DJ Target: “You've just gotta stick to your guns, trust in yourself and let those setbacks be fuel for your journey”
FOUND sits down with DJ Target after his collaboration with Monkey Shoulder and the energy is instant — ask him about his dream festival lineup and he’s off. “You could just go all guns blazing — Central Cee to Flow Dan,” he says, his voice picking up pace. “I would go crazy if you told me I had no budget and no restraints.” For a moment, you can hear the kid from Bow who used to dream about stages and sounds, not the veteran broadcaster who's spent years making those dreams reality for others.
It's the same energy that's taken him from Roll Deep member to radio presenter to talent scout. Whether he's championing Liverpool's rising scene or getting animated about the comeback of pirate radio comebacks, it’s clear that DJ Target’s “thing”, so to speak, is the spontaneous stuff — Mac 10's outside sets, DJ Ag bringing back that “pull up and spray bars” ethic, or his daughter randomly breaking into freestyle raps. After decades in the game, he's still looking for those moments when the culture happens naturally, away from algorithms and streaming numbers.
What cities or scenes do you think are quietly building something special?
There's so many exciting pockets of talent all around the UK. And I think it's great that we're really starting to see all the hard work from smaller cities and towns, as well as the major cities. The UK is now embracing accents and different subcultures, so we're seeing artists popping up from all over the country. I'd say Liverpool feels like it's having a real moment. There's a lot of buzz in the city and a few rappers and artists that have come through in the last year or two have really helped staple Liverpool's name on the map.
Obviously you've got Manchester. Birmingham's always been doing its thing. Bristol has an amazing underground dance scene. But there’s loads of talent popping up in the little towns and cities across the country too. We do something called the UK Touchdown tour on the radio show — it’s where we focus on a different city or town every night for a month.
In an era of infinite scrolling and disposable sound, why does deep listening still matter?
Everything now is so skippable and disposable. Attention spans are gone after fifteen seconds. Sitting down to play a vinyl record forces you to retune your brain and focus properly. That moment when you hear the crackle at the start, before the track kicks in, it’s therapeutic. It’s a whole process — taking the vinyl out of the sleeve, smelling it, checking the artwork, putting it on the turntable, dropping the needle. You can’t just skip that. I think more people could benefit from sitting and doing that once a week. It brings you back to a different level of attention and appreciation.
You’ve spoken about grime’s DIY roots. Do you think young creatives today are missing that energy?
I do miss the DIY grime era. It was raw, and we were figuring it out as we went. That made us resilient. By the time any of us hit the mainstream, we were ready — for the stage, TV, whatever. Now, everything moves so fast. You can make a song today, go viral tomorrow, and be signed by next week. It’s still DIY in a way, but the foundations are different. I think that old-school “just do it for the vibes” spirit is coming back, though. People miss that rawness. There’s always room for evolution, but that DIY grind energy will always have a place.
Are there places that still have the old school vibes from back in the day?
There are definitely way less club nights and venues that really bring that grime energy — that sweat dripping from the ceiling vibe. That's why we're seeing the resurgence of Mac 10 with his outside sets, DJ Ag bringing back that “pull up and spray bars” ethic, and various mockups of pirate radio sets. People love that raw, authentic energy. Stuff that’s not been premeditated for the algorithm or streams. It's just about vibes. Off the back of this wave, we're gonna get a bunch of artists that represent that energy too. There's an exciting time ahead.
What do artists need to thrive?
Artists just need the space to feel free. You get the best out of artists when they're able to be themselves and really dig into the creative process. And just to cut out the noise and distractions. There's so much of that outside of the studio.
When it comes to what I do, I always try to make artists feel comfortable. I try to make my radio interviews more conversational — it's coming from a genuine place of having such a passion for the music. I think that helps artists feel comfortable and trusting when it comes to my radio show and the various platforms I'm involved in.
How do you handle setbacks and missteps?
It's easy to celebrate the wins, especially in the age of social media where we see everybody's highlight reel. But the missteps, mistakes and setbacks really build character and resilience. There've been so many moments where I've thought this has gone wrong, but it's about riding that wave and finding the silver lining in those moments. Sometimes things have to fall down for new things to be built.
One that sticks out is not getting a radio opportunity I was really hoping for. I was doing two nights a week then and just stuck at it, putting in as much hard work as possible. I just kept grinding. Before long another opportunity opened up which led to me getting my five day a week show. You've just gotta stick to your guns, trust in yourself and let those setbacks be fuel for your journey.
What's been your most unexpected moment of joy recently?
There are so many, but I think I have so many amazing conversations with my daughter. She's so into her music at the moment. Recently she said, "Daddy, I'm gonna freestyle." I didn't even know she knew what that meant, and she just broke out into a rap. Seeing that is always a joy.
Has fatherhood changed your relationship with music?
Without a doubt. Becoming a dad is the biggest shift in anyone’s life. It changes your whole outlook. My daughter’s so musical, and seeing her singing, dancing and even doing little rap freestyles is amazing. It’s given me a renewed relationship with music and inspired me to finally start working on my album. She’s my biggest inspiration and, honestly, she’s the legacy above everything else I’ve done in music.
What are you unlearning?
I think sometimes you need to unlearn some of the boundaries and the guidelines that you're told to stay within from such a young age. You know, you come up through the school system… I feel like especially when I was coming up, there wasn't really any nurturing of the creative industries, or you weren't really told that it's a viable career. You were always told how difficult it would be and how it's unrealistic and stuff like that. Along the journey I've definitely been unlearning that kind of rigid mentality and just trying to be more adaptable. And I think a lot of people are doing that. They're just slowly just trying to free their minds of the restraints. It's just good to see.
If you had the freedom to do a lineup of your own anywhere in the world, what would it look like?
I'd definitely say somewhere hot, but not too hot. And I'd probably have quite a few stages if we're going big. I'd have a stage where we are representing and bringing in the newer artists that we've seen over the last year or two — maybe K-Trap or Jim Legxcy. Then I'd have more of an electronic stage where we'd have some of the new wave of electronic music — Sonny Fodera and Overmono… The list goes on. This is just a quick run through of the flavor you'd get. And the main stage? What would we do there? I'd be interested in keeping it entirely UK. I feel like the Americans are represented a lot in our festivals, especially the bigger ones. Maybe I’d go for a Roll Deep reunion set. Just full Roll Deep. Or you could just go all guns blazing — Central Cee to Flow Dan. I would go crazy if you told me I had no budget and no restraints. It would be crazy.
Writer: Cherelle Chambers
