On The 1’s and 2’s with DJ Diddy
Introduce yourself to the audience.
A: Anwar Gavilanes, popularly known as DJ Diddy, is an American DJ, Artist, & Social Media Influencer. He was born on July 28, 1997, in The Bronx, New York, and was raised in the small town of Galloway, New Jersey. Being from the small town he was from Anwar was inclined towards a musical career at a young age.
He was only 17 when he received his first breakthrough in 2014. He opened for the artist Lil Uzi Vert at the local concert in New Jersey. This proved to be greatly successful, and more opportunities landed his way. Though Diddy initially focused on hip hop and EDM, he started expanding his collection and turned to an open format style of music. His consistency earned him the attention of many celebrities and music personalities. Since then, he has never had to look back.
Apart from a successful career as a young DJ, Diddy has also made a name for himself as a producer/artist & social media celebrity. With the release of his first record Jan. 3rd, 2020 Monopoly, he has accumulated over 10,000,000+ streams & counting. As an influencer, he also sponsors and endorses brands on Instagram & Tiktok. He was recently associated with companies Fashion Nova, PSD Underwear, Bang Energy as their social media ambassadors. In the future, he hopes to become an even bigger name and work with the best in the industry. We will see where life takes this multi-talented DJ, producer, artist & social media influencer. Continue the journey with him & let's see where life takes him...
Q: What can you tell the public about your upcoming release “Better With U”?
A: Better With U will be my third ever song being released on Feb. 12th. The reason for this record is to bring everyone together & just vibe. With everything going on around the world, poverty, separation, corruption, pandemic, I just wanted this track to be the reason we all just sit back & forget for three minutes about what is going on. Just enjoy the life we live in with our loved ones hence the name "Better With U".
Q: What got you into wanting to DJ? What has changed from how you look at Djing from then to now?
A: The reason why I started DJ'ing is because I was known as the kid in high school who threw the biggest & best parties.
Everything was always lit except the music to be honest haha. For some reason, I just did not like the music at all & not many people know this but my Dad is also a Celebrity DJ in South America. I grew up with the equipment in front of my face so when I decided to DJ my first own house party it was the best one & I never looked back. The only thing that has changed from how I look at DJ'ing now from back then is really nothing, I do not care if it was me three years ago DJ'ing at a 50 people house party or now doing the festivals I do with 25,000… I give the same energy.
Q: Where was your favorite place to perform, before covid? Post covid, where do you think will be the first place you would like to put on a show?
A: My favorite place to perform is really every state cause I love to feed off the energy of my fans & the concert or club-goers that night when I am on. I would have to say my favorite one show would have to be overseas in Zahle, Lebanon.
I did an overseas tour about two years ago & the fans there were amazing, honestly an experience I will never forget. Post-COVID, I would love to DJ in like Mexico or anything spring break vibe ish, a good way to set the tone coming out of COVID!
Q: What company do you like working with the most? Why?
A: Me being a DJ & cause of COVID more so an influencer gaining millions of followers. I would say I have not worked with many companies just me & my team over at Vangaurd.
As for pre-COVID on my DJ'ing side, my favorite even production & promotional team I have ever worked with & still do is Concert Crave based out of New Jersey. I have grown my brand & DJ career in a cohesive pace with them & now I am the biggest DJ on TikTok follower wise & the production company Concert Crave is the biggest on the East Coast doing everything virtual & still staying hot during this pandemic.
Q: Who has been the coolest person you have worked with so far? What did you like so much about working with them?
A: The coolest person I have worked with so far is my mom. Hahaha nah just playing. The coolest person I have worked with is everyone who has ever come into my life with a positive & hard-working mentality.
Q: What skills do you think are needed when becoming a DJ?
A: Skills for becoming a DJ are not more so the legitimate dj'ing part of knowing the technical but more so the music selection. It is also about reading your crowd the right way so you can make it a night they will not forget.
Q: How long are you normally on the road for when touring? What do you miss most?
A: All tours & show schedules really depend. There have been times where I have been on the road for five weeks straight, nonstop driving & flights. What I miss about it most other than seeing all the fans & turning up is the pressure of being there on time, soundcheck, music selection, doing it all over again. I like that pressure I am weird haha
Q: What does success look like for you in your career?
A: The definition of success for me is when I can put myself in the position of financial freedom as well as my friends & family around me.
Q: What is your favorite DJ of all time? Why?
A: My favorite DJ of all time is DJ Pauly D & DJ Khaled. The reason why is because I want to be a mixture of them both in my career. When it comes to the fans I want the social media following & presence like Pauly D. When it comes to the music itself, I want to be able to cultivate records for my audience & get a platinum record.