Page 30 - Love-of-Music-Magazine-winter-2019

Profiles In Success

No matter how hard life gets, there’s always liberation.
Music broke Michael out of his gang life, and gave him the life he has today.
LOMM Reports - Amanda Pande Monium
Michael Flores needed a way out. Involving himself in His music has been featured on HBO’s Queer As Folk, Bev-
the East Los Angeles gang life that landed him in jail, he erly Hills 90210, MTV’s The Blame Game, and HBO’s Loco
realized that he needed an escape. Angry at what his life Slam. Michael still wanted to achieve more, and he had a
was becoming, he needed something to get him out. His friend that worked at Warner Bros. Records that helped him
parents having to move away and be disappointed that he get into the Warner Bros. film lot. He started from the bot-
didn’t go with them, he needed that something. That some- tom; he swept the floors and drove around the lot picking
thing, was music. Little did he know that a simple listen at up trash. He shared, “From being on top of the world with
a young age would be what he needed that would change Power 106 and my music production, to sweeping floors at
his life forever. the WB, getting onto that lot was another accomplishment,
and started my next career.”
Michael is currently working on a documentary/film called,
“LADJ! The LA Story of Hip Hop & EDM.” It’s an explosive
story about the controversial DJ culture that started in the
Latino and African American neighborhoods of Los An-
geles in the 1970s and 80s. DJ’s such as Egyptian Lover,
N.W.A.’s Arabian Prince, and Victor Flores share their
untold stories. The film also takes a look at the rave culture,
how it started in warehouses in Downtown and East LA and
moved to super clubs in the 1990s, and being the driving
LADJ - The story of hip hop Michael smiling for the camera
and EDM in LA. force that launched today’s biggest electronic dance music
festivals such as EDC and Coachella. Why do so many
At 13 years old, Michael was outside with some friends global DJs looking for fame and fortune migrate to Los
and heard music coming from a house down the street. Angeles? All of that and more will be answered once LADJ
Curious to find out what was going on, they went to check is released. The release date is TBD, as some high profile
it out. There was a party going on at a nearby house, and names are looking to executively produce the project.
the DJ inside was playing “Blue Monday” by New Order.
One night, the resident DJ, DJ Pebo Rodriguez, came out Michael Flores found his way out. No matter how hard life
and took Michael inside for just two minutes. In just those gets, there’s always liberation. Music broke Michael out of
two minutes, Michael knew he wanted to become a DJ. his gang life and gave him the life he has today.
Eventually Michael got a spot as a mixer for LA’s notable
Power 106, home to “Big Boy’s Neighborhood Morning
Show” and of course Big Boy himself. The rest of his life
would be filled with successes in the music industry.

At 21, he produced a freestyle record that got signed to
a label in Canada. He then started his own record label
and got it to be one of LA’s prominent Hard House labels.
He produced mix compilations for several record labels
from Universal for a Latin compilation to remixing Donna
Summer for Disney. He worked with Justin Timberlake,
Linkin Park, Artie the One Man Party, & El Presidente. He
acquired multiple residencies at the hottest LA clubs at the
time, working alongside the best in the business such as
Richard “Humpty” Vission, The Baka Boyz, DJ Enrie, Tony
B!, Joeyboy, DJ Wicked, Mambo, J Scratch, and more. Michael Flores in Los Angeles
Photo Credit: Michael Flores

28 | The Love of Music Magazine - St. Louis
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