DJ PForReal has always wanted to build a legacy outside of his father, DJ Prince Paul, and that’s exactly what he did when he picked up his first turntables. The mixer is now the official DJ for one of the most electrifying artists today, Lil Uzi, and he continues to build his resume.
DJ PForReal spoke with rolling out about what it takes to become a respected DJ, misconceptions about the art form, and some of the shows he’ll never forget.
Do you remember your first gig?
I remember my first gig. I was in high school and it was my freshman year. I was deejaying at some random house party. I had very little equipment, but I made it work. At the time, I was like, “I’m never doing this again. This is terrible. This is what deejaying is?” You get depressed and you get discouraged, and then I was like, “I’m not a sucker,” so I stuck with it and kept deejaying.
For my first real gig, I opened up for GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan. This was probably in 2003 or 2004, and this was my real first gig. I remember my dad was in the crowd when I was deejaying. I wasn’t a great DJ, but I had the opportunity to do it in front of all of these people. It was packed and it was sold out, maybe 2,000 people were out there. The fact that I’m a kid and I was deejaying, they weren’t receptive to what I was doing. I was 12 or 13 years old. I remember I was doing certain things and my dad came on stage. He’s like, “If you can’t do it, don’t do it.” I’m trying to sit there and DJ, I’m trying to cut, it wasn’t sounding good. He’s like, “If you can’t do it, don’t do it.” That kind of stuck to me for a while and then I got really good. In my brain, I’m like, “I’m not no sucker. I’m going to be the best I can possibly be.”
When did you meet Lil Uzi Vert?
It was either in 2015 or 2016 when I was in college. I went to Clark Atlanta University and I was doing a bunch of stuff deejaying in the city at clubs and a little bit of radio. I was just making my name in the city, kind of just doing a lot of different stuff. I got approached by this guy named Pat who was affiliated with GenerationNOW. He used to give me songs to play in the clubs and the college parties to push. He was like, “I have this artist named Lil Uzi Vert; he [needs] a DJ.” He told me to come to the studio and it was me and three other DJs. I was like, “Oh, this is a tryout.” That happened, and then I did my little tryout and Don Cannon was like, “Stop. What are you doing on Friday?” I’m in college. He told me to come to California because the first show was in the Bay, and it’s kind of been that since then.
