DJ Squizzy Taylor is known for his heavy presence in the Denver music scene, and his influence is sure to have affected the way in which you enjoy it. Taylor has his own radio show, clothing company and of course, successful music career. His solo radio show, Sunday’s With Squizzy takes place from 7-10 p.m. on Sunday nights in addition to his show Fridays at noon show with Rosa called 12 o’clock Boombox. His clothing brand, Celebrate Life is currently getting an exciting revamp, and most recently, Taylor has taken on a new opportunity serving as a local facilitator to upcoming national shows.
We caught up with him to get the specifics on the new evolution of Taylor and brought it here so that you can know what to look out for.
303 Magazine: You are a major staple in the Denver hip hop scene, serving two major Denver rappers — AP and Trev Rich. How do you balance working with multiple artists in the city?
DJ Squizzy Taylor: It makes it really easy since they are my closest friends, even outside of music. We’re family. It’s not like I am working with someone way over here and then I have to find time for him. We are all in this together.
303: On top of your own music, you have been an on-air radio personality and have hosted many local events. What is your favorite part of the local Denver rap scene?
ST: Being the voice of the people. Dictating what’s hot and what’s not in the shift of music. Making sure that people are being fed the right thing. That is the best part, I get the most out of that.
Doing that and creating our own sound as a state, as a city and not just focusing on one brand of music. Bringing people together. I think that is my biggest asset, bringing people from different worlds together, connecting the dots.
303: You’re known for your style. How do you find inspiration to influence the Denver fashion scene?
ST: I’ve always wanted to look good and stand out. It’s important — a person’s first impression of you means a lot. I want to be the best-looking person in the room at all times like everybody else does. If you dress confident, you’re going to act confident, you’re going to be confident and then you’re going to perform confidently because you look good.
303: You have been teasing what’s next on your Instagram. Can you tell us a little bit about what to expect with Beta 2.0 and the upcoming shows with AEG?
ST: One of the things I have coming is the Beta 2.0. I will be there with my business partner, my counterpart, Hollywood Cook. Everything will be going under Hollywood Cook Entertainment, it’s our new entertainment group.
That will be the biggest — that I’ve known, the biggest club that will allow hip hop to be done in it. I don’t even like to say hip hop, because I’m not going to be doing strictly hip hop. It’s the biggest place that’s not going to be not strictly hip hop, not strictly EDM. So, I think that it will be really big and will be like a melting pot. That’s how I would love for it to be, where everybody comes to have fun and it’s just open to everybody. I’m super excited.
I will also be working with AEG, using my influence and my brand and my following just to help make Denver dope. That’s going back to the power — this is dope, this is the show y’all need to be at. Using that. I am very excited about that.
303: Speaking of your Instagram, it looks like you just got back from Africa. Can you tell us why you were there and what was your favorite part?
ST: It was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. The culture out there is so crazy, they love music so much. I felt like a superstar. They had me all over. We’re driving and I was seeing posters on in the streets — it was crazy. I was surprised, I didn’t know it was going to be this big. They were like “American superstar Squizzy Taylor in Lagos for the first time.” It was crazy, they really rolled out the red carpet for me. That was super dope. I have been getting calls now back in America to do Afrobeats. So, it’s opened up some different doors.
303: Will your trip influence your music?
ST: Absolutely. I always try to play something for everybody, that’s how I got booked. I don’t want to say it was random, but there are some [Nigerian] cats that come to the club. They always love me because I play some of their Afrobeat records and I mix it in the same way I do the Latin records. One of them came to me and said, “I want to book you in Africa.” I thought it was just talking and it became real, like, “I’m going to Africa.” So, I became international. That was really cool.
303: Have your goals changed?
ST: Absolutely. The world is so much more now. That’s where I am now — the rebranding of Squizzy Taylor — not limiting myself to anything. The cliche is “the sky is the limit” — but seeing the places that music can take you, going to Africa, the sky is really the limit. I experienced it.
That’s why I am so excited — going back to Beta. 1500 people can fit in there and it’s not the same crowd that I’m used to. I get to expand way more. I get to play more stuff and get accepted into a bigger market. Denver has always been the underground, and it’s coming to the forefront. To be involved in that is really exciting. It’s very dope, I’m super excited.
303: Anything else you would want to touch on?
ST: I’m doing an all DJ festival, me and DJ K Tone. We’re going to do it every quarter, where it is all about the DJ. We book 15 of the best DJs in Denver, and on December 22 it will be at Cervantes’ Otherside. It will be spotlighting DJs, we’re not going to have any rappers perform, no host — it will just be a big DJ party showcasing DJs. I’m very excited for that. We’re going to try to do one every quarter, so this one is called The Winter Fest. Hopefully, that becomes a monster of its own.
This interview has been condensed and edited.