Taylor Austin James (born May 15, 1987), better known as DJ Tay James, is an American DJ and MC. He was signed to Unruly Records in 2005, and after several years playing clubs in the

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and Baltimore area began touring as

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

's DJ and MC in 2009. He has released a number of mixtapes, and as of 2012 is a radio DJ on

WPGC-FM WPGC-FM (95.5 MHz) is a commercial broadcasting, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Morningside, Maryland, and serving the Washington metropolitan area. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an urban contemporary format. WPG ...

. DJ Tay James was named HBCU Top 30 Under 30, in July 2014

Early life

Taylor Austin James was born on May 15, 1987 in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. He grew up in

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a planned community in Howard County, Maryland, United States, consisting of 10 self-contained villages. With a population of 104,681 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most-populous community in Maryland ...

, later moving to

Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. The United States Census Bureau defines an urban area in northeast ...

. At twelve years old he saw DJ Scribble on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

, and his father bought him a pair of

turntables A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration Waveform, waveforms are recorded as correspond ...

for Christmas. After being taught to use them by his brother he started to DJ parties for his sister and friends. At age 15 he began interning at Unruly Records, a

club music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and festivals. It is generally produced for playback by DJs who create s ...

label based in Baltimore. At age 16 he was paid $300 for DJing a birthday party, and immediately quit his job at Burger King to focus on music. After graduating

Calvert Hall College High School Calvert Hall College High School (also known as "Calvert Hall" or "CHC") is a Catholic college preparatory high school for boys, located in Towson, Maryland, United States. The school was established in 1845 by the Institute of the Brothers of th ...

he was signed by Unruly Records and began spinning at CD listening parties and clubs.

Music career

Mixtapes, radio

While at Unruly Records James studied under local DJs such as

K-Swift Khia Danielle Edgerton (October 19, 1978 – July 21, 2008), better known by the stage name K-Swift, was an American DJ, MC, radio personality and entrepreneur. Early years Born to Joseph and Juanita Edgerton, K-Swift was raised in Randallstow ...

and Claxton, and was mentored by DJ Alizay. He also became associated with DTLR. He worked for three years at Unruly before leaving to attend

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missiona ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. In college, he studied

business management Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. Overview The administration of a business includes the performance o ...

and continued mixing at clubs and parties. On weekends, he drove 130 miles each way to DJ at Love, a large club in

, that routinely held 8,000 people. He played at Love for three years, where he notably DJed birthday parties for

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

and Bow Wow, and an afterparty for

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. He also spun at other Washington clubs including

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

and Park, and was a guest DJ for

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's inauguration. He graduated from Hampton University with a BS in business management in 2009. As of 2012 he has a live broadcast on D.C. radio station

on Friday nights. He continues to release mixtapes on a regular basis, and as of 2012 he's released over 77, which have sold over 150,000 hard copies in the mid-Atlantic region.

Justin Bieber, touring

While getting a haircut in July 2009 James got a call from former Hampton classmate DJ Boogie, who was working in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

with R&B artist

Sammie Sammie Lee Bush, Jr. (born March 1, 1987), known by the mononym Sammie, is an American singer and songwriter. He is best known for his 1999 hit single, " I Like It", from his debut album, '' From the Bottom to the Top'' (2000). He returned with ...

's management (also based in Atlanta) had asked Boogie for a DJ recommendation, and they interviewed James and flew him to

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

to meet and tour with Bieber. At the time James was hired, Bieber had only performed in public twice. James played Bieber's third performance without a tryout. They played a water park in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, which they headlined after

Sean Kingston Kisean Paul Anderson (born February 3, 1990), known professionally as Sean Kingston, is an American former singer and rapper. Born in Miami, Florida, and raised in Jamaica, he signed with J. R. Rotem's record label Beluga Heights Records ...

dropped out. At the time, the act only had James, Bieber, and two dancers. James continued to open concerts for the act and tour while still flying to D.C. for various gigs. He was a fixture both in the "My World Tour", where he opened all shows for the South American leg. He was also DJ and MC for Bieber's "Believe Tour." James contributed scratching to the track " Right Here" on the Justin Bieber album ''

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

'', which peaked at #1 on the US ''Billboard'' 200. He and Bieber also freestyled on the 2010 joke track "Omaha Mall," a webisode of We Know the DJ, which now has five seasons.

Film & TV placements

Movie features

*'' Justin Bieber: Never Say Never'' movie (2011)

Television appearances

*''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show is the fourth and sixth installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Jay Leno, it aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009, replacing ''The Ton ...

'' (2011, 2012) *''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Ellen DeGeneres. The show ran for nineteen seasons from September 8, 2003, to May 26, 2022, in which it broadcast 3,339 episodes. It was produced by ...

'' (2011, 2012) *''

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Oprah Winfrey. The show ran for twenty-five seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in which it broadcast 4,561 episodes. The show was taped i ...

'' (2011) *''

The View ''The View'' is an American talk show created by broadcast journalist Barbara Walters. , in its 28th season, the show has aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC as part of the network's ABC Daytime, daytime programming block since August ...

'' (2011, 2012) *''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'' (2011, 2012) *''All Around the World''

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

special (2012) *'' Dick Clark's New Year's Eve'' show (2011) *''

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

'' (2011) *''

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

'' (2011) * Disney Christmas Parade (2011) *''

The David Letterman Show ''The David Letterman Show'' is an American morning talk show that was hosted by David Letterman on NBC. It originally aired from June 23 to October 24, 1980. Originally, the series lasted 90 minutes, then 60 minutes from August 4 onward. Bac ...

'' (2011, 2012)

References

External links

WeKnowTheDJ.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Taylor Living people 1987 births American radio personalities American remixers Musicians from Baltimore American club DJs People from Columbia, Maryland People from Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland