-as told by DJ ILLA-NOISE
We’d like to give you a brief history on the history of The Urban Expedition Project and how it became what it is today.
As a child, I found myself always coming up with random names for businesses, without really knowing what those businesses did. I’m not sure why that was entertaining to me, but it was. Fast forward to the summer of 1999. Before DJing, My friends and I used to skate, and we called ourselves the “Skate Dogs.” This wasn’t the most mature of names for any sort of endeavor. It was time for something else. I walked around my neighborhood looking for inspiration. I believe i was about 14 or 15 at the time. That summer I learned the real definition of the word urban, as it relates to cities.
ur·ban: [ur-buh
n] –adjective
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it.
Pretty dope right? This reminded me of what I loved about LA, the “vast human features” and the cultural diversity that reflected my neighborhood, my social circle, my school, and my taste in music and entertainment. It was never intended to be a euphemism for inner city culture, which is used by nightclub owners and Soundscan to pigeon-hole an audience. At that point in my life I didn’t know such a euphemism existed.
That was the year the Ford Expedition became increasingly popular. I wanted one, and I liked the way “Expedition” rolled off the tongue. The original idea for a name was Expedition 1, but a school mate of mine told me there was a skateboard company that already existed under that moniker. More daydreaming ensued. One thing I noticed about my friends and I was that it was in our nature to venture out into the world and toy around with various “projects” and “expeditions” of sorts. It clicked. The Urban Expedition Project (name) was born. Young men on a mission.
The UEP started out as an experiment in fashion. Senior year in high school my best friend (at the time) and I made a line of men’s t shirts and sold them on campus using the “latest version” of Adobe Photoshop, iron on transfers bought at the local Office Depot on Venice and Robertson and t-shirts bought at The Surplus Store on Venice and Motor. As popular as the shirts became, the endeavor lasted only about three months. The profit we made from the shirts wasn’t enough to overcome our short attention spans and the lack of sleep I was getting working at the local grocer.
After high school, a couple of my friends went on to art schools and used The UEP name for their art projects. This made me think….”There must be something to that name.” I started DJing around that time and fell in love with the emotional reactions I got with the audiences. I was getting steady work as a DJ and was pleased with the way things were going, until one day I got tapped to DJ at El Dorado in Brentwood for Darren Matthews. It was an insane party. Perfect 10’s, pro athletes, celebrities and more. I had this feeling that I couldn’t shake. I was making $100 an hour to keep this party going, while he was making a backpack full of cash every week. That was the moment I went from DJ to promoter, and The UEP turned into a full fledged entertainment endeavor.
This was around the same time I met DJ Bling. DJ Bling & I met at Santa Monica College in a storytelling class (of all things). We became good friends as a result of our shared sense of humor and our love for DJing. I told him about my plans for The UEP and the rest is what some would call history. The UEP was established as a limited liability company in October of 2005, We set out on a path to bring our love for DJing and partying to the masses. Keep your eyes and ears open for The UEP making explosive moves in 2010.
