DJ Buddha

DJ Buddha

Dj Buddha (born Urales Vargas March 15., 1980) is a DJ of Dominican descent who grew up in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Early career

Buddha earned his radio license at the age of 9 and inherited his passion for music from his father who was a musician and a radio deejay as well. Since working at WNNW 1110am & Impacto 1490am, he then started deejaying at local clubs before he was even in high school. Then from 2001-2004 he served as a mixshow deejay for two years on WJMN (FM) "Jam 94.5", New England’s biggest radio station.

Bridging The Gap

Over the last few years, the urban music industry has seen an evolution bridging together forms of music from the streets from different cultures, including Hip Hop, R&B, Jamaican Reggae and Latin music. Within this movement, DJ Buddha has also developed and evolved into becoming an integral player in the future expansion of these genres. Buddha was associated with team, La Favela, in the form of a mixtape and a movement called “Caribbean Connection,” which delivered a continuous mix of dancehall reggae and reggaeton. Along with the “Caribbean Connection” and ‘Tropical Heat” series, he has created hundreds of mixtapes which were critically acclaimed in various articles from: Fader, Rolling Stones, NY Times, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Miami Herald, Ozone Magazine, MTV.com, Billboard.com, etc.

Collaborations

DJ Buddha soon began building relationships with the artists whose music he had been promoting. He worked alongside with reggae artist, Mighty Mystic in which he began creating records and collaborating with other reggae artists such as Mr. Easy, Tantro Metro & Devonte, Mr. Vegas, Red Rat, and T.O.K. It was when he met dancehall reggae group, T.O.K. that he became their official DJ for about 6 years. While on the road with T.O.K., Buddha created the remix for "Gal Yuh A Lead", featuring T.O.K., Beenie Man, & Nina Sky, which was one of his first songs to gain major airplay. He also created two different promotional mixtape samplers of T.O.K and Lady Saw for reggae indie label VP Records.

He has worked on remixes with other artists like Pitbull, Daddy Yankee, Machel Montano, Lil Jon, N.O.R.E., etc. In 2004 Daddy Yankee’s “Gasolina" was remixed by DJ Buddha, featuring Cuban-American rapper, Pitbull and N.O.R.E., and first appeared on Caribbean Connection Volume 2. It was a smash hit. Later that summer, Lil Jon mixed his own vocals to the remix, which is featured on the Crunk Juice remix CD. In 2005 he teamed up with Puitbull again on "She's Hotter Remix" featuring T.O.K. He later became Pitbull's official DJ and joined him on the road for the next 6 years.

Recent Projects

DJ Buddha has showcased his talent, performing in 6 out of 7 continents. As he still continues to DJ, he is now also serving as an A&R and record executive for Pitbull's record label, Mr. 305 Inc. Some of his recent work as A&R includes Pitbull's "Rebelution" album as well as "Armando". He has also recently released a mix album titled "Ultra.Latino" which hit #2 on Itunes within the 1st week of its release date. His creativity and gift of music, is what helps him continue to bring forth new, improved and different sounds.

DISCOGRAPHY

MIXTAPES

• Tropical Heat Vol. 1 – Vol. 25 (Dancehall, Reggae & Soca)
• Caribbean Connection Vol. 1 – Vol. 7 (Dancehall Meets Reggaeton)

TRACKS (produced or remixed)

• Lil Jon Ft. Daddy Yankee & Pitbull – What U Gon' Do (Latino RMX)
• Rupee Ft. Daddy Yankee – Tempted To Touch RMX
• Pitbull Ft. Lil Jon, Mr. Vegas, Wayne Marshall, Red Rat, T.O.K & Kardinal Offishall – Toma (Dj Buddha RMX)
• T.O.K Ft. Pitbull – She’s Hotter
• Pitbull Ft. Don Omar - Fuego (RMX) (as appeared on Madden NFL 08)
• Machel Montano & Pitbull - Defense
• Paulina Rubio Ft. Pitbull - Ni Rosas Ni Juguetes (RMX)
• Pitbull Ft. Machel Montano - Alright

ALBUMS (appeared on or produced)

• Crunk Juice - Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz
• Money Is Still A Major Issue - Pitbull
• Crunk Hits Vol. 2 - Various Artists
• Unknown Language - T.O.K.
• N.O.R.E. y la Familia...Ya Tú Sabe - N.O.R.E.
• The Boatlift - Pitbull
• Rebelution - Pitbull
• Armando- Pitbull
• Ultra.Latino - DJ Buddha

PUBLICATIONS

• New York Times (2004)
• Boston Globe (2004)
• Boston Herald (2005)
• Philadelphia Daily News (2004)
• Miami Herald (2005)
• Village Voice (2004)
• The Source Magazine (2004)
• Fader Magazine (2004) & (2005)
• Ozone Magazine (2004) & (2005)
• Riddims Magazine (’04)
• MTV.com/Mixtape Mondays (3 times)
• LatinRapper.com (2004)
• Billboard.com (2010)

External links

• Myspace
• Twitter