Just in case you forgot, the 90s were an amazing time. Almost anything was possible. Take the most apocryphal-sounding story, set it sometime in the 1990s, and all of the sudden it has the ring of authenticity. Like the one about how DJ Khaled used to be a ball-boy for the Orlando Magic when he was a youngster and how he was running a side hustle selling his mixtapes to the players. No, really. Hat tip to B/R:
I used to live in Orlando, and I actually was a ball boy for the Magic, and I used to sell my mixtapes back in the locker rooms to the players. Every time an NBA player pulled up to the parking lot, they were bumping that DJ Khaled mixtape. … It was a great experience for me because I got to see these guys come from the bottom, like when Shaq first got signed to Orlando. And then still be his friend, and when I see him and show love and salute, he know where I come from, meaning from the bottom, hustling this music.
You have to wonder whether “getting your music into the hands of as many famous people as possible” will be one of the keys to success discussed in his forthcoming book. Regardless, it was a savvy move by the savvy and successful producer/mogul.
(h/t B/R)
