Anthony Valadez grew up in the bustling cultural hub of the San Fernando Valley, right outside of Los Angeles. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the most creative space for a young Latino to come of age, but the tenacious pre-teen had an insatiable curiousity since then and took it upon himself to find his calling. By junior high, young Anthony was tuning into KCRW where he was particularly drawn to a show where Michael Mixxin Moor was combining political speeches by the like of Malcolm X with acid jazz instrumentals.

Not long after this period, Anthony was able to procure some turntables and spent his spare time catching the bus from the SF Valley into the heart ofHollywood, searching for new musical worlds to get lost to in shops like Beat Nonstop andStreet Sounds on Melrose. This is also when visual arts began to really pique his interest. He’d often purchase records based on their cover art alone, sometimes being disappointed when he’d put the needle to its grooves then other times being blasted into yet another musical dimension.
DJing developed as a natural extension of this constant curiosity, never as a career plan. Still, through ardent dedication, by the time Anthony was still in high school he was ditching 6th period, going over to the local community college radio station to drop a set.

Even though most anyone else would have dropped school as an interest and focused on music as a path given his circumstances and opportunities, Anthony still saw his future in community work. “I thought I was going to be working with the community in the arts, that was my goal,” explains an older Anthony from the porch of his breezy Santa Monica apartment, “That was what I wanted to do and now I do that to volunteer. It all fell into place without any kind of intention.”

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