DJ Cleo

Atlanta-based DJ and mixtape mogul DJ Holiday played a crucial role in the rise of many of the biggest names in hip hop beginning in the late 2000s. He started DJ’ing in high school and put that experience into his Plush Blue party promotions company. Early on, Holiday worked with Nicki Minaj, Gucci Mane, Wiz Khalifa, and many others as they rose to stardom. Along with hosting massively successful mixtapes for other artists, Holiday released plenty of his own music, almost always featuring high-profile friends. 2015′s God Bless the Mixtape saw a long guest list that included Young Thug, Kevin Gates, Migos, and many, many others and singles like 2018′s “2 Seater” evolved with the changing landscape of hip hop, featuring relatively newer stars 21 Savage and Quavo. DJ Holiday was born Robert Avery in 1983. He was born in Germany but raised in Decatur, Georgia where he got interested in music and hip hop culture early in life. He was DJ’ing by the time he was in high school and by 2006, he’d formed Plush Blue Entertainment, a party promotion company that threw music-centered events in the Atlanta area. It was during this time that Holiday linked up with noted rap tastemaker DJ Drama and joined Drama’s Aphiliates music group. With newfound clout, Holiday started releasing mixtapes, beginning with his Holiday Season series in 2008. In 2009, Holiday was involved with several groundbreaking mixtapes, including Gorilla Zoe’s Feeding Time, Gucci Mane’s Writing on the Wall, a collaborative effort with OJ da Juiceman called Alaska in Atlanta, and perhaps most notably, Nicki Minaj’s third mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty; the latter showcased Minaj’s skills in their highest for to date and brought her buzz to a fever pitch both with fans and in the music industry. These projects brought Holiday acclaim as well; he’d spend the next several years earning accolades from the hip hop press and national radio — he was even named DJ of the Year by MTV in 2010. As the decade pushed forward, Holiday continued his Holiday Season series, as well as a steady stream of mixtape collaborations with French Montana, Gucci Mane, DJ Ill Will, Young Dolph, and many others. 2015′s God Bless the Mixtape was a significant standout, with contributions from over a dozen A-list rappers of the time including DJ Clue, Meek Mill, Migos, and many others. The DJ branched out past mixtape production, hosting a radio show in Atlanta to continue seeking out new and exciting trends in the evolution of hip hop. 2017 brought singles like the Pakman Jitt-assisted “Deeper Than Pro Tools” and the Dave East collaborative mixtape Karma. Always staying busy, Holiday returned in 2018 with the single “2 Seater” featuring 21 Savage and Quavo. ~ Fred Thomas