Meet ROS

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful ROS. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with ROS below.

ROS, so good to have you with us today. We’ve always been impressed with folks who have a very clear sense of purpose and so maybe we can jump right in and talk about how you found your purpose?
This is a great question. The honest answer came to me late in my career & I have shared this story often over the years since I had the experience.

I was on a tour run in Brasil and invited by my host/promoter to do a meet & greet with children in an orphanage in Santos which is about 30 mins outside of Rio De Janerio. Santos is the birthplace of soccer legend, Pele.

They requested a quick DJ demonstration then taking pictures with the kids. The thing was, this entire neighborhood, including the orphanage was owned by a notorious gangster. Hence, every other artist from the US that had been asked turned down the request due to the possible danger of the circumstances.

I simply asked my host if he could be sure of my safety. He said he could…and with that…off we went.

To make a long story short, we make it to the center, I meet the head mistress, and she takes me in to meet the kids. Now, I don’t speak Portuguese and few there spoke English so, I had an interpreter translate all that I said after my set. I was able to spend about an hour with the kids taking pictures and signing autographs. It was an amazing time.

As we were preparing to head out, while standing outside the center by our vehicles, I am approached hurriedly by the head mistress. She is crying profusely. I am confused because I thought maybe something I did had been misunderstood.

However, what she said to me next hit me in my heart:

As translated, she conveyed to me that everytime this promoter brings an American star to the country, they ask to have the kids meet them. Everytime they were turned down. She explained that the reason the visit we made that day meant so much is because she could see in the kid’s reaction that her goal was achieved…

She wanted someone from another part of the world, who is successful, who LOOKS LIKE THEM, to come stand with them and be an example of what is possible. That has always stayed with me.

If nothing else, I believe my purpose is to be an example. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to witness what it can mean, I will never forget that experience.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My audience-facing business for that last 2 decades has been my DJ brand. That is what I have been most known for. However, I am truly excited to spend the next 2 decades sharing all the other things that move and inspire me in a more public manner.

I will continue to DJ select events but, I am most excited about 4 major brand extensions prepped for the next couple of years: the release of my debut album project, ‘SUPERHERO”, the release of my DJ business book “How To Be A Million Dollar DJ”, the expansion of my clothing brand concepts “Brooklyn Slice FTW”& “Bodega Billionaire”, and scheduling my first art installation at a local gallery.

It is important to me to lean into my creative pursuits for the remainder of my career & I am excited to share more of what I do with the world.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
I think the three most important tenants that have served me well throughout my journey…and……would serve any other creative or talent as well are the following:

1. Personal Honesty With Your Interests | Talent: I cannot tell you how many times someone has tried to tell me I’d get a certain result if I followed a trend or “the wave”. There is no satisfaction there if that move is not true to your path or interests. In all cases, follow your personal vision and find your true audience.

2. Help Others – It can be via information, providing an introduction, or tangible effort. No matter what you do in your industry, be open to being a resource to others deserving of your time.

3. Put the 10,000 Hours In – I know there is debate about the actual time one may need to put in to master any discipline. However, I havelearned that there can be no debate in regards to putting constant (daily) work in on your passion. Whether it’s 10 mins or 2 hours, the effort feeds the expansion.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?
YES! The current album project I am working on is being crafted with artists and producers I have met from all over social media. I thought it would be an adventure to work on something with creatives from across the globe who were interested in creating art that is timely and unique using all the tools and access we have to one another in this era.

I always welcome creatives who are interested in being involved with this project. I can best be reached via DM on IG via @iamros.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Daniel Oramas, Hailey Larkins, Demetrius Thomas, Ryan Howard

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