We had the good fortune of connecting with DJ FLACO and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi DJ, what role has risk played in your life or career?
It’s all about taking risks honestly, “without risk there is no reward” right? I live by that, I feel like we have to make it a habit of taking risks in order to grow as an artist. For us to have more opportunities and more open doors risk has to be in play. Most of the time taking risk is really just breaking out of our comfort zone, once we master that the sky is the limit.

When I started dj-ing I considered myself a “Hip-Hop DJ” just because that’s what I grew up on, so early on my career I would pass out on gigs that were out of my comfort zone, not knowing I was closing doors and opportunities on myself. Until one day I told myself I wanted to make dj-ing my full time, so I started taking more gigs outside of Hip-Hop events, that was the risk I needed to take because ever since that day Dj-ing has been my full time.

Take those risks the future you will thank you!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
At the end of the day I’m just a guy that enjoys music so much that I decided to do whatever it takes to make a living out of it. I’m proud that I was able to accomplished my goal by becoming a full time DJ.

I would be lying if I said it came easy, I saw a meme the other day that said ” I didn’t want to work a 9 to 5, now I work 24hrs” and that is 100% true, being a full time artist/creative means no days off. Is up to you to get where you want to be in your career, and with that come ups and downs. I’m still learning on how to go about my brand, mistakes are made along the way, but that’s how we learn and grow.

The most important thing I’ve learned is to believing in yourself, even if people don’t see your vision you gotta keep going and take those risks to get you where you want to be, only you know all the hard work you put behind close doors.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We start the week on a Tuesday, so we have to go to Las Vegas Pool Hall, located in Waukegan, IL I have a residency there every Tuesday “Toxica Tuesday” It’s a chilled vibe, open format music perfect way to start the week. Once Thursday comes we have to stop by Tree House in River North and get something to eat before going to Tunnel where you can find me every Thursday playing my favorite reggaeton. On Friday and Saturday the options are endless, one thing for sure though, is we will stop by at The Mine Music Hall where the biggest latin party is hosted. We’ll have a good time for sure.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I got to give a shoutout to Edwin and La Bombo for giving me my first residency spot. For those who don’t know La Bombo was bar/club in Waukegan, IL that had a 3-4 year amazing run, I’m talking packed house every weekend, that was the place to be at, people from out of town would drive to party at La Bombo, mind you this place was in the suburbs, but attracted crowds as if it was located in downtown Chicago. It definitely play a huge role in my career having that local spotlight. So special thanks to Edwin for giving me the chance to prove myself, I wont ever forget the date it was on a Sunday Memorial Day Weekend. I came did my thing and got offered a residency the next day. The rest is history.

Another person I really got to thank for helping my career is William Martinez from V5 Group. Will reached out to me back in 2018 to do a set at The Mine, thank god he liked what he heard, he slowly started giving me more gigs and presenting me to new clubs. If it wasn’t for Will I wouldn’t have got the opportunity to play at some of the biggest clubs in Chicago, he has giving me a bigger platform and room to grow since day one, and for that I will always be grateful.

Website: www.djflaco.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdjflaco/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealDjflaco

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RealDjFlaco/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/RealDjFlaco/featured

Other: TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@realdjflaco SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/realdjflaco

Image Credits
@Lme_media @312visuals

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