“We all knew Knox was going to be a problem.”
That’s Mighty Jai Price — a born and bred St. Petersburg resident — talking about the first time he met his partner at Tampa Bay culture incubator, Left Lane Entertainment. It happened at one of Jai’s recording sessions where a mutual friend was the engineer. Price, 35, went on to kick it with the initially mild-mannered DJ Knox and immediately noticed Knox’s ability to control crowds.
WLCM2KNXVLL (THU) | CYHI THE PRYNCE (FRI)
“He has a keen sense for frequencies and vibes to get people going. His blends and transitions sound like they have no seams,” Price told CL, adding that everyone in the Bay area scene seems to love Knox, who celebrates his 29th birthday with a four-day party that kicks off in St. Petersburg on August 23. The weekend’s high point comes on Friday when Kanye collaborator Cyhi the Prynce — who is, put frankly, one of the top five rappers working right now — plays Crowbar in Ybor City.
The entire “Obknoxious” weekend ‚ which includes Knox’s Gaspar’s residency and a DJ championship on Sunday at Franklin Manor — is reflection of the attention to detail and commitment to out of the mainstream talent which Knox and Jai put into practice on a weekly basis.
CASHNOXIOUS
Tampa hosting, represented in $1.5K Obknoxious DJ competition at Franklin Manor
Knox — a Dade City-born talent who, along with his mentor DJ Qeys, used to be a regular sight at Crowbar’s now-defunct All Good Tuesdays parties — credits Jai with being the guy who keeps his ear to the underground.
“Jai put me on to Caleborate. He’s into catching artists before they make it big so he can say, ‘I told you so,’” Knox said of a March 23, SubCentral at Iberian Rooster set from the breaking California emcee. He said Cyhi’s style and skill is G.O.A.T. level, and that’s why he had to take the risk to bring him down for the show. “He rhymes for the art of it. One of the nicest rappers in the game. He’s accomplished. Grammy-nominated. Dope. Why not? It’s OBKNOXIOUS!”
Knox and Jai took some time to share Left Lane’s backstory with CL, but Jai put his and Knox’s approach to all of it best when we pressed him for more details about his own personal life.
“There’s not much about me because I’ve been trying my best to stand behind the Left Lane brand,” he said, “rather than stand in front of it.”
You’re gonna want to stand in front of, and then take part in, some of these parties Knox and Jai are throwing — and this Obknoxious weekend is the perfect chance to dive in.
Read our full Q&A below and get more information on the weekend’s events via obknoxious.com.
Knox, you’re a Florida native, and you’ve even got deep ties to Dope Ent., but other than that. No one really knows you’re Tampa Bay story. How’d you get here? Where’d you go to school, etc.? Why do you stay here?
Knox: I came to Tampa to get a degree in Audio Engineering from IADT until I figured out quickly that school wasn’t for me. I was born in St.Pete. Did most of my growing up in Dade City, but Tampa is home for me though. I love it here.
How’d you get into DJ-ing?
Knox: I always loved listening to DJ mixes on the radio as a kid. When I turned 14, I got a set of Numark tables and a mixer, and that was it.
Knox mentioned releasing music under the Left Lane/King Knoxygen channel — how’s that project coming along?
Knox: I’ve been slowly working on it over time. I thought about releasing some music I’ve been working on on my birthday, but I changed my mind. Give me some time, though.
Knox, you’re WLCM2KNXVLL night is essentially a local talent showcase. Do you remember when you started getting into the local scene? How old were you? What were some of the first events you went to?
Knox: I’ve been at this DJ thing since I was 19 years old. I ran an open night at a place called Murphy’s in Town & Country with my homey, S&M. I believe we started in August of ‘09 — I was 19 or 20. I don’t remember the events that we used to go to back then. There have been so many — some good, some bad.
How hard is it to stay on top of the local thing and continually find new talent to showcase at WLCM2KNXVLL — what resources do you use?
Knox: Jai’s the one you’d have to talk to about that. He finds all the dope artists from the area.
Do you remember the first time you met each other? What were your first impressions, and when did you know he was somebody that you wanted to start working with?
Knox: I met Jai through our mutual homey, Nick. He would always play Jai’s music. Jai’s nice on the mic. I started DJ-ing the shows he was booked for, and that’s how we started working together. From doing well with the shows and parties we decided use that avenue to build the Lane Lane into what we ultimately see it to be in the future.
Mighty Jai: He pulled up at a recording session of mine. Our mutual friend, Nick, was my engineer as well. I had heard quite a bit about Knox prior to meeting him. Mild-mannered at first. We’d go out with Knox to his gigs and have a great time. He knows how to control a crowd. He has a keen sense for frequencies and vibes to get people going. His blends and transitions sound like they have no seams. We all knew Knox was going to be a problem. Everybody that was around Knox at that time knew Knox was going to be the man. I’ve caught many glimpses of the work Knox has put in, and I know that was the tip of the iceberg. Talent aside, Knox is just a great human being. Everybody loves him.
What have been some of the unexpected challenges of this journey you are on? How do you deal, and how do you overcome?
Knox: It’s something new everyday. I deal with unexpected challenges by staying on the path. No matter what I have to keep striving to do more and be better.
Mighty Jai: The most unexpected change to me was the first time we had to find a new venue to host Art & Soul. Personnel changes are tough. The work-home balance has its challenges from time-to-time, but I’ve been at it long enough to steer situations in the right direction.
Knox, have you had some mentors along the way? Could you talk about that?
Knox: DJ Qeys the homey, but I consider him a mentor. Qeys is dope. He and I used to practice scratching and juggling daily. My homey S&M showed me how to run a show and control the crowd. Matt, Tariq, and Ski Beats gives me gems once in awhile, too.
SKELETON QEY
DJ Qeys details the darkness on his new EP, D.E.A.D. — listen
Jai, your bio says you make music for yourself. Could you talk about when that impetus to create first happened inside of you? What the initial expression music? How do you get to the point where you’re writing lyrics and making songs? Interested to know about that journey.
Mighty Jai: I need to edit my bio if it still says that, but hip-hop and rap music is something I’ve loved for a long time. My approach to creating music is changing. Things I’ve learned have made me reroute myself on my journey.
There’s also not a lot about Jai out there — you’re from St. Pete. How’d you arrive here, get into music, etc.?
Mighty Jai: There’s not much about me because I’ve been trying my best to stand behind the Left Lane brand rather than stand in front of it. I’m from the South Side of St. Pete. Born and bred. Gospel, 80s pop, 90s hip-hop and R&B, 2000s neo-soul and trap music shaped me. I released a hip-hop projecte called, “Dreams Sold Separately,” a while ago. Opened up for various artists like Big K.R.I.T., Nipsey Hussle and Kevin Gates. Shifted my sights on cultivating the scene in St. Pete through curating events. I currently maintain four events; Art & Soul, which is held at Iberian Rooster every third Thursday night and WLCM2KXVLL, held at The Bends every fourth Friday, are the customer-favorite parties we throw.
Could you talk about coming together to form Left Lane?
Mighty Jai: Left Lane was a friend of mine’s idea. His name is Marquel. He wanted us to have an imprint of our own. No matter which lane of the arts we chose to delve into, he wanted the product to come through our own company. I brought Knox along, and the rest leads up to now. We’ve formed some great relationships with other entities in the Tampa Bay Area to create a small conglomerate of sorts. Dreams Supply Co., which creates all of our graphic designs. Savage City Blog, which serves as our go to publication for coverage and documenting our parties and events. They’ve played an instrumental role in us gaining traction.
You brought Caleborate here and now Cyhi. Those are out of the box artists. How’d those relationships between Left Lane and artist reps develop and what kind of risks (financially) are associated with bringing artists like that?
Knox: Jai put me on to Caleborate. He’s into catching artists before they make it big so he can say, “I told you so.” I liked his music as well after listening to it. He suggested we bring him to Art & Soul at Iberian Rooster. They just so happened to be setting up a tour so that worked out pretty well with timing. Caleborate rocked it. Him and his crew really enjoyed themselves down here. For The Obknoxious Party, I thought of Cyhi because I remember he did a show with Big K.R.I.T. in 2012 at The Kennedy and rocked it. I even got the chance to DJ for him that same night, so that was big for me.
REAL PEOPLE
Caleborate finds a band, bares his soul at St. Pete’s Iberian Rooster
There’s a financial risk with putting together a show for any artist in hip-hop, I feel. Caleborate & Cyhi are an acquired taste of MCs. With Cyhi being a bigger name at a bigger venue like Crowbar, of course, it’s a greater risk. It’s also a great reward, too. Rewards far greater than monetary value. I like the rush of putting up my own funds. Between Jai and myself, we do a pretty good job of promoting our parties and shows. We plan on bringing more artists to the area over time. The more we do it, the better we’ll get.
What is it about Cyhi that made you want to bring him for Obknoxious weekend?
Knox: Cyhi’s style and skill is G.O.A.T. level. He rhymes for the art of it. One of the nicest rappers in the game. He’s accomplished. Grammy-nominated. Dope. Why not? It’s OBKNOXIOUS!
In a way your business has created a space for a young, diverse crowd to gather. Was there a void you were trying to fill? What parties were you attending before yours existed?
Mighty Jai: I like a sort of “controlled, but dysfunctional” party environment. I like to curate conventional events in unconventional places. An atmosphere that’s conducive to creativity, entertainment and cultural growth for a specific target market. People that shared our taste and vision no matter their race, nationality or creed. That was the void I wanted to fill in St. Pete. I knew that Knox could help me achieve that because he’s like the Pied Piper of DJs for that demographic. Hanging out at Ruby’s Elixir inspired me, too. I like the vibe they have on Monday and Thursday nights.
Could you talk about how important it is to be a black-owned business?
Mighty Jai: It’s important to me because I created an opportunity for myself to control my own destiny.
What can the community — especially non-black consumers, creatives — do to be better, true supporters of black creatives or black owned businesses like yours.
Mighty Jai: We just want everyone to love black people just as much as they love our culture.
This article appears in Aug 23-30, 2018.
