DJ ASU began DJing 20 years ago in his birthplace of St. Thomas USVI. His love of the Hip Hop Culture and up close exposure to the way a good DJ could energize a crowd inspired him to become a DJ. His first inspirations came from hearing the radio mix shows of DJ Red Alert and Marley Marl on tapes from New York in the mid 80's and picked up on how they would utilize melodies and similar beats to make the transfer between songs an exciting mix. He began learning his trade by experimenting with "Pause Tapes" and then hooking up with local DJ crews and paying his dues by carrying speakers and equipment when the crews would play at house parties or shows. It was a harsh time to learn the trade because DJ's literally kicked you off sets if they felt you were less than perfect! ASU contributes his trial, errors, beat-downs and "embarrassments" of that time for his passion to always come up with the perfect combination of mixes to keep the crowd energized as well as being able to match a beat within seconds of dropping a needle.
In 1990 ASU would come to the DC area and find his way as a local DJ doing house parties, clubs and local shows. In the mid nineties ASU would follow his main passion for art and eventually dive into the Asian entertainment (Anime) scene. With music always on his mind he would soon DJ a number of Anime Convention parties. It was at this time that he started going on the road to DJ import car shows on the East coast. In 2003 ASU got more involved in other avenues of the Anime scene that pulled him away from the public DJ Scene. But always with a passion for music, ASU fell in love with a form of music he had been listening to for the past 8 years- Asian Pop music (A-Pop) and developed a company to help promote entertainers of this genre called TenBu Productions. With not much avenues to DJ a music that only core fans knew existed, DJ ASU continued to just collect A-pop as a personal passion. Now at a time where A-Pop music is finally crossing over into wider US audiences, DJ ASU is reentering the DJ scene armed with an unmatched 15 year collection of A-Pop music that includes Rock, Hip Hop, R&B, Reggae and soul music types to add to his already huge collection of today's and yesterday's top US Urban an Pop hits.
In 2007 DJ ASU created the first Asian Pop Music radio mix show called the DJ ASU APOP MIX SHOW on Otaku Life Radio. The Show was an instant hit and featured a universal mix of Japanese and Korean pop music, along with Anime and gaming soundtracks.
What is A-Pop (AKA: J-Pop/ J-Rock/ K-Pop/ K-Rock)
A-Pop (Asian Pop Music) mostly heard of by the loose terms "J-Pop" or "K-Pop," is the new brand of music mostly originating from Japan and Korea that is sweeping today's kids on the cutting edge. Originally introduced to the US through Anime theme songs in the early 80's and throughout the 90's, the music has gone beyond being looked at as something that accompanies Anime and is now being looked at as an entity all its own.
In recent years many Asian Pop artists have performed or sold hit records to a budding US fan base that has attracted thousands. Most artist that have come to the US have been associated with the Anime market but in the past year many artist not associated with Anime have begun to have solid followings by US fans seeking and discovering them out over the internet. Fans of this music are attracted to the unbounded and creative twist Asian performers put on the music genres they already know like Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Reggae, and R&B. The Onstage presence and flashy showmanship of most of the performers, big or small, takes you back to the days of concerts where the bands wore costumes and each had its unique look making them bigger than life. Even more, the lyrics sung 95% in Japanese or Korean with English usually being heard only in catchy riffs has proven to be a huge attracting factor for the music. Today teens and young adults are seeking out avenues and flocking to concerts filled with this brand of music.
DJ ASU is very much a part of this movement and has one of the largest collections of A-pop in the nation. He is also one of the first DJs dedicated to bring this sound to a wider US audience. He began with his mix show on otakuliferadio.com that featured all avenues of this music and continues now by blending the music into his live performances that he does in clubs, shows and parties. By utilizing the wide range of sounds A-Pop music has to offer he is able to seamlessly blend it into all types of US produced music causing an exciting boost of energy and curiosity to the all the crowds he plays too.
