Meet Derrick “Izzy The DJ” Isabell | DJ, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Derrick “Izzy The DJ” Isabell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Derrick “Izzy The DJ”, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Anyone that knows me personally knows that I love to take a risk when it comes to something I believe in. In my opinion it’s the reason why my career is where it is today. My thought process regarding taking risks is simple. I can’t say I truly want to do something if I’m not willing to bet the house on it, figuratively speaking of course. Most people shy away from risks due to the potential of failure, so I got to a point mentally where I realized that there isn’t a successful person in the world that hasn’t experienced failure. Honestly that is usually where your biggest lessons come from. Risk taking usually creates these moments. Risks within my life was giving up football to pursue a DJ career. May seem small or cliche to others but just imagine going from playing a sport all your life in hopes of going pro and then having a child and deciding that you should bet on yourself and make what started as a teenage hobby to a career . So, in essence this was actually a risk that affected both my life and my career.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
DJ’ing is essentially is like being an artist or painting a mural. Music is the paint and the world is your canvas or wall. I believe what sets me apart is that most of the time I’m shooting for the stars with my ideas and creativity and land on the clouds. I get lost in my craft because I have that much love for it. I live and breathe the world of DJ’ing and I feel like that is what you need to do in order to “lock in”. That’s how I got to where I am today. I study the game and see what people aren’t doing and apply it to myself. Marketing is also a huge part. I will spend my last dollar on marketing because I believe in myself that much. I literally prayed for times like this as my brother Meek Mill would say. You have to want this just as much as you want to breathe Also, none of this came easy at all! That same year I quit playing football, I was sleeping on my homie couch trying to figure it out. My industry doesn’t come with any guarantees, 401ks, or health insurance. In fact, in my opinion, the DJ is one of the most important but yet most under-appreciated aspects of the music and entertainment industry. One of the biggest lessons I learned along the way is “Make the people respect you because respect isn’t given out for free”. Out of my known counterparts, I was one of the first to use tactics like video marketing, billboards, tv commercials, and print flyers to push my brand as a DJ. Most of the time in the past you would only see these things representing bigger entities so I saw this as an opportunity to be viewed in the same light as Coca-Cola or Ford. I want the world to know that Izzy The DJ symbolizes globalization, and I plan to change and impact the world through my craft.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Let’s Say it’s summer time. I would take them by my Italian Ice Truck (shameless plug) ParadICE for a cup of our famous homemade Italian ice. I would take them to lunch at this spot in Portsmouth called “The Corner” to try the honey lemon pepper Lamb Chops! Happy hour at Grain rooftop for a nice vibe in downtown Norfolk. Weekend vibes would include a night pool party at Monroe Rooftop in Hampton. Dinner at District in Portsmouth on Sunday. Brunch spots are Canvas and Bay Local. Club vibes would be Caior on Granby Street and BeachHouse In Virginia Beach. I would also take them to Paradise Ocean Club for sure. Sunday funday would end at Culture lounge. We have a spot called apex which is a semi-adult Dave and Busters and of course we would stop at Homage Hall which is the Virginia version of the Trap Museum essentially that highlights prominent black figures in music and sports from Virginia. We would stay in one of those 19 bedroom mansions or at the Glass Light Hotel and for sure have a beach day in Virginia Beach. It’s the 7 cities so each city has something unique about it and we would visit them all

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My twin and 10 year old daughter, killa kam. She deserves a lot of credit and recognition for my story. She is a huge catalyst in my decision to be a DJ, entrepreneur, and community activist. May 2012 is when I made the decision to give up my football dreams to pursue a dj career. Main reason for that was because I was a 20 yr old student at Norfolk State University (an area where I have no family and limited resources) that just recently became a father so I knew I needed to make a way immediately. My daughter put the battery in my back because I knew that at some point I was going to have to answer certain questions she may have like “Daddy what do you do for work” or “Daddy why do you live in Virginia” so I wanted to make sure that there was an answer to these questions that I am proud of. I also wanted to be able to show her that even when you may believe you don’t have the answers at the moment, trust in God and your vision for your future to guide you to success.

Website: http://izzythedj.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/izzythedj/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IzzyTheDJ

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnufqXDa_m8ArLB6oPff09w/featured

Image Credits
Marque Robinson Kalin Wiggins