Meet Lenny Thompson | The Dj & The Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lenny Thompson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lenny, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I call Blytheville, Arkansas home! Being a military brat I’ve moved around a lot as a youngster but Blytheville is definitely home. Growing up moving around you learn to adapt to new people and surroundings. You learn that everyone doesn’t operate the same or have the same beliefs or methods. This made it easier for me to speak to people. My Wife says i never meet a stranger. As far as upbringing, I was blessed to have both parents. Now that I am older I didn’t know how much of an advantage that was. They never tried to control my life and steer my path. They let me do what I want and make my mistakes along the way. It has groomed me into knowing what I do and don’t want to do. The upbringing I had created the ‘Live Free’ mantra I live by.


Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
What sets me apart from others is I still enjoy the craft of deejaying. The craft of being able to read the crowd and blend songs. I’ve learned that its 50/50 out there. When you dj its for the crowd and not what I personally want to hear at the moment. The crowd you have may not be the crowd you expected to be there. Being able to adjust is a gold badge to me. Also blending the music perfectly to where you are moving on to the next song seamlessly. The vibe is unmatched. Anyone can play music but can you create a vibe? I am most proud about the growth. I see old pictures of weddings or corporate events I’ve deejayed and I cringe at my set up. The look was bad, wires everywhere, my attire didn’t fit the event, etc. I can now create a clean look which goes a long way for wedding djs. Being an eye sore in a client’s wedding photos is a huge no no. My presentation from start to end is top notch and client friendly. Getting to this point was not easy because you don’t know what you don’t know. I was losing out on gigs and money for non DJ skill reasons. You get to a point you have to be self aware of your weaknesses and short comings and face them head on. No one likes confronting themselves but you have to do it. You have to invest in yourself. You have to be able to accept criticism for what it is and adjust accordingly. I had to learn over the years that we don’t just dj anymore, its a full production from lights, to pyro (cold sparklers), to smoke machines, to Gobos. Its not just one phase anymore. We as deejays have to be able to do it all. I want everyone to know that Dj Lenny is here to stay. I will be rocking weddings for a long time. As long as love is in the air I will be there make it EPIC.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
This is a good one. I’m mostly the person ppl call when asking where to go party but things have changes now. I mostly do weddings and don’t club dj anymore. The Photographer in me see’s a lot of random places to go when I am out doing photoshoots. Im always searching for new locations with cool vibes and aesthetics to take pictures and they always end up in cool places to hang out.

Also I’m a foodie. I have a list of over 50 restaurants in the Atlanta area that are cool to visit. Some I’ve visited some I haven’t. I would let the best friend pick from the list and we go. Im not much of a planner when it comes to leisure. I just get up and go. Whatever comes to mind the day of is what we do. I love the Atlanta Beltline and the parks, restaurants, and cool hangout spots that surround it. My good friend’s studio Genesis Atlanta Creative Space is on the belt line. To sum it up I really can’t say definitively what we would do because it would all be at random and unplanned. I suck at itineraries for leisure.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Easily my parents so I’ll say two. They let my sister and I open a teen club when I was 14 called the Bomb-Bay We did the work (with the help of Popps of course) to get the building ready with paint and cleaning. We planned out a grand opening and budget. They let us run it from the door prices to hiring djs & security down to the snack bar. We noticed that with a packed house we weren’t clearing any money. Expenses were too high even though we owned the building.

Our dj was killing the overhead. We invested what we had in speakers and two cd players and boom you have DJ Lenny. Well at the time DJ Poppa Smurf. I look back at having that opportunity to learn managing a business on at the age of 14 and thank them for it often. They have never told me I should do something else.

Those experiences and support have undoubtedly kept me going. They’ve also been married 45 years so having that example of love so close is worth the recognition. I can give the photography influence to multiple fraternity bothers and friends that were already in the business. I bought a camera as a gift to someone I was dating. It didn’t work out so I was sitting with a new camera. Went from playing around to getting bookings. I can thank a few ppl like Andi (Andi Rice Mediaworks) , Quez (EQS Photography), Jerry (Brooks Quality Images), and Tez (The Davenport Design). All phenomenal photographers that never pushed me away when I had questions.

Website: www.DjLenny14.com

Instagram: @DJLennyKravitz @LennysLensPhotog

Twitter: @DJLennyKravitz

Facebook: Deejay Lenny Thompson

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRv3_b-BTW4&t=4s