What has been some of your most memorable career moments?
When I won that National East Coast Mix Show “DJ of the Year” in 2006 and the Global Spin award in 2012 — it made me realize that all my hard work, dedication and consistency was paying off. Both of those moments allowed me to realize that I’m not just a local Baltimore DJ anymore and that the world knew who QuickSilva was. Another great moment was the first time I saw myself on TV. I was watching BET 106 & Park with my 5-year-old son and when I came on the TV my son said, “Look, daddy! It’s you and you’re famous; I want to be famous just like you.” It was truly an amazing feeling!
How have you managed to avoid the harsh downside of hip hop for so long?
By remembering everything I do and every decision I make affects my family. I am a husband and dad of two. I started deejaying at the age of 10 and by 14 had my own club night. I was fortunate enough to learn from my mistakes early in life and I always keep a positive and motivated team around me. My manager, Shawn Caesar, has been managing me since age sixteen to present and has always kept me focused and grounded.
Who gave you the nickname “The Party Kingpin”?
My manager and I were in the office one day looking over my calendar from the previous year and we realized that I had deejayed over 300 parties and was deeying at least six nights a week and sometimes seven nights. My manager was like, “Geez, we should call you The Party King” and I was like, “Nah, The Party Kingpin sounds more official.” Till this day, I still deejay as many at twelve parties in one weekend.
How have you continued to grow your brand with the constant changes in the industry?
You have to invest in yourself. You can’t expect people or companies to invest in you. There’s never a year where I don’t put out my own fliers or t shirts. Recently, I released my own “I love QuickSilva” shades and I even have stickers that say “Follow QuickSilva.”
How can we keep up with Quicksilva?
I deejay in DC seven nights a week and on the Russ Parr morning show. You can also hear me as the lead deejay on WKYS and I’m on BET 106 & Park every other week. My documentary, Who Is QuickSilva, will be coming out this year and my Silva Lining foundation has multiple charity events coming up.
For more information, visit:
www.twitter.com/DJQUICKSILVA www.DjQuickSilva.podomatic.com www.IamSuperGorge.com Party Boys, Ciroc Boyz, Bet 106 & Park, 93.9 WKYS, Russ Parr Morning Show, Unruly Productions
