Meet Justin Elliott | International DJ / Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Justin Elliott and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Justin, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
From the outside looking in it can seem like the process behind making music is simple. Which in some cases it can be, with the ease of technology and a lowered entry level into being able to release music due to technological advances. Anyone with a laptop now can make a song and release it the same day. But good music, that takes time and a lot of moving parts. If you look at a lot of the major hits on the charts you will see multiple writers, multiple producers, not to mention the audio engineers that do the mixing and mastering. I have songs I started 4 years ago that are still in the process of being finished. A lot of people think its an over night thing, but for a majority of the music that is good and stands the test of time, it’s not.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a DJ / Producer now more focused on the Production side. I’ve always had a love for music, I grow up playing the saxophone in jazz band. As I grow older my way of expressing my live for music changed. I started DJing in high school but didn’t pursue it as a career until I was much older. It was my friend and mentor DJ Genesis that helped me get started playing professionally. He would bring me to house parties and weddings and let me play the early part to get practice. Once I realized I wanted to do it full time, I evaluated the industry to see who was at the top. It was the DJ’s that made their own music like Calvin Harris, Dr. Dre, and Diplo. That’s when I knew I wanted to be a DJ Producer. The road was not easy, a lot of no’s, a lot of bad nights when I didn’t perform as well as I would’ve liked. But I knew it was about consistency and over time I would get to where I wanted to be. It’s since meeting my mentor and good friend Jason JG Gilbert that things have really started to fall into place. JG is a musical genius and he has helped me perfect my sound and expand my creativity. We make a lot of great music and we work well together. Finding the right people that are doing what you are to feed energy off of is so important.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Miami is an ever changing city, and a lot of my favorite places from here growing up are no longer around. But there’s always something to do here. If I have someone visiting 1st spot they have to check is the Big Cheese. I grew up on their pizza and it’s a Miami icon. Next would be bar hopping in Wynwood. You can’t go wrong in Wynwood there’s always something to do. Being from the Caribbean I appreciate the island scene we have going on here in South Florida. I think it’s one of the best out side of the Caribbean so would definitely have to take them to a spot I’m playing or to one of the signature Miami Caribbean events. And you have to hit the water on a boat in you visit and how a few drinks at the sandbar.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I read this book named the Outliers which talks about successfully individuals and the circumstances that helped make them who they are. Reading that book I realized that it wasn’t hard work alone that got me to where I am today but also the environment around me. One of the biggest influence was one of my good friends Craig Hoipong. When I decided I wanted to DJ full time a lot of people didn’t take me serious. Craig was one of the main people that encouraged me to follow my passion and he made me apart of his team which was filled with some of the best DJs and Artist in our industry. It was that co-sign that lead me to playing at some of my biggest gigs and also releasing my 1st production. If it wasn’t for Craig my career would’ve been a much different.

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