DJ Vlad the Butcher

Vlad the Impaler? "You know, Romanian guy, use to enjoy impaling people..." says Vlad the Butcher; no relation (as he motions impaling someone). Maybe it's the fact that this guy was a sadistic ruler of his time (some say of all time) which brings a certain obscurity to the name. Vlad, ruler of Wallachia in the mid 15th century, who is infamous for murdering hundred of thousands of people through his torturous way; like burning them alive, nails to the head, cutting limbs off, chopping off someone's nose and ears, maiming your "Johnson", scalping, exposure to the elements or feeding you to wild animals, skinning you alive, oh, and of course; impalement, hanging them out to "dry" on his front lawn...still not ringing a bell? Well how about Vlad Tepes? No?...Well, Vlad was named after his father, their last name, Tepes is the Romanian word for "Impaler".

Now here is another name you should ALL be familiar with... (bare with me) Daddy Vlad was part of a secret order of knights (of course); Order of the Dragon. They upheld Christianity against the Ottoman Turks back in the days. So, the Romanian word for dragon is "drac" (but that is also the word for Devil)...and the term "ul" means a definitive article. (I'm not sure what that really has to do with anything) hence, daddy Vlad was named Dracul and his son became Dracula as "ula" means the son of. So what does the world expect when your kid is named Vlad the Impaler - Son of the Devil, it seems to be a fitting for he who turned out to be...a ruler at any cost.

Now fast forward to the 21st century, we have Vlad the Butcher, aside from getting his DJ name from Mr. Habitual Impaler, DJ Vlad, in his own career has hung many DJ's out to dry, and is ruling the scene both here and aboard. Winning awards left to right:

Number 3 Hip-Hop Album of All Time for Rap Phenomenon II
Rolling Stone "Mixtape Series of the Year,"
Vibe Magazine "Bootleg of the Year,"
XXL Magazine "Mixtape of the Year
Justo's Mixtape Awards, Mashup of the Year for Rock Phenomenon

His philosophy is quit simple; "I don't play exclusive songs, I make them" and with countless accolades to boot it's known; when Vlad drops a mixtape, it's serious, like his "2Pac: Rap Phenomenon II" effort (a collaboration with Green Lantern & Dirty Harry). Vlad also paid tribute to The Notorious B.I.G. in the original Rap Phenomenon, his Hot In Here series which branched off in to DVD format along with well selling Girlz of Brazil, the list goes on. Within a relatively short time, DJ Vlad escalated to the top of the DJ world and generated quite a name for himself. DJ Vlad was also one of the first DJ's to release his mixtapes on the internet via MP3 status, seeing there wasn't an outlet in California for getting his music out to the masses, he made one. Dropping on websites "it was easy for people to pick them up from all over the world... [it was the] first real exposure I had...and I liked it..."

He started out in Hip-Hop during the 80's when break-dancing was a way of life, fast forward to the 90's and he's producing music which quickly lead him into DJ'ing...the rest has already been scalded in mixtape history and like Dracula, his work is destined to last forever.