Taylor James

DJ Tay James
Performing in Denmark in 2012, photo by Mike Lerner
Background information
Birth name	Taylor Austin James
Origin	Baltimore, Maryland
Genres	club music, pop, electronic dance music, hip hop
Occupation(s)	DJ, MC
Years active	2005-present
Labels	Unruly Records
Associated acts	Justin Bieber K-Swift DJ Alizay Claxton DJ Boogie
Website	WeKnowTheDJ.com

Taylor Austin James (born May 15, 1987), better known as DJ Tay James, is an American DJ and MC. He was signed to Unruly Records in 2005, and after several years playing clubs in the Washington D.C. and Baltimore area began touring as Justin Bieber's DJ and MC in 2009. He has released a number of mixtapes, and as of 2012 is a radio DJ on WPGC-FM. DJ Tay James was named HBCU Top 30 Under 30, in July 2014

Taylor Austin James was born on May 15, 1987 in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up in Columbia, Maryland, later moving to Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland. At twelve years old he saw DJ Scribble on MTV, and his father bought him a pair of turntables for Christmas. After being taught to use them by his brother he started to DJ parties for his sister and friends. At age 15 he began interning at Unruly Records, a club music label based in Baltimore.

At age 16 he was paid $300 for DJing a birthday party, and immediately quit his job at Burger King to focus on music. After graduating Calvert Hall College High School he was signed by Unruly Records and began spinning at CD listening parties and clubs.

While at Unruly Records James studied under local DJs such as K-Swift and Claxton, and was mentored by DJ Alizay. He also became associated with DTLR. He worked for three years at Unruly before leaving to attend Hampton University in Virginia.

In college he studied business management and continued mixing at clubs and parties. On weekends he drove 130 miles each way to DJ at Love, a large club in Washington D.C. that routinely held 8,000 people. He played at Love for three years, where he notably DJed birthday parties for Chris Brown and Bow Wow, and an afterparty for Beyoncé. He also spun at other Washington clubs including Ibiza and Park, and was a guest DJ for Barack Obama's inauguration. He graduated from Hampton University with a BS in business management in 2009.