Meet Lance-O | Reggae MC, DJ & Promoter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lance-O and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lance-O, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
I was not given a choice. I know this is what I am suppose to be doing in life. This is my destiny, my purpose in life. I use to think I chose this role, rather this role chose me. When I had my child, I questioned my path just very slightly, because I wanted to make sure I could provide. I literally said to myself I am taking this week off to think about it. That week, my phone rang more than it ever had still to this day. It also made me realize that my son brought me more blessings and opportunities. He has been apart of my success. It was never a matter of giving up, that was never in my cards I was dealt. When you do what you love and are so very passionate about it, you dont think about giving up or stopping. It is always what am I going to do next. Of course, we all have had or have our challenges. It makes us work harder. I got complacent once at my financially most successful time and it has been a very gradual spiral down and culminating with the pandemic. SO I know now there is only one way out and that is up. I have had to make adjustments along the way to stay active. You have to know how to adapt and go with what your crowd wants from you or what opportunities they present to you and reap those situations. So in conclusion, I know that I am doing what I am suppose to be doing. I never felt like I had a choice. When my peers especially those that are way more popular and successful are telling me I am doing the best at what I am doing, then I know I am where I am suppose to be.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My art starts with my DJing. I went off to college with the idea I was going to do something I loved. The only thing that really came to mind was muzik. I had taken lessons and played the drums, piano and pianica. I just thought I wasnt very good so I chose radio. As soon as I started DJing and talking on the radio I became a DJ and got asked & hired to DJ events, parties and at bars. I became pretty good & successful at radio and still do it to this day. Its hard to stay relevant in radio. So I became more of a DJ for events and in turn became a promoter because there wasnt anyone really wanting to do just reggae. I always liked the live element so I always incorporated bands. Then I got asked to book bands and eventually to help on festivals & concerts. This also led to me MCing & hosting more events. My voice is what has always set me apart as a radio personality, the use of it when I DJ and has really set me apart coupled with my professionalism & preparedness as an MC/host. MCing is what I find is my strongest asset at the moment. Its hard to narrow things down to just one thing that I am most proud about. I have several if I may. They are starting a radio station in college, syndicating my own radio feature that was on a 120 terrestrial radio stations around the world before internet radio., breaking reggae records on a national level while I worked at Power 96 radio station and turning a literal dream into reality, when I started a TV program called “Island Hoppers TV.” This was everything I loved all into one that became hugely popular. These days I am most excited about when I get on a major festival as the MC. The first big one was becoming an annual MC for Cali Roots fest, the largest reggae festival in the US. It takes alot of hard work and dedication to get anything in life. Nothing comes easy, you get out of things what you put into them. It also took adaptation, staying focused and nurturing what you are building, making sacrifices. The challenges are what make you stronger and as I said in the beginning I did not have a choice. Failure or giving up was never apart of the goal, it really wasnt even an option. We never thought about it. The biggest lesson I learned was when I was working part time for the airlines. I have always DJed and at this point the airlines was a supplement for me to surf on my days off from my works, thats why I got a job there. It ended up also being a good way to get gigs in other parts of the world. I ended up hating the job. I got in a big argument with my manager who ended up firing me. I thought it was the worse thing that ever happened to me because I wasnt sure how I was going to support myself. I wasnt DJing enough at the time. So I went full force into what I loved which was the muzik. This helped me, as I had the time, to launch my syndicated program to whole other level. I also became more committed to my craft and had the time to dedicate to the muzik. This how Kulcha Shok really went to the next level. We started a brand which came out of my company name. This is part of knowing your crowd what they want and adapting to their needs. So while Djing all the time people were supportive. I gave out free stickers and sold mixed cds. People loved both. When the regulars kept coming back for something more, they had all the mixed cds and had plenty of stickers. I could tell they wanted something more. They wanted to represent for me so I started printing tshirts with my logo. I wasnt doing big gigs or events much at the time, yet the one tshirt was doing decent. So I did another with a design and a hat. Now I really saw the potential of Kulcha Shok becoming a brand.. Thats how Kulcha Shok became a brand. Today we have nearly 300 products and set up at all the biggest reggae events in the country.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well I am a native of South Florida, so I would take them surfing wherever the best surf is while the swell lasted. During the rest of the week I would definitely take them to Glasser Farms farmers market in Coconut Grove on Saturdays. I am a raw vegan and this place has food that makes you feel like you are breaking all the rules and youre not. We’d also walk around the Grove as its one of my favorite places in the world. I grew up there so Id show them that as well. Hope fully the waves would show up at South Beach, still one of my favorite places to surf and show them around the beach. Go hang with the 3rd street crew. Maybe go back to the Grove and have lunch one day at the Last Carrot a health food restaurant. On Sunday go to my weekly Reggae Sundays and vibe out and listen to the best live reggae muzik. Hang out with my son and take them to Rattlesnake Jakes for their fresh Dolphin fingers one night for dinner and hang out with JR & the crew. Go walk the Deerfield beach pier. I love the fruit & Spice park in Miami would make a good day and lastly either go to New Smyrna Beach or the keys for an overnight trip

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
The main person to shoutout here is my mother because when she knew she was dying, she wanted to see her 3 boys dreams come to life before she passed. So I started Kulcha Shok Muzik, Inc because of her. She went with me and paid for my dream sound system to start Kulcha Shok as a mobile set of DJs & artists to play reggae muzik. She always said make sure you do something you love because in this country you are going to have to work and I have never worked a day in my life. I love what I do. My fans & supporters definitely deserve a lot of credit, because those are the ones that support me from the beginning. Many are my friends, too.

Website: http://www.KulchaShok.com
Instagram: KulchaShok
Twitter: KulchaShok
Facebook: Kulcha.Shok
Yelp: Kulcha Shok
Youtube: KulchaShokMuzik
Other: everything is Kulcha Shok

Image Credits
the one marked RRU 2018 is Natasha Jasperson one marked Lozada is Lou Lozada