By Kyle R Willis

If you’ve found yourself dancing at any of the hottest clubs in and around South Florida, it is likely you have danced to a beat brought to you by the turn tables of DJ Billy Gotti. Friend of sotattooed.com creative director/co owner Richie Bulldog, this South Florida sensation is no newcomer to the spotlight. He has paid his dues, and the world has opened their hearts and ears to the profound impact this artist has to bring to the table

Crowds can’t get enough of his high energy shows, proof that Gotti is marking his spot as one of South Florida’s most in-demand DJs. He states that his personal life experiences as well as everyone who surrounds him influence his music a great deal. He plays from the heart and is always at the ready to rock a party to the ground with his adept mix of hip hop, funk, breaks, mash ups and whatever else comes off the top of his head on a given night.

We were recently able to catch up with Billy, and this is what he had to say…

sotattooed.com: What music was what first turned you on?
Billy Gotti: I remember as a kid listening to my parents play Spanish and Italian music around the house all the time, and then as I got older it was hip hop from what I remember.
ST: Was there a certain artist or group that struck a chord with you at an early age?
BG: Michael Jackson of course. I used to think he was so cool and fresh with his music and the way he danced. I tried to learn how to moon walk for the longest time till I realized I would never make it look as easy as he did. So I just watched him all the time.
ST: Your catalog of clients over your career is pretty vast, are there any venues that you specifically liked to perform in? Why?
BG: Currently I love playing at Whiskey Blue at The W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale, but my all time fav to date is a place in Denver, Co called Suite 200. I did a night there last year and they treated me amazingly and the crowd was SICK! The staff was amazing; it’s def a venue I would go to anytime they needed me!

ST: Do you have a favorite mash up or track that you gravitate towards?
BG: Ummm… There are so many songs that I love right now and it’s so hard to choose one or two or a few but anything old school hip hop always makes me happy. That’s when hip hop was real and true! lol
ST: Would you be so kind as to tell us what’s in your DJ bag on any given day?
BG: Wow. It’s usually packed with my Macbook pro, 6 Serato records in various colors with my DJ Billy Gotti logos on them, Panasonic HD camcorder, video out attachment(for when I do video sets), original pressed Notorious BIG Juicy record and a few other various records for the just in case days, for sure M44-7 Needles, a pair of Sony MDR V700 Headphones, power cable for my Mac, small external hard drive, Serato SL3 Box, business cards, Sharpie, Dope Culture Vol 2 mix tape copies, gum, I know there is more but I can’t think of it, lol
ST: What’s the one thing you simply can’t live without?
BG: My brand new English Bull Dog pup. She is amazing and is a big part of my life now!

ST: Who are some DJs or artists that really inspire you nowadays?
BG: Tom Laroc has been a huge influence on me. DJ D-Riot, DJ Jungleboy, Dutch, Nikko Capria, DJ Supersede, DJ Irie, DJ J. Felix. They all work hard and push me to be the best I can be!
ST: Where do you want your success to take you?
BG: I want it to take me around the world and show other people in other countries how to party with me! Also to be able to reach out to under privileged kids and work with them to show them music can get you far other than talking about girls and drugs and drinking! Ha
ST: We’ve noticed you have a nice amount of tattoo work. Tell us a little bit about your ink.
BG: well where do I start… Well I have a Japanese Yakuza style full sleeve on my left arm with a memorial tattoo for a really good friend of mine who died 10 yrs ago, a tribal inspired full sleeve on my right arm then a dragon on my stomach, a ton of stars that stretch from the right side of my back over to just below the left side of my waist. Okay now onto my back: I have 2 tribal style dragons on my lower back and a Celtic style cross on my back with my parents and my little sisters name in the cross, I just need to fill it in. then my last name over the top and my father’s initials behind my left ear. I think I covered them all but I am def not done.

ST: Do any of your pieces have stories of their own?

BG: My first tattoo was on my upper right arm that I got on my 18th birthday and it was all uphill form there. that tattoo now is covered by some tribal which is the main concept of my right arm sleeve an yes there is a story for that arm and it goes a little like this: The upper part of my bicep was done when I didn’t really have any direction in my life or so I thought so it’s kind of all over the place and as u move down u see the points that are coming together which shows how my life was starting to come together and give me some better direction then the 3 boxes mean that everything I do I try to do outside of the box and differ from others. Then the tribal wave signifies the growing up part of my life down here in South Florida near the ocean and the inside of my bicep is a more controlled flowing design which shows my direction in my life and the shooting star is meant for my mother and the blue and red star are meant for me and my younger sister!

ST: Who inked you up? Do you recommend them?

BG: I have a bunch of artists work on me and it’s hard to remember them all but the ones who I do remember are Josh form Bruce Bart Tattoo in Tannersville NY. It’s right near Hunter Mountain. He did the little dragon on my stomach and Leah from Big Kahuna did the memorial tattoo on my left arm and Jay Black from Lucky Devil tattoo in Deerfield Beach-he is my fav artist-has been working on my left sleeve and did the initials behind my ear. He is super super cool and such an amazing artist. I trust him and his skills I walk in and say pick the colors and let’s do work! He laughs and gets it done! Truly a master at his craft! His work ethic is top notch and I have sent a good amount of my friends to him! He is super professional and extremely clean and I’m thankful to find someone like him to do work on me. He even calls me to remind me that I need more work done cause I tend to forget! I do highly recommend him!

ST: What would be the ideal spot for you to be in say five or ten years?
BG: Man I have no clue. Just to be still doing what I do on a much larger scale and have my close friends form my Dope Culture Fam with me for the ride!
ST: You’ve been in the game a while now, you have maintained your status as a respected and successful artist. If you were to give one tip to the DJs out there; the guys who are trying to make it big, what would it be?
BG: That’s a tough question but mainly keep practicing and don’t let your ego get in your way! Always treat people the way you want to be treated and HAVE FUN! This is a hobby that turned into passion which turned into my job and life! So I am thankful for it but never want to forget that at the end of the day to HAVE FUN!

I leave you now with a quote from the man himself: “Get out there and make things happen for yourself!” Now there’s a guy who has definitely taken his own advice.

Good luck and much success to you brother.

Dont forget to check out his website www.billygotti.com