Meet Illmatiq | DJ & Producer

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

Hi Jalen, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I am proudly born and raised in Philadelphia! Growing up in this city, with its diverse cultures and backgrounds all intermingling, has majorly influenced my journey. It’s shaped my career in significant ways, enabling me to connect with a wide array of individuals in unique ways. Whether I’m performing for a specific demographic or a mixed audience, I take pride in my ability to resonate with everyone and curate an inclusive experience.

I’ve attended Central High School which is credited for being so diverse, I would have latin, African American, White, Asian friends blended all into one friend group. We would even have “International Day” at school which showcased all everyone’s cultures to each other. This most definitely has a huge impact on who I am today.

Philadelphia has been a great teacher, imparting invaluable lessons in life such as how to carry myself, embrace my community, and chase my goals with a passion. From seeing artists such as Meek Mill, Diplo, Tierra Whack, etc. rise out of Philadelphia neighborhoods I pass everyday and become such powerful individuals in the world has also been a great teacher. I couldn’t be more proud of my roots here!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Yes! Referring to my upbringing in Philadelphia and being influenced from various cultures, I am extremely proud to have such a diverse approach in my DJ sets and music. I love that I’m able to mix latin music with afrobeats with house music with Hip-Hop and keep everyone engaged during my sets. This is what I love to do! I feel that this as well as my passion and energy I bring to my sets set me apart from others. Yes, I am here to do a job but I am also here to have fun and bring an experience to my crowd. The energy that I bring to a room often becomes contagious through my music.

My journey as to where I am now has not been an easy or short one. As I’ve stated, I’ve been DJ’ing for 8 years since I was 16 years old, in this time I’ve experienced many set-backs, life changes, and losses. I’ve been able to achieve my success that I have now as a DJ from resilience, and hard work. Over these years, there’s been one key that I am grateful for and that is the fact that I’ve never stopped! It sounds cliche however, it is the truth. Continuing to try new things, meet new people, and work on my craft has brought me to where I am today.

The lessons that I’ve learned and I want to share with everyone else is to never quit! Only when you quit is when you lose. The story will never be stop writing itself if you continue to move forward and chase your original goal. There will take pivoting, the road may look different than you expected, however your goal will be waiting for you. I say this as I am still on my journey and working towards my end goal!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was visiting the city I would take them to various places

– To eat, we would have to go to a few spots in the city
– Frame Philly for Dinner
– Positano Coast for Seafood
– and of course Delassandro’s for the best cheesesteaks in the city

– To go out, we would have to
– start our night at Stratus Rooftop or Mirage Lounge
– Then go to Blind Barber to dance and get engulfed in the city’s intertwined cultures
– Then to Roar Philly to experience a Lit club night!
– If the Night continues we go to Hi-Bar/Playroom to go until the night is over

– As far as the experiencing the city, I would have to take them to a
– Eagles Game & Tailgate to show them the city’s unity
– or a Sixers Game to engulf in more culture

There are so many fun options in the city, it’s hard to choose!

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 want to genuinely thank all of my family and friends over the years for always supporting me and encouraging as I chase my dreams! As I’ve been a DJ for the last 8 years of my life there have been many ups and downs. Without support and reassurance from the people around me, I could only imagine where I would be. The love that I receive from the people around me is a huge motivation to just keep going! There isn’t enough thanks to go around, but for everyone who has been there for me in this journey, I am extremely grateful.

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DJILLMATIQ

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYU4tKA5TSP2QWijVrezPcQ

Image Credits
ShotByCheek (All Yellow Photos) PhillyBreeze (Photo In Pink) GeozPhotography (Last Photo)