DJ FELLI FEL  (June 2008) | Interview By: Lil Jay

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Questions Asked By: Lil Jay

Felli Fel Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here

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Dubcnn: How big of a competition has the internet become for a DJ in terms of still being able play the world premieres first? Because I remember a few years ago, the radio was basically the only spot for people to hear new music. But nowadays it seems like it hits the web first since artists have their own avenues like MySpace and Blogs.

Felli Fel: I mean, I tell cats you just gotta dig a little bit harder and build relationships with artists so you get these records. Back in the days it was a little bit different, but nowadays you just gotta work harder. It's like with anything, everything changes. You just gotta change with the times and figure out what you gonna do to step your game up more than the next person. A lot of times you may think you're world premiering something and even your listeners that listen to the radio already have that record. You gotta really be sure that what you play is really exclusive and an official world premiere. So you just gotta step you're game up more than everybody else. I don't look at it as a competition. I try to get records from artists and put them on the radio before anybody else. Sometimes the records come to me, sometimes I gotta go find the records.



Dubcnn: Things move pretty quickly in the music business nowadays with people having a short attention span. Lets say something that is new one day sounds old the next day. What's your formula as far as staying relevant as a radio DJ?

Felli Fel: I think that if you're just gonna be on the radio and you think that you gonna stay into what the listeners wanna hear, I think you're fooling yourself. I make sure I stay in the clubs, I pay attention to what people are talking about in the streets, I look at different things on the web. As a DJ you gotta stay on top of what's happening with music, and the only way is if you get out there. I pay attention when I go to other cities, I listen to what's on the radio, I listen to what's going on in the club when I go to Atlanta or New York or wherever. Even different clubs in L.A., that's how you stay relevant. Radio DJ's who are just on the radio and don't really get out, there's a whole other world out there that people are exposed to. You gotta stay in that world as much as you can.



Dubcnn: A lot of times artists and even fans on the West Coast feel that L.A. radio is not supporting their local artists enough. What's your take on that?

Felli Fel: I just tell cats to make hit records. I think one thing that artists need to realize is that radio is called radio for a reason. You gotta have a record that is appealing to the radio listener. The radio listener's ear is tuned to a certain sound. They watch videos and 9 out of 10 times they wanna hear the song on the radio that they see the video to. So it's a certain sound. And when a cat comes with a street record, the radio listener isn't used to that sound.

But I think it's the same way in every market. Everybody complains in every market that the radio doesn't support them. But I can only do so much. I can only play records that sound like radio records. If your radio record doesn't sound like a radio record, I can love it and you can be my homie, I can love you to death and I'ma bump it in my car all day long, but I can't play it cause it's hard to play certain records on the radio. A lot of cats don't understand that, but for the most part most do. I try to give cats advice on what kind of records they could do if they want their record played on the radio. If they're not willing to try to shoot for that sound, then I tell them that they have to realize that what they're doing is not really made for radio.



Dubcnn: But some street records do get played though, like G. Malone's "Certified" for instance.

Felli Fel: Yeah, but it's gotta have a radio sound, and I think Akon is what brings that to Glasses' record. It's sad sometimes that you gotta have a commercial type of artist on a record to cross it over from just being a street record to not being a street record and a record that the listener can relate to. I think it's just that you gotta find that right mix, and you gotta come with a friendly sounding record. A lot of guys don't wanna do that. They wanna keep their record a certain way, and that's what's gonna always keep it a street record and it's not gonna end up being a record that crosses over to radio. And I respect that. But like I said, it's always gonna be that struggle. It's the same way in New York, its' the same way in Atlanta. A lot of times cats will try to say "well Atlanta, they support their own", but the difference is if they lived in Atlanta, they would find the same struggle. They're doing records that can get played in their market and other places. All those records in Atlanta end up crossing over, and it's a sound that different markets can play and like, cause they're seeing the videos.

I wish that there was more opportunities for West Coast artists as far as getting signed to major labels, cause they would have videos. There would be somebody helping the situation and coach them getting a more radio sounding record. I think that's what it's gonna take, these labels have to start signing some of these artists so that they have a push behind them. Radio can only do so much, cats think that radio is their saviour to getting a record deal, when it's not. The saviour is actually them doing a record that can get played on the radio. And cats sometimes get it backwards and get upset, cause it's like "man, if you play my record on the radio I can get a radio deal", when that's not the case. That's a reality that went out a long time ago in the record industry, that's not what happens anymore. Record labels wanna hear that you have multiple records, that you have a sound and a certain image. You gotta go do radio record! There is a reason why Chris Brown, T-Pain and Akon are on the radio all the time. The listener's ears is tuned to that kind of sound. If you're not doing records like that, you're not gonna get airplay. And to get upset about it is ridiculous. If you're a street cat and you do street records, then you shouldn't really expect your record to get played on the radio, cause you're not doing records that's in that lane.

The problem is the record labels a lot of times would tell an artist "You gotta have a record that's on the radio", and then you got radio telling artists "Man, you gotta have a video and a record deal cause it's easier for us to play it". So I understand why the artist is like "Damn, I'm hearing this from the record label and this from the radio." The fact of the matter is that I have this conversation every fuckin' day in life, and I'm sick of it! What needs to happen is cats need to do hit records. Some cats don't know how to do hit records. Some cats think they have a hit record, but they don't. Until they go to the studio and do a hit record, they're not gonna get played on the radio. Not just in L.A., but anywhere.



Dubcnn: Would you say that it's lacking in the quality of the music?

Felli Fel: I'm not gonna say quality! There is stuff that I love and I think the quality is great and I bump it in my car all day long. But it's not a record that I know the listener is gonna gravitate to it. That's why sometimes I play a record a couple of times and I never get any feedback from it, so I can't continue to play it. The bottom line is, you gotta go make a hit record. If you don't know what a hit record is, I can't help you! No feelings attached. There's a million people out there that want their record played, and everybody that hits me up thinks that they're the only one that I talk to. It's the same for any DJ in any market, they get hit up from a million people wanting to get their records played. And that person doesn't realize that there is a million other people that have called me that day saying the exact same thing.

I just think that a lot of cats don't know what a hit record is. They do a record that they like, but sometimes what you like is not what the mainstream likes. And there is nothing wrong with that, but don't expect your record to get played. The O' Jays said it best, they said you gotta give the people what they want. They even did a record like (sings) "You gotta give the people what they want!". If you don't give the people what they want, nobody is gonna ask for your record. So I always tell cats, if you wanna make money, you gotta bend your style a little bit. If you don't wanna bend your style, don't expect to make money! It's just how it is, that's the way of the world, that's anything. If you come up with a tennis shoe and you wanna make money, you better come up with a sneaker that is something that people wanna buy. If not, then go ahead and do a sneaker that you like, but don't expect to make money off of it. It amazes me how people get upset because their record won't get played. And you know, it's like you're getting upset over music. It amazes me everyday.

Another thing I don't understand is that I'm not the only DJ out there. What some of these people don't realize, I'm looking at what other DJ's are playing in their city, and I don't hear their record anywhere else. So how is it gonna motivate me to play their record? Especially when I hear it and I already know it's not a radio friendly record and nobody else is really playing it anywhere on any other radio stations, not in any clubs, I don't hear it anywhere. That doesn't make it easier for me. So I always tell cats "Go create some kind of buzz!", and then sometimes cats will come back and be like "Man, I do have a buzz. My record is getting played in this club!", but nobody knows nothing about this record. And I think sometimes people fool themselves cause they wanna make it so bad that they think that people are checking for their stuff when they really not. And of course I gotta be the person that gives them the bad news, and of course I'm the bad guy!

If I could say anything to artists who are trying to make it that are listening to this: You can't blame your situation on one person. You make a hit record, it's gonna get played. The argument is sometimes, "well it is a hit record!". My thing is, if it is a hit record, then you're gonna be able to give it to other people and they're gonna like it. I'm not the only person that you can get your record to. But cats have it in their mind, they go backwards. Go get your record played on a lower street level, maybe even on satellite radio, on the internet. Get a buzz going and then come to a radio station. You don't come to a radio station and try to start there, you gotta start at the bottom. And that's what people don't do, they don't go out there prove to big radio stations that they're worthy of getting the airplay. You can't come straight to the big house, you gotta start somewhere else. But it's the way is it, I've accepted it a long time ago, it's human nature. People are gonna get frustrated because they don't get what they want. And even if you try to be their friend and tell them what they need to do and take your time out of your schedule to coach them and try to give them advice. 9 times out of 10, if you don't tell somebody what they want to hear, they hate you. As long as I know in my mind and my heart that I try to help people, I can wake up every day. There's a lot of DJ's that go through the same thing that I go through. In New York, in Atlanta, in Miami.



Dubcnn: Yeah, some of that hate is not necessary. Like in your case, I think you're one of the few ones to have Tray Deee in the studio for an interview, or play a Defari radio drop on the show, or premiere a new song by Daz.

Felli Fel: Yeah, well tell these artists that, because I agree with you. Every chance I try to play things that nobody else is playing. Sometimes that's just how I feel. It's like no matter how much I do, it's never enough. For every artist that I help, there's ten artists that are upset because their record is not played. Sometimes I feel that way, sometimes I feel like people take it out on me. Maybe they don't. I know for a fact though that there is people out there that have a personal vendetta against me because they don't have their record played on the radio. And they find a way in their mind to hate me. When it's like, man, it's not like I woke up today and tried to think of a way to hold you back. I hope that you come to me and give me something that I can help you with. It's just how it makes you feel when you're in a certain position of power, so to speak. It's not a good feeling to have cause I never really asked for that.

If I gave every record a shot, I would have to play a hundred unfamiliar new records every day on the radio. So I gotta listen to records and say "Is this something that I feel could work?", and I don't just tell them no. I give them pointers and try to tell them why. But you know the outcome to that man. I always use the same, how do you tell somebody their baby is ugly? You can't! That's part of my job. I don't like it, but it's a gift and a curse.



Dubcnn: What new artists from the West Coast would you put in your Top 5?

Felli Fel: Uhh, new artists. Probably, uhh.... man I don't even like naming them man. See, you're gonna get me caught up in a world of political bullshit. There's a lot of artists from the West Coast that deserve a shot. If I name 3, there's gonna be a 100 artists that are mad at me cause I didn't name their name.



Dubcnn: So you're gonna put out your own project soon. I mean you used to put out mixtapes or host other peoples mixtapes, but what made you release a DJ album?

Felli Fel: Mixtapes are mixtape, and what I'm doing is exactly that, an album. I produce music exactly how it got me into radio, I used to do jingles and drops for people on the air before I came to L.A. And then over the years just producing records for different artists. It's all about timing, and I felt like this was a good time for me, being that the kinda music that I produce, it was a good time for that particular sound. When I did the "Get Buck" record it took off and it landed me a deal at Island/Def Jam/So So Def. I can't tell you why, I didn't decide to do it now, it just kinda happened. That's why I tell people, You do a hot record and different things happen. The "Get Buck" record is what set everything off. I started getting different offers from different places, and the deal that Jermaine offered me over at So So Def was the best situation because he understood my vision and he liked the music that he was hearing, even records besides "Get Buck".

But back to your original question, yeah I did mixtapes and I still do host mixtapes. Especially for artists from L.A., anytime they want me on a mixtape I'm doing it, for nothing! Because I wanna help as much as I can, anything I can do to help an artist. And sometimes it doesn't need to be on the radio, cause I can only do so much on the radio. If I played a lot of the records that I get from certain L.A. artists, I wouldn't have a job at Power 106. Because they expect me to play certain kind of records. And when I'm not playing those kind of records, it's a problem. So I have to be very careful of what I play. And when I did my record, I said to myself "is this a record that DJ's at radio stations would wanna play?", and the answer was. And when we gave the record a shot, it worked. I would have never even brought that record. I mean I could have brought a million record to the station over the years, but I never did.

That's another thing I would tell artists: Wait till you have that record. Just because you finish a record and put a lot of work into it, don't fool yourself and think that it's a hit just because you've put work in. But that got me the deal, and now we're finishing the album. The name of the album is "Go DJ". We've got a lot of different artists on this album, we got Game, E-40, Ciara, of course Akon, Diddy, Ludacris, Lil' Jon, Kanye, Ne-Yo, Fabolous, Jermaine [Dupri], Jim Jones, Gorilla Zoe, Snoop, WC, Too Short.



Dubcnn: With you just putting these cats on there, I'm sure your relationships with them made it easier to make it happen.

Felli Fel: Yeah, with a lot of these guys I've built relationships with over the years, even outside the radio station. Artists don't give a shit at the end of the day about the fact that I'm on the radio or anything. They really don't. It's about having a hot record. These cats that jumped on the "Get Buck" record, they wouldn't have jumped on it if it wasn't hot. It doesn't work that way. First and foremost you gotta have something that's hot, and then it makes the relationships that you have a lot easier to come to somebody and be like "yo, check this out". Same thing with the second record I got called "Finer Things". I brought it to Kanye and he loved the record, he really loved it. It's very rare that Kanye gets on things that he didn't produce, so that speaks a lot. He could have easily been "I got for love for you Fel, but I'm not feeling the record", but he really loved it. So for him to get on the record, it doesn't matter how cool we are. It's a matter if he likes it. Of course having a relationship helps, cause I know who he is and how to contact him, so I can give him a record. So that is half the battle, but once you get to the person they gotta like the record.



Dubcnn: You're mostly known in the Southern Cali region, since that's your market. Are you gonna try to cater to other regions too with this album, maybe overseas?

Felli Fel: Oh most definitely. I think the sound that I have on this album is universal. Obviously I live in Southern California and I do radio there. Somebody once said "it ain't where you from, it's where you at". And I'm in L.A., so that's what I represent. But I have a very broad and universal sound on this album, there's a lot of party, mixshow, feel-good type vibes on the album. And then I have a lot of street sounding records, but even my street records have a party feel-good vibe to them. I think this album is gonna represent the places I've been, where I'm from and where I'm at. If you like good music, this is that album!

It's gonna be hard for me to get around and promote the record. I'll get out there as much as I can, but I have a responsibility at the radio station in L.A., and that comes first. A lot of people always ask me "You gonna stop doing radio?", I mean I still have a love for radio, as much as the headaches that I have sometimes when I wake up and say to myself "Man, I don't even wanna do this anymore". It would make it so much easier for me cause I don't have to be the bad guy anymore! But the fact of the matter is that I still have a love for the radio, I love playing new music and I get excited over playing that next record. I don't think that's gonna go away anytime soon. Being that I have that responsibility, it's hard for me to get out of L.A. a whole lot. But I'ma try to do it every chance I get to get out and show my face in other places. And you know what? I'ma try to represent the West Coast in a fashion and try to be an example, and hopefully I don't let anybody down!



Dubcnn: What would you say was the most memorable moment on your show on Power? Any personal highlight?

Felli Fel: Aww man, there's a whole lot. Interviewing Snoop and The Dogg Pound, all three of them together, Daz, Kurupt anf Snoop. That was definitely one! Interviewing Nas, being the first to interview Alicia Keys on the radio. If I had to name the most memorable it would probably have to be interviewing all three members of Run DMC. Rest in peace Jam Master Jay. That was something that was real special to me, because I grew up obviously listening to Run DMC. But Jam Master Jay was, as I'm sure for every DJ, somebody that we looked up to and learned so much from. Interviewing all three members of Run DMC was just incredible. It was shortly after that Jam Master Jay passed and I was very fortunate to have that opportunity. And that's something that will always probably be one of my biggest memories on radio. Another interview was Janet Jackson and Jermaine Dupri, together at the same time. If not, I think I might be the only person that's ever interviewed both of them together at the same time. That was some years ago. And they're still together!



Dubcnn: And what about the radio drops? Some people go crazy for these drops!

Felli Fel: Yeah, probably one of my biggest drops I ever had was the Jadakiss one, he did it over "We Gon' Make It". Or Dub C made one over "California Love". I still get drops, but it's the same thing with records. I get a million drops, so I can't play them all. And it breaks my heart sometimes, because I know somebody put in hard work. But if it's a hot drop, I'ma play it! Anybody out there that got drops, they can hit me up on my MySpace and submit it.



Dubcnn: Anything else we haven't touched on?

Felli Fel: Yeah man, I got crazy records on this album. I'm excited about it and hopefully this album is something that people can sit back and enjoy. Just a big shout out to the whole Island/Def Jam/So So Def family. Jermaine for giving me the opportunity. Thank you to the whole Power 106 staff in L.A., Big Boy's Neighborhood and all the Power Mixers. All the artists in L.A. that are trying to do their thing: I promise you, if you give me a record and it's hot, I'm playing it. And that's on everything! Shout out to the whole Heavy Hitter DJ crew across the country. And I appreciate you bro, thank you for the opportunity to do this interview!

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Felli Fel Gave Dubcnn A Shoutout! Check That Here

Full Audio Interview Here

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