What made you want to start Djing?
Well basically basketball was my first love and my second love was always music. I played basketball throughout my whole life,I finally started to realize while i was playing college basketball for medaille, that i had the skill to get to the next level but i was not physically ready for the next level, I basically didnt want to play overseas or in the CBA so i decided to follow my second love which was music, I also produce and i started to notice that the art of dj'ing was sort of like a stepping stone for some producers to get into the game, At that time most producers were dj's

Were there any djs at that time that were a major influence on you?
Gimmamen from switzerland(originally from zaire) was a huge influence, Dj clue was an influence because he hit the game doin mixtapes and now he does radio, and owns a very succesful major label. Other influences were Kay Slay and Mister Cee

When you first started out What type of dj equipment were you using?
Two used technics 1200's, and a mixer

What was the first piece of vinyl you had in your possession?
Nas - It aint hard to tell, i remember i bought that one in paris while i was on vacation

what type of equipment do you use now?
Two brand new Technics 1200's, Akai mpc, Roland Keyboard, Lexicon 16 track mixer and cd turntables

How did you get the name DJ L?
L stands for the first letter of my name which is Lohrasp, if you notice on some of my mixtapes there is a symbolic looking L letter that L which has an arrow is a symbol of what my parents went through , they came from the bottom and rised to the top, that is what im here to do elevate my career and rise to the top no matter what it takes

What is open lock entertainment?
Open Lock Entertainment means that all doors that are closed on us we will always find a way to open it no matter what,Open Lock is an entertainment company that consist of myself, my man Ace, my manager Dred, Nomad, Felix, Cory, Danny, Supa Joe, Ray, Cassie, my boy chris from Nigeria, and Mamadi.

You recently won “rookie of the year” award, how does that feel?
It feels good because next to Big Mike and Kay Slay i feel that i am the hardest working DJ , i put out 52 mixtapes last year,and throughout my career i've been a full time colege student and just recently graduated with a 4.0 gpa and earned my bachelors degree in economics,(the best in the department) Djing has greatly helped my career as far as respect from the labels and alot of publicity.

How many mixtapes do you drop a year?
52 mixtapes last year, i press up 2500 of each exclusive cd and 3000 of each best of cd.

2004 is going be a big year in hip hop what can we expect to see from DL L in 2004?
More mixtapes a lot more than 52, a lot more parties, more magazines, i was just recently in the vibe magazine article for mixtape djs, cant forget to metion i will be on tour with shells from July 26th till August 20th.

Shoutouts:
Shout outs to the whole open lock family, my man Shells, my girl Remy, my boy Drag-on, Grafh, my moms(Jackie Knowles),HipHopGame.com, and to everyone who supports Dj L!!

Check out all the DJ L Mixtapes here