From house to home: DJ Illegal Alienz
Zeke came to the United States at 12 years old. it took him a year to learn English with the help of his uncle, who enforced an English-speaking household. Growing up, he was a creative but depressed teenager until he picked up a turntable and started watching Youtube tutorials.
Today Zeke goes by the name DJ Illegal Alienz and is an up-and-coming house DJ and soon-to-be producer on the popular EDM radio show Secret Nightlife on Sirius XM.
A defining moment in his career was meeting French DJ Dustycloud, who shares a similar background as an immigrant trying to make it into the electronic music industry.
When a lot of immigrants get to this country. they have the understanding that they cannot pass a certain point.” says Zeke. “So they just have to settle with whatever they have!
Zeke says his experience as an immigrant artist can be difficult and risky. His stage name.
Illegal Alienz, for example, states his citizenship status. He hopes his journey can inspire his fellow Hispanic listeners to chase their dreams. Especially in any creative field.
Zeke graduated in 2019 with a sound engineering degree from a private music college. It took him seven years to get from weddings and quinces to performing at well-known EDM clubs from Orange County to Los Angeles.
With each performance, he creates a memorable experience for his audience, not only through sound but through psychedelic visuals and fluorescent lighting as well
He says his greatest accomplishment is signing a publishing contract for his song “Pray the Lord* with Secret Nightlife where he keeps half of his profits while still having all the rights to his song.
“I wanted to show some people that there are other ways to go out about being an immigrant,” says Zeke.