Trap Star Daily News: D.C. Don Juan Talks About "Lookie Looky," Says He's Recorded 4,000 Songs

D.C. Don Juan Talks About "Lookie Looky," Says He's Recorded 4,000 Songs
January 26, 2010 02:01:00 PM CST | by Jake Paine

After successful debut albums from Wale and Diamond District in 2009, D.C. Juan hopes that 2010 will prove to be a continuation of awareness for Hip Hop in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia. Speaking with HipHopDX.com last week, the creator of recent hit "Lookie Looky" firstly debunked the confusion that his name represents his location. "I like to present myself as a person, and not a state. I got so much love for DMV. I love DC, that's where I live at. But the 'D.C.' in my name is actually just an abbreviation of my government," said the man born Maurice Don Campbell. With the moniker Don Juan already copyrighted, D.C. Don Juan was born.

"I love the state of DC music, from the beginning," continued Juan, citing both Wale and label-mate Raheem DeVaughn. "I think it's my turn. What I think I bring to the table from DC is being on the outside looking in."

In fact, D.C. Don Juan approached the city as an outside. Born and raised in The Bronx, the New Yorker moved south with his mother at the age of 12. "My mother wanted me to get out of the [environment] I was in, which was The Bronx, New York. She wanted a better view of life for me. [My uncle] lived in Maryland, so we always used to come out to the DMV when I was a child. She told me when I finished junior high school that she wanted me to [begin] high school with a fresh start in new surroundings." Through being an initial outside, Don gravitated towards family, and thus rapping. "I came to DC knowing not one person, so the outlook on things was that I had to keep myself entertained." Citing his mom's youngest brother as a role model, the teen admits he,"didn't need any friends in DC 'cause I had my family with me. [My uncle] instilled rapping in me." The extended family unit moved to the Capitol Heights region of the Maryland. "Music was a way of me gaining notoriety."

The notoriety came when the 17 year-old high school graduate caught the attention of then-Denver Nuggets Small Forward Demarr Johnson in 2005. " I didn't even know [him] when he bought my [plane] ticket to come out to Denver. He just knew that I was an emcee trying to do my thing from the city, and he flew me out there." Once there, D.C. Don Juan says he just stayed. In that environment, Don was taken under the wing of several NBA stars who often run in Hip Hop circles. [Allen] Iverson got traded to Denver, so I built a core with Allen and Carmelo [Anthony], and these aren't just people that play basketball, these are the big hitters in basketball. I was blessed. I feel like God had this planned out for me all along."

Asked about what his tenure in the Rocky Mountain State taught him, Don quickly points out, "It taught me the game quick...I'm driving Bentleys, I'm driving Maseratis, wearing expensive jewelry, and this is all before my stardom. Chillin' with them gave me the exposure; everybody wanted to know, 'who is this guy?'" Still, in a culture that often blurs the line between material accomplishments and skills, the Bronx cancels any notions of grandeur, claiming, "In our world, that's perpetrating." The cars and the jewels were borrowed, admits the emcee who emphasizes his pride in his manners and humility. "The art of music to me is the art of basketball to them, so we share the same dream." Bringing it full circle, D.C. Don Juan looks at his early 2010 success and claims, "'Lookie Looky' is the dream."

What may be even more interesting is that the just-released video single is just one of over 4,000 songs the early twenty-something rapper has recorded. Explaining the feat that could humble both 2Pac and Lil Wayne's productivity, Don says, "I'm a very intelligent child. I could have gone to school for computers, 'cause I know computers hands-on. So I built my own studio at a young age. Every morning, I'd wake up, I would do a song. I'd cut school to come home and do a song. I'd stay up doing songs. That's all I wanted to do. The songs just kept on coming, and 4,000 songs came like nothin'. Now, to tell you the truth, Jake, it's work ethic to me. I don't like to chill out. I don't like to party, unless there's a cause. I don't like to do anything but remain working in the studio. That's my life."

Looking towards his album, the man who previously worked with Polow Da Don says he hopes Battery Records will allow for summer release. That life of recording will focus on positive music. Comparing his refuge relocation in D.C. as a adolescent, Don says, "I'm not gonna talk about the bad things in my life, I'd rather glorify the good things in my life." More than that, having already gripped the wood grain wheels of a Bentley and wore thousands around his neck, Don Juan distances himself from the rapper stereo-type. Again citing his manners and upbringing, he denotes, "I'm not like a rapper, although I rap."