China Mac's interviews have always been well-received at VladTV for his in-depth analysis on all matters related to the culture, yet recently the Brooklyn-born emcee has reversed the roles by deciding to ask questions of his own, as seen on his new "MACTALK" podcast on China Mac TV. While China Mac has increased his notoriety over the years on the VladTV platform, he felt it was only right for DJ Vlad to set it off for the very first episode.
During part 1 of the interview, DJ Vlad briefly describes what it was like to be born in Ukraine, noting that at the time it was actually still part of the USSR. He was there until he was five years old when his family moved to the United States, yet he does recall a sense of paranoia involved from living within a communist society.
From there, he reflects on moving to the Bay Area where he was somewhat of an outcast, yet his love of hip-hop got him immersed in American culture before long. Vlad also reveals that he was a breakdancer at one point, where he was even a part of a breakdancing crew during elementary school.
Later on, while obtaining his degree at UC Berkely, he started making demo tapes of his own instrumentals, yet he soon gravitated towards his natural ability on the turntables. DJ Vlad then recalls being the first DJ to release his mixtapes on the internet circa 2000, prior to moving to New York with a backpack full of CDs.
Vlad soon after started moving from borough to borough to build his reputation as a mixtape DJ, where he then connected with big names in the industry like DJ Dirty Harry and DJ Green Lantern. Those collaborations garnered DJ Vlad a "mixtape of the year" award, which solidified himself as a reputable brand in the industry moving forward.
Source: YouTube
