John Johnson, III of J2 Design
Baltimore hip-hop is finally presenting on a national level and a lot of the credit goes to DJ Quicksilva, who hails from the rough east side of the city. Born Rico Silva, his career climb could be adapted to film, fitting, since it was a 1980s movie that inspired him to start spinning in the first place.
"I was watching 'Beat Street' and there was a DJ in the movie," he tells The BoomBox. "I was only 10 years old at the time and I didn't really know what a DJ was at the time, but I remember thinking the guy that was playing the records was the coolest guy in the movie. I remember telling my dad that I wanted to be that guy."
Later that year, young Quicksilva only requested two items for Christmas: a set of turntables and a mixer. His father obliged and he hasn't stopped deejaying since that day, which was more than 20 years ago.
Back in high school, Quicksilva was already deep in fulfilling his career aspirations -- he'd been making mixtapes and deejaying house parties since he was 11 years old. By the time he was 18, he'd started on Baltimore radio station V-103, then moved on to 92Q and X105.7. When 105.7 went off air in 2002, Quicksilva begun touring with hometown radio personality and songstress Lil' Mo.
He found himself in all the right circles, being introduced to the most influential people in his city and beyond. Touring for two years landed him a spot with Pepsi's DJ division, spinning at company-sponsored concerts nationwide.
When he finally returned home in 2004, D.C.'s WPGC 95.5 was looking to employ a new DJ and through Silva's past radio connects he secured a spot on the station. After four years, he received an offer to run an evening slot on WKYS 93.9.
"I've been in
