DJ Vlad
DJ Vlad
| Born | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | Interviewer, journalist, director |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Genre | |
| Subscribers | 3.3 million |
| Total views | 2.1 billion |
| Associated acts | |
| Updated 18 June 2019 | |
Vlad Lyubovny (Russian: Владимир Любовный; born June 28, 1973), commonly known as DJ Vlad, is an American interviewer, journalist, director and former DJ.[3][4] He is the CEO of video and news website VladTV.com. His YouTube channel, djvlad, features his interviews of multiple music artists and entertainers and currently has over three million subscribers. He has also produced and directed films.
| Born | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley |
| Occupation | Interviewer, journalist, director |
| YouTube information | |
| Channel | |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Genre | |
| Subscribers | 3.3 million |
| Total views | 2.1 billion |
| Associated acts | |
| Updated 18 June 2019 | |
Early life
Vlad Lyubovny was born in Kiev, Ukraine (then part of the Soviet Union) to a Russian Jewish family and moved to the United States at the age of five, first living in Massachusetts before settling in San Mateo, California.[5] Lyubovny was interested in hip hop in his youth, and states that he fell in love with it when N.W.A released their debut album Straight Outta Compton in 1988.[5]
Career
Lyubovny majored in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley, and claims to have worked for Intel, Sun Microsystems and AutoDesk while attending.[5] He was able to get a six-figure job out of college due to the dot-com bubble around the turn of the millennium.[5] Lyubovny was initially making hip hop beats, but later quit when he realized he would not be successful at it.[5] He began DJing after experimenting with a friend's equipment. In a 2010 interview with Parlé Magazine, he stated: "I kinda reached this point where I was like 'I really wanna do music. Let me try and concentrate and do music as well'."[7] He also directed on the American Gangster television series, as well as the documentary film Ghostride the Whip.[8]
Lyubovny later launched VladTV.com and initially uploaded mp3 files of DJ mixtapes.[7] He moved to New York City and released the Rap Phenomenon mixtape series.[7] He was also doing hip hop DVDs, but was struggling as DVD sales were declining. In 2008, Lyubovny turned his attention towards YouTube, which had recently launched its Partner Program. Lyubovny decided to drop all other endeavours and focus on YouTube full-time.[5]
Lyubovny was allegedly assaulted by rapper Rick Ross' entourage after he covered a story on the rapper's former career as a corrections officer. Lyubovny filed a $4 million lawsuit. On April 15, 2010, a New York Federal Jury awarded Lyubovny $300,000 in his civil suit, finding Ross liable for setting Lyubovny up for the attack at the Ozone Awards in Houston, Texas, in 2008.[9]
In April 2009, the Star & Buc Wild show joined the VladTV family to do a daily feature.[10] In May 2010, Lyubovny appeared on Adult Swim's cartoon The Boondocks.[11]
Throughout the 2010s decade, the djvlad YouTube channel has grown significantly.
He and other members of the VladTV staff have conducted numerous interviews of rappers, singers, actors, comedians and activists.
In 2016, VladTV featured controversial YouTuber Tommy Sotomayor on the show. During the live broadcast, documentary producer and author Tariq Nasheed confronted Sotomayor about statements that had been made about Nasheed's family. This led to an onscreen verbal argument between the two men.