Photo by Chris Lassiter
Tony Davenport found a silver lining during the pandemic. He also found a black turntable. A huge music fan – who grew up with a particular passion for hip-hop – Davenport used the time in quarantine to perfect a new skill: Deejaying.
It wasn’t long before he turned his new skill into an LLC. “It was actually because my friend needed help with deejaying,” Davenport said. “At the gym that I go to, every Saturday they have a dee-jay that comes in. Unfortunately, this guy couldn’t come in one day. She (my friend) was really upset. She said, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do, because I have to have one.’” Like a true entrepreneur, Davenport found a solution to the need that he saw.
“I said, ‘Well, I’ll do it for you,’” he said. “I enjoyed it so much that I kept going back. Then people started asking me to do it for money. I said ‘You know what, if I can make money at this, I’m going to turn this into a business.’” That’s exactly what he did.
Photo by Chris Lassiter
Now Davenport, known in the music world as DJ L3D, is open for business. He does weddings, parties, corporate events, or any other type of scenario that may require the services of a dee-jay. He recently deejayed the SCN Summit that SCCF hosted in May, "I've never seen people dance like that at an SCN Summit before. Tony knocked it out of the park," said the Summit hosts. His clients can select from a wide genre of music.
A huge fan of The Roots, Davenport is on the board at WQSV Radio, and he even hosts his own hip-hop show.
Photo by Levi Cheff
While he loves his full-time career as chief of probation and parole for the City of Staunton, being a dee-jay allows him to pursue a deep passion while turning a profit.
“I’m a huge fan of hip-hop. I always have been,” Davenport said. “I always felt like I was a consumer of the culture. Eventually, I wanted to be a giver of the culture. I said, ‘How do I give back and do this but also make money at the same time?’ That’s why I started.”
You can support Tony by following DJ L3D on Facebook and Instagram, or booking him for your next gig on his website!
Tony's story is part of a series on Black-owned businesses in the Shenandoah Valley written by Chris Lassiter, the Director of Engagement and Inclusion at the Community Foundation of Central Blue Ridge. Learn more about the work of the Community Foundation's work here.
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