I'm truly all over the place, which I think is why I like DJing. I grew up listening to Oldies 100 in the car with my parents which is where I learned a lot of the Motown, classic rock, 80s that is still serving me today.
I got into rock as a teenager. Everything from really heavy metal like Korn, and the Deftones and then I went through the Limp Bizkit phase like a lot of kids did who were finding our way. In high school I started getting exposed to hip hop. Juvenile, Lil Wayne, Nelly, Diddy, 50 Cent... all of that was in it's hay day.
I had to go back and learn the earlier hip hop when I started DJing. I knew some of that stuff by sound, but I wasn't listening to the early 90s stuff at the time because that wasn't what my parents listened to and I wasn't cultivating anything.
Today I think I have an appreciation for most genres. I can enjoy classic rock, funk, soul up through house music, hip hop, harder EDM like dubstep.
Music has always been super situational for me. I've got days where I want to listen to jazzy vibes in the house while I'm working. Or I want super high energy EDM for a work out or to drive. I like matching music to my mood - which is why I really appreciate DJing. I get to look at the room - who is here? What do they want? What is the energy level - and more importantly - where should it be?
Taking people on that journey is a gift. Getting to do it profitably is even better. Despite what we're all going through right now... I really love sharing music with people whether thats me and a buddy sitting around, or me and 400 people in a room dancing it out.