Today we’d like to introduce you to “International” Top-Notch.
Thanks for sharing your story with us “International” Top-Notch. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It all started in 2007. I obtained an internship with Radio-One Atlanta and that’s where I found my interest in music. Before this internship, I knew absolutely nothing about DJing or MCing… to be honest, I didn’t even know why I was doing an internship at a radio station. All I knew was that my Academic Advisor At Morehouse College (Atlanta, GA), Dr. Hodge, told me that in order to be on track to graduate in the future I was going to need to complete an internship. So as soon as I leave his office, I walk to my 1996 Nissan Pathfinder, cut on the radio, and the first thing I hear is, “Hot 107.9 is looking for interns.” Now I’m a firm believer in God, so all I said was, “God, I don’t know what you are trying to say…. but I’m going to try and land this internship!” I filled out my application, went to the group interview, and got a call that night to start interning that same week.
From the internship to working in promotions, to throwing parties, to DJing… that’s literally how it happened for me.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Not at all a smooth road for me, the very first gig I ever had was at this club off of Abernathy called “Space Millennium”. Most wouldn’t believe me, but I actually got boo’d off the stage. I was so bad they even called in another DJ just to get me to stop playing. That was right around the time of Twitter, so I was talked about all over it. Fortunately for me, no one knew my name so it was all good.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the DJ Top-Notch story. Tell us more about the business.
I am known for DJing and MCing. It’s a die-hard passion I have for making people dance and have a good time.
DJing overseas is something that I’m proud of because it catapulted me from the crowd of local DJ’s in my city.
My ability to take any crowd of any age, any race, with any genre of music and get them to party and sing along to songs is what sets me apart from others.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
It’s played a major role for me. I tell people all the time that most of my bookings always come out of luck. I just happened to always be in the right places at the right times I guess.
Contact Info:
- Phone: (470)357-1123
- Email: djtopnotch17@gmail.com
- Instagram: @dj.topnotch
- Twitter: @djtopnotch17
Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
