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Dj Felli Fel - No Halting His Grind
Interview By: Slav Kandyba
 He's a well-known radio DJ in Los Angeles and beyond whose name rings bells throughout the industry. Needless to say, he's probably eating healthy and can afford to stay in his lane. But that's not in him, and definitely not how he got to the top. In a space where the next man would rest on his laurels, Felli Fel is doing the exact opposite. With a desire to get to the next level by producing his own songs, he may have finally struck gold with the posse cut model that DJ Khaled has perfected right before Felli's eyes.
With the single “Get Buck” getting spins nationwide after a successful run on Power 106, Felli managed to get Jermaine Dupri to offer him an album deal with Def Jam after a courtship that began with the offer of a single deal. Although the release date may change for Felli's album, tentatively titled “Go DJ,” one thing will be certain: it will feature a healthy helping of celebrity rappers.
 NobodySmiling.com : So what's your grind like these days? Tell me about it.
Felli Fel : The grind is crazy. I wake up every day and get on calls and e-mails. I start getting calls at 6 a.m. my time, because the East Coast starts jumping early. I head out to my studio and I go through e-mails and go through new music before I get to the station. I get on the air at 2 o'clock and do the new music mix, it's called the New at 2. After three hours, after I get off, I schedule the DJs, I'm the mixshow coordinator. I may go grab some food. I'm usually on the phone or e-mail. At midnight I go bounce to do a club or I bounce back to a studio session until 3 or 4 in the morning, then I go back and do it all over again.
NobodySmiling.com : Sounds like you got a 24/7 schedule.
Felli Fel : That's how I do it. We do clubs and studios and then go home, every single day.
NobodySmiling.com : How's it different now that you've been signed?
Felli Fel : Obviously things have changed. Once you reached your peak -- whether you're Puff Daddy or George Bush or a plumber in South Central -- you reach your peak. I was already there, I couldn't be any more busy, but it's just me being busy in areas that I haven't been before.
NobodySmiling.com : How did “Get Buck” come together?
Felli Fel : When I did the record, I knew I had to get a hot artist on the record because the record was hot. Akon heard it, thought it was crazy, we decided to get together a couple of weeks later, he told me he was going to be in Vegas for All-Star Weekend. He called me. Akon wrote to it and jumped on the hook. The first person that came to mind after that was Diddy. I knew the record needed someone sexy. He loved the record and remembered if, he heard it months before. Months later he heard it with Akon and was like, 'oh shit.' He ended up giving me verses. That's pretty much how Diddy happened. Then I called Luda, his response was, 'damn,' he e-mailed me his verse. I had them. I was mixing the record, my management was upset that I was still working on it. I slowed it down, called Lil' Jon. He lives around the corner in Hollywood from where the studio was at, he ended up getting on the record. At that point that was “Get Buck.” They were genuinely excited.
NobodySmiling.com : Young Buck did a song with the same title. What are your thoughts on that?
Felli Fel : “Get Buck” means get crunk, get stupid.
NobodySmiling.com : How did your deal with Jermaine Dupri come about?
Felli Fel : JD represented one of the few labels that were interested. Me and JD had a similar style. I always f*cked with JD but I wasn't really feeling it as he wanted to do a single deal. I wanted to do an album deal. I was in Miami deejaying, and we talked. Other deals weren't the deals that I wanted. The money was a lot better in other offers. Jermaine's deal wasn't a lot of money. The more I talked to JD, he gave me a lot of insight. We had a couple of conversations over a couple of months. He was like, let's do a single deal. They gave me a 3-single deal, they heard the second single with Kanye and Ne-Yo. “Get Buck” took off and they offered me the whole album deal. I rolled with JD and Island Def Jam, he understood the whole package. I needed their big roster because I depend for their artists to get on my album, and they're under the Universal umbrella.
NobodySmiling.com : What problems does the fact that you work for Power 106 present to you as an artist trying to get radio play on rival station KDAY?
Felli Fel : The only place it be an issue is KDAY. KDAY is not in the top 10 in the market. I understand why they're not. Why are they gonna play a record that promotes an opposing DJ? They're already a wack situation. They missed out on the biggest record in L.A. For the past three months. They cut their nose despite their face.
NobodySmiling.com : Do you work with other producers?
Felli Fel : All the other stuff I do is my fingers, my brain. Once I show, people put you in a box. It's been easy for me to get put in a box. I gotta prove what I can do before I can put on anyone else. I have to be busier as a producer. Sometimes you bring other producers in. Right now I'm still focused on this album.
NobodySmiling.com : How far are you into completing the album, I understand it'll be called “Go DJ”?
Felli Fel : About 70 percent complete. A lot of records I've already done, including second single. Third single is a record with T-Pain and probably 50 Cent. I'm working on that.
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