Three Decades and Counting: DJ O.G.ONE. Is Still the One
Photos provided by DJ O.G.ONE.
By RayJaun Stelly
Born David Jackson but known to the world as ‘DJ O.G.ONE.,’ Jackson has put in 25 years and counting within the music industry. He is a musical pioneer in the Pacific Northwest. Aside from being the Portland Trailblazers DJ, Jackson has performed at countless events and parties with some of the greatest artists and celebrities the world has ever seen.
From the likes of Jay-Z, Nas, Method Man, DMX, Rakim, Snoop Dogg, E-40, Rihanna, Charlie Wilson, Boyz II Men, Tony Toni Tone, Michael Jordan, Damian Lillard, NBA 2K, and ESPN, DJ O.G.ONE. has solidified himself within this industry. Even with an incredible resume from top to bottom, Jackson is still dedicated to his craft no matter what.
“Music is a coping mechanism for me. As I got older and started pursuing music, I realized the power of music and the power it had in impacting lives,” said Jackson. “I wanted to approach music by using it as a tool to do the other work that I do, which is serving people. Music is a tool I use to continue impacting lives. As long as that’s a need and I enjoy doing it, that’s just been my focus.”
Jackson grew up as an only child for some time, and with his father being a musician, the idea of being in this field came to him genetically. His father essentially kick-started his journey by buying him his first instruments, despite being too little to hold them. Regardless, music was always around, and it became the way he expressed himself.
“I was always the kid that had the music in the neighborhood. I had the cassettes, and everybody would ask if I had a specific record,” said Jackson. “Then I just started getting creative with it because people were doing parties. This was before I had turntables; we had double cassette players and a boombox.”
”I’d be the kid in the neighborhood with the boombox, go to the park and have music playing, and then people started asking if I could put music on a cassette tape for them. I started creating mixes off of double cassette players,” Jackson continued.
From going to the neighborhood park playing music and creating mixes for parties, once he got his first turntable, the legend of DJ O.G.ONE. was born. The control that DJs had over a crowd and taking people on a journey by controlling their mood and energy in the room intrigued Jackson, and from that point, he realized that was what he wanted to do.
The journey started in Los Angeles and then made its way to Oregon. Upon arrival, Jackson developed a program called ‘Gang Peace,’ a gang prevention program he directed. He began throwing after-school parties for those within the program who obtained good grades once a month.
A note from their parents plus their grades were the price of admission. From there, the parties gained tremendous traction through the students, and he caught the eye of a promoter who asked if he’d be willing to do a show.
“I never did any shows. I said yes, but I had no idea that the show was opening up for Naughty By Nature and Run DMC. That was my first show, and from that, it blew up,” said Jackson. “My name was all over the town. Everything that came through Portland that was hip-hop, R&B, and old school, I was on the bill. From there, it went to radio. Stations recruited me, and I did radio. Then I did an event at Nike.”
The Black History Month event at Nike Headquarters elevated Jackson’s career to new heights when Larry Miller, the president of Brand Jordan at the time, took a liking to Jackson and asked him if he would DJ all the Michael Jordan parties. At the snap of a finger, DJ O.G.ONE. was DJ’ing for none other than Mr. Jordan.
Continuously maintaining a good rapport, once Larry Miller left Brand Jordan and became President of the Portland Trailblazers, Jackson asked Miller if they needed a DJ, given that other NBA teams like the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers had one. Following that question, a week later, DJ O.G.ONE. was signing an NBA contract to become the official DJ for the Portland Trailblazers.
Despite the longevity Jackson has dedicated, music will always be a part of him. Now, he understands that the current state of how it is used will take on different looks.
“I’ve been able to leverage music as a DJ to connect with people. Now that I am an established, credible entity and brand within the market, for me, it’s about how do I leverage that to elevate other people,” said Jackson. “Now I take everything that I have learned, ups and downs, I make a profit off of it and show young people how they can turn their triumphs into profit.”
Jackson expressed, “Music is just the carrot; my celebrity is just the carrot to get people in the door, creating a voice to say, how do you take your life experiences and struggles to make them work for you rather than deter you.”
Once he decided he wanted to be a DJ, Jackson made sure to put himself in a position to be as successful as possible. Now, looking up 25 years and counting, everything he sought out to do, he is still doing.
“I had to be focused on this being what I really wanted to do, and it didn’t matter what anybody else around me was doing,” said Jackson. “I was willing to pay the price. Either way, you’re going to pay, so you decide if you’re going to use excuses or you want to leverage. All the excuses I could’ve used, I just made it happen.”
You can catch DJ O.G.ONE. on July 12 at the Moda Center in Portland for a speaking engagement, on July 20 at the Moda Center DJ’ing for Ice Cube’s Big 3 league, and July 23-25 for Damian Lillard’s basketball camp.
