What’s good everyone! We got the amazing opportunity to interview Founder of A Day In LA DeJon Paul. We discuss Los Angeles, musical influences, the A Day In LA Label, influence behind the clothing aspect of the brand and much much more! Get to know A Day In LA by clicking HERE! Follow DeJon Paul – on Twitter – @ADayIn_LA. On Instagram you can follow HERE! Check out the interview and thanks again for the opportunity!
1. What part of Los Angeles are you from? What was like growing up there?
I was born in Inglewood. I went to school in Inglewood from age 4 until I graduated from high school. I grew up through the window, I had an overbearing father who wouldn’t let me go play with other kids often, so I would just sit and watch other kids be kids. I grew up an only child so my experience of Inglewood was always a lonely one, until high school I would say. That’s when I started to have friends, and used to go to parties after school and stuff. Tacos, and blunts. That’s what I think about when I think about Inglewood. But my career always came first. My time with others was always limited.
2. What musical influences did you have growing up?
I was more of a R&B fan than rap as a child. Infatuated with old school music my grandparents would play, or that I could find on YouTube. My father played a lot of Bad Boy though. So I knew all that shit word for word. It wasn’t until highschool that I got introduced to Nipsey Hussle. From there, I was a rap nigga. That was the first rapper of my generation that I understood personally. Shortly after I would be introduced to Dom Kennedy’s music by my friend Christmas. I was just captivated. I instantly ranked him with Biggie, and Pac, and Jay, and to this day I still hold him in that regard. Lastly, I went to the same high school as Casey Veggies, and everyone was talking about his music. I began listening to it, he had a song called “Come On” that was crazy! That man’s music, and even his artwork is what inspired me to open up a label.
3. Tell us about the Day In LA Label?
A Day In LA Records is a label, and management company I started with my business partner, celebrity dj, A-Tron some years ago. He now is resident dj at Crazy Girls, he has the place lit. I began managing him fresh out of high school, and we did some really remarkable projects together. We both possess a skill of collaborating with big brands. We worked with everyone from Monster Energy, to BET, to Yogurtland on projects and initiatives that pushed the city forward. He decided to act not only as a dj, but also as an artist and we put out his single “Skinny Niggas” featuring Nipsey. We had another single with TY Dolla$ign and Mustard. We had a very successful LA based stage at BET Experience with RJMrLA, Joe Moses, and AV which were recognized for. From there, God had it so that Kee Riche$ would sign with us, and I began to work on the “Get Rich” album.
4. You can discuss the priority records situation with this question if you want
After the acclaim and feedback from the “Get Rich” album, Priority reached out expressed the opportunity to distribute us. Being that they were so instrumental in the birth of west coast gangsta rap having distributed Eazy – E’s Ruthless Records, and launching the solo career of Ice Cube, I found it both strategic and nostalgic to do business there. I recently spoke with a VP about preserving some of that classic LA history, in more marketable fashions.
5. Tell us about the apparel brand and what you have going on with that.
A Day In LA by dejon paul is my lifestyle based apparel brand. My partner is that is Bianca Roberts. She’s my big cousin, and helped facilitate at the label, just naturally as women do. We make streetwear that represents LA to a tee. It’s all about community, spreading that Cali love, and looking nice, looking presentable, and most importantly making people from the city feel good about themselves. It’s my life work, but made tangible through clothing, or our smoker accessories. We just celebrated our one year anniversary with a new “The Wiz” inspired colorway and sweatsuits. We had an anniversary brunch, drank Rose’ and blew off some steam.
6. What is the influence behind the clothing?
Aesthetically, I’m inspired by no one person more than Misa Hylton. She’s most famous for styling Biggie. Her work throughout the 90’s and 2000’s, and even some of her more recent stuff is so exciting. I draw color palettes and backgrounds from her work with Mary, Faith, and Kim, each a variation of ghetto fabulousness. One rugged, one refined, and one overt. I always try to find a happy medium within that. I bring that 90’s ghetto fab to LA’s Fairfax streetwear culture, because that’s where I hung out at in high school. Those offices and storefronts are where I started my career, conducted my first interviews as a publicist, and built many of my early relationships in fashion. So there’s a seamless blend of those two worlds in A Day In LA apparel.
7. You told me you have executive produced some projects, could you explain your role in the projects and what you learned from that?
As the executive producer, it’s my job to take on just as much responsibility of the completion of the album as the artist. I choose to be involved in every aspect of the process, from beat selection, song structure, content, recording, mixing, marketing, strategy, publicity, visual aspects, everything. In doing so, I learned that I had a perspective. Not only could I steward, but I could express. It was my first time exhibiting any artistry. The two projects I’ve EP’d I’ve lent my heart to, so it would take something really special to get me to accept the role of EP again.
8. Any upcoming artists, producers, designers, business owners etc you think who are on the come up.
There’s a litany of talent coming from the city. I’ve been involved in some capacity with just about every clique, or label, or team there is out here. I have to big up Kee’s Get Rich brand and label, only because that’s family, that’s what I’ll rep til the end. Um, Holland Izz is my favorite rapper from the city. His “Stay Sunny” album is so boss to me, go stream that. Airplane James, I’m just such a big fan of him and I’m happy the city is getting someone like him because we deserve that, and we don’t really get someone packaged so well that often, and he is. Tyler J is going to have a big 2020 too, I’m going to see to it. The nigga can RAP! And you’ll see me working with a lot of new artists next year, but in a different way than I have in the past. Stay tuned!
9. What’s your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
The colors! Everything so colorful here. Green, pink, yellow, red, blue. It’s easy to be inspired. The entire city is covered in lush green palm trees, and that inspires me too. I can never not be inspired. I just have to look outside my window.
10. Anything else you wanna add…
I challenge everyone to do something today that makes themselves happy, then repeat daily.
