


- Tupac Shakur -

DJ Skandalous born Kevin J. Rivera in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on June 9th 1988 is an American DJ, record producer, video editor and YouTuber. Kevin came up during a time of turbulence and substance within the music world. Kevin is just your average person that one day got introduced to the likes of Tupac, Naughty By Nature, Warren G, Nate Dogg, Eminem, D'Angelo, DMX, Lisa Lopes, Big Pun, NaS through random chance.

Since the age of 2, Kevin can recall hearing the song "OPP" by Naughty By Nature. The hard hitting and funky beat along with the story telling made Kevin a fan of the music. It wasn't until 1999 that his love for Hip-Hop and Rap grew. Kevin was in the 7th grade and just received the "Slim Shady LP" as a Christmas gift. He already listened to the album from top to bottom around 100 times, both to school and back when a friend of his asked to listen to the album. This was back during the CD player day folks, so any bump in the road could make songs skip!

After he was done listening he said he wanted the CD and was willing to trade 2Pac's double album "All Eyez On Me". Having been skeptical, Kevin told his friend that he will think about it. Kevin went home and asked his older brother if this was a good trade. His brother replied that "2Pac is the greatest rapper of all time, that is a great trade". The following day, Kevin went on the school bus and traded for "All Eyez On Me". Since the opening song "Ambitionz Az A Ridah" hit, Kevin was hooked. However, It wasn't until several days later that Kevin realized that he was introduced to 2Pac many years ago by way of the radio when "Dear Mama" would casually come on in 1995, as well as hearing songs from the "Still I Rise" album blaring through the walls from his older brother's bedroom in 1999. 

Several years later in 2003, Kevin would go on to be a collector of 2Pac's catalog; both physical and digital. It was by random browsing that Kevin came across websites including the original 2PacRemix.com where he met other 2Pac fans that were interested in his music. This would be the time Kevin also discovered about 2Pac's original and unreleased catalog and the remix game. The website was filled with DJ's that would pump out remixes left and right. It wasn't until the year 2008 that Kevin decided to try out mixing for himself. He had several albums and just got the idea of putting 2Pac on several songs. This in turn would open the door to him becoming a "DJ".

By 2009, Kevin released his first 2Pac mixtape on a site that he was moderator of. Around the same time he would launch his first YouTube channel "2PacLivesOn71" that would quickly gain over 100K subscribers by 2010.Throughout the years Kevin has produced 6 solo 2Pac mixtapes, 1 Slaughterhouse mixtape, as well as appeared in over 15 compilations and site mixtapes including "Summer Jamz 2010-2013", "Poetic Justice", "Stranded on Death Row", "Winter Jamz". Things R Changing EP, Tru-Mixx Klassicz, Forever Eternal, Ghetto Ghost and 2Pac Radio Mixtapes 1-8


Some of his other accolades includes 4 YouTube channels since 2009 with over 50K subscribers including "2PacLivesOn71", "2PacForum", "2PacJams", his latest channel "DJ Skandalous" having over 600K subscribers and 300 Million Views since 2013.  Kevin has interviewed the likes of Leila Steinberg, Spice 1, Danny Boy, Mike Mosley, Money B, Johnny J, Capucine Jackson, Dave Aron and WideAwake/Death Row Records for various Tupac related forum websites. Kevin has also produced more then 10 albums of content for Michigan rapper "T-Bizzy". Kevin has been moderator on two of the top 2Pac related sites in the last ten years and now owns the forum website 2PacLegacy.net which has almost 1000 active members to date.

In conclusion, the main reason Kevin continues to make music that involves 2Pac after so many years is because he loves the style of rap, passion, storytelling and complete outspokenness that came with the music. 2Pac was a very rash but sensitive person and this is what made him unique, He cared most about his message in songs, which has been lost in translation since his passing, Music now lacks substance and creativity, it lacks a theme or message that 90's and early 00's Hip Hop and Rap revolved around. Songs like  "Unconditional Love" and "Baby Don't Cry" hit Kevin hard. Even though these songs are aimed at women, it is still is relatable to all walks of life. Messages within the songs such as "the future is inside of me", "Even when the road is hard you got to keep your head up", "Tomorrow comes after the dark" and "Through every dark night comes a bright day after that" helped Kevin get through the untimely death of his older sister, as well as help him overcome a crippling hip condition that left him in a wheel chair for most of his childhood. 

Long story short, if it wasn't for his messages then Kevin would have never aspired to be what he is today. He went through the pain and struggles dealing with a lost loved one and not being able to walk while everyone else go to live a normal life. 2Pac's music made him realize that struggles happen to everyone in all shapes and forms. The music helped him heal his wounds and have a outlet to vent. It made him a better person both inside and out and that is why he still remixes his music til this day. He wants other people to come across his music and be affected the same way he was. Remixing is a gateway to create new fans. They give fans a new way to listen to the message but it also opens the door to people that may have never otherwise came across the original song or 2Pac's original catalog. Remixing is not just a blending of two different songs. Remixing is a art form.

Unconditional Love - 2Pac
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© 2019 by Skandalous Music. All Rights Reserved.

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