“From Pakistan, to L.A., to Boston,” Dj Pup Dawg has grown to be one of the more powerful DJ’s in hip-hop. His talent and credentials represents his monumental accomplishment, but only reflect a small portion of his personality. Dj Pup Dawg has opened up for the very talented Alicia Keys, Craig David, and Common, just to name a few. He has contributed greatly in the success of two well-known radio stations (92.3 The Beat in LA and Jam’n 94.5 in Boston) and worked with countless celebrities. However, don’t let his resume make the impression; Pup is as humble as a puppy. His personality can be described as determined, strong-minded, hard worker, creative, adaptive, yet reliable, honest, funny, warm, and charming. This is what makes Dj Pup Dawg incredibly desirable to work with. Pup is the type of guy you can and want to trust.
At a young age Pup began his dj path. "At little parties, I was in charge of bringing in my tape deck to add to the one at the house party and go from tape to tape." At night, he would climb into bed, portable radio hidden under his shirt (even though his mom said go straight to sleep), and tune into Magic 106. “I thought Magic 106 was the hottest station because it was named after my favorite basketball player Mr. Earvin Magic Johnson.” He’d also tune in and out of K-Day, the legendary AM station that helped launch west coast hip-hop. "I used to listen to Julio G all the time, and it was because of him that I wanted to mix and host my own show". It wasn't until senior year in high school that Pup pursued mixing. "I was always looking over my friends (Craig & Bo) shoulder to see what they were doing and would go home and practice that. I tried mimicking Julio G a lot as well, introducing songs, thinking about questions to ask artist and even trying to mix like him or at least what I heard ".
In 1997 Pup’s dream began. Pup landed a gig at The Sharks Club (thanks to Mamtha) where one night Eric Cubiche, The Beat 92.3’s Saturday night host, was hanging out. Eric liked the way Pup mixed and held the crowd on the dance floor. “I remember not even a week had gone by and my pager going off, it was Eric! I was so nervous to called him back, but I did. He offered me a spot to open up for him at a few clubs around L.A.” About a month later, Pup was interning for the number one radio station in Los Angeles, The Beat, where Julio G resided.
After two years with The Beat and a year and half with Hot in Los Angeles, Pup found himself on the east coast with WJMN in Boston (Jamn 94.5) on The Ramiro & Pebbles Morning Show. Today, Pup’s resume is full of versatility. He is not only the morning show mixer, but also is responsible for all the production behind the show as well as an on air personality’s. “Of all the morning show’s that I have worked with including Steve Harvey, Sinbad, Ed Lover and Dr. Dre, I consider Jamn THE BEST MORNING SHOW. This crew is like family. I love it here.”
In addition to the morning show, Pup’s love for mixing has landed him three residential spots in Boston, and every club that he has been in has tripled in business. His patience has also gotten him his own show, “Droppin’ Knowledge,” every Sunday and two weekend mix slots on Jamn. When we asked Pup if he thinks he is the best at what he does this is what he had to say. “I know so many DJ’s that are 20 times better than me, but I just love radio and meeting people. Radio is the only thing I want to do, eventually I want to be the director of a major hip-hop station. When I wake up in the morning even if it is 5am, I’m just glad I get to wake up and do what I love to do!”
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