ear and trendsetting capabilities.
Dj Apaza’s music career long predates Apaza Entertainment and the internet boom of the early aughts. In fact, it was the manifestation of his passion for music and the New York club scene that encouraged DJ Apaza to sneak into nightclubs as a high schooler. In 1982 under new management, DJ Apaza’s first foray into the city’s nightlife took place at the legendary Studio 54 which later gave rise to the development of relationships with some of the city’s preeminent
DJs of the time. In addition to what he learned locally in The Bronx from his first mentor DJ Bobby, DJ Apaza continued his education through the guidance of talented Manhattan DJs including The Funhouse’s Jellybean Benitez, David Mancuso of The Loft, Paradise Garage’s Larry Levan, and Lil Louie Vega of The Devil’s Nest.
It’s no wonder DJ Apaza risked so much to supplant himself squarely at the center of Manhattan’s dangerous and fast paced club scene during his adolescence. It was born of his devotion to music during his childhood spent mostly fending for himself. The sounds of everything from Disco to Salsa were the soundtrack to his unpredictable daily life. The luscious rhythms and pounding baselines oozing out of various windows in his barrio provided temporary respite from the otherwise inhospitable circumstances imposed upon him. In 1978 at just eleven years old after finally saving enough money, DJ Apaza excitedly purchased his first album on vinyl, the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever. Little did he know that with every short moment he handled the record to place it on the modest turn table in the corner of his cramped apartment, to escape the harsh reality of sirens or worse blaring in the background, he’d be gazing into the window of his future as a successful professional in the music industry. This is where the seed was sown.
Today, DJ Apaza resides in Atlanta, GA and when he’s not spinning on the ones and twos curating highly sought-after rare mixes for his worldwide fan base, he’s a husband, doting father of three, and abuelito to the world’s most precious boy.
Facebook: dj_apaza
Instagram: dj_apaza
www.apazaentertainment.com
apaza.entertainment@apaza01
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