DJ Envy has definitely carved out a space for himself in the music industry, although these days its less for a hot a mixtape compilation than it is for a hot interview on The Breakfast Club. The New York City radio host on Power 105.1 has made a name for himself above and beyond that of your typical DJ, with exploits not only in hosting -- he hosts a podcast with his wife, Gia Casey, called the Casey Crew as well -- but in business; he owns a bunch of real estate, including a juice bar, which he reveals during our new interview.
Envy is getting back to his roots though, with a new album on the way, led by a new single of course, "Text Ur Number" featuring the melodic trap crooner Fetty Wap. As the record continues to garner plays across radio and online streams, DJ Envy stopped by our office for an in-depth interview about his work, for our new series The Plug. The Plug will bring you first-person stories from a resident/certified plug of any avenue or industry, whether it be behind-the-scenes or front-and-center, the idea is that The Plug will share their story first-hand for our users.
DJ Envy's story, for those unfamiliar, starts with DJ Clue. He takes us back to the mixtape heyday, detailing how his friend DJ Clue was getting big bucks by working as a DJ, which ultimately inspired Envy to get in the game too. Envy reveals the tricks to getting those exclusive records back in the day, transitioning from a DJ to a radio host proper, and from there, glo'ing up further with more business pursuits and a family life with his day-one lady (they've been together since high school).
"I had a hacker, they used to hack into peoples emails, so if you worked at Def Jam, if you worked at Atlantic, if you worked at Sony, I had a hacker that was gunna break into your email and get that song. Also, I had interns. Interns never made any money, they were always pretty broke, they always had to work from like 9 AM to 8 PM, so I just gave him a little bread and he made sure he leave with the cassettes, the tapes, and that's how we got a lot of our exclusives," Envy reveals when it comes to nabbing exclusive tracks for his mixtapes back in the day.
From there, he goes on to detail The Breakfast Club dynamic, as well as the worst interview they've ever had-- he cites one with Chief Keef which apparently never even saw the light of day-- as well as his favorite, with Louis Farrakhan.
Envy discusses his new single with Fetty Wap around the 13-minute mark, detailing why he opted for a sound that's different than most of the stuff currently on the radio, as well as why he chose Fetty Wap for the single. "I wanted something I could play in every genre I'm in," Envy states. "I thought the perfect artist would be Fetty Wap."
Finally (it's a lengthy interview, but well worth the watch), Envy leads off with advice for the youth, and basically it can be summed up in a word: internet. Use the internet.
Watch the full interview up top, and stay tuned for more info on DJ Envy's album.