From the legendary Playground club on 13th & Michigan Ave to the global stage — raw, rhythmic house music built for the dancefloor. Deep House, Ghetto House, Jackin, Hip House & beyond.
A Sound Shaped By
Chicago
From basement booths to main stages.
Born Darrick Taylor and raised on Chicago's West Side, DJ Dagwood fell in love with house music at 13 at the legendary Playground club on 13th & Michigan Ave. "My life changed the day I saw Jesse Saunders and Farley 'Funkin' Keith DJing there." From that moment, his mission was clear: to become a DJ and play house music.
He learned to spin and produce alongside a league of Chicago pioneers — DJ Fast Eddie, DJ Paul Johnson, Tyree Cooper, Larry "Mr. Fingers" Heard, Robert Owens, K. Alexi Shelby, Traxman and Jammin Gerald — developing a signature sound shaped by the emerging Hip House movement. But the groove never stopped at the city limits: he carried Chicago's fast jacking energy south, becoming a "Dirty South Mixtape Legend" on the Atlanta & Birmingham circuit.
Style & Sound
House Music Therapy Tour
The Force
with JOIA · Box Of Cats (#1 Beatport)
Raw, rhythmic, and built for the dance floor.
— The Dagwood signature
Out Now & Trending
Direct From The Studio
Exclusive, never-pressed dubplates and full DJ mixes — preview them right here before they hit the clubs. Hit play and let the waveform ride.
Westside Jack Dubplate
Raw West Side jacking groove — a hand-cut dubplate straight from the studio, never pressed to vinyl.
Chicago → Memphis → ATL
A full journey set blending Chicago house energy with Dirty South hip-hop heat — the dual legacy on wax.
Ghetto Tech Dubplate
High-tempo ghetto house × tech hybrid produced alongside Gettoblaster & DJ Bad Boy Bill.
House Music Therapy Tour Mix
Soulful vocal house anthem set from the Therapy Tour — flipping classic grooves for the dancefloor.
Top Charting Tracks
Selected Releases
A legacy spanning decades — records released across UC Records, IHR, Subliminal Soul, We Jack, S&S, Witty Tunes, Farris Wheel, Basement Leak, One Love, Brobot, J&M, and Badkill Records.
Frequent Collaborators
Chicago House Meets
The Dirty South
Hip house was the bridge. Trained on Chicago's fast 120 BPM jacking grooves, Dagwood arrived in the South with a rare ability to pitch up rap vocals, blend acapellas, and build high-energy club tapes. The result: a dual identity as a Chicago house pioneer and a "Dirty South Mixtape Legend" — a So So Def alum and member of the Legion of Doom Record Breakers who helped break some of Southern hip-hop's biggest records.
So So Def Alumni
Jermaine Dupri's Atlanta powerhouse
Closely tied to the label that dominated Southern urban music through the '90s & 2000s — breaking club cuts for Da Brat, Jagged Edge & Jermaine Dupri.
Legion of Doom DJs
Record Breakers crew — Atlanta
An elite coalition of club, radio & mixtape DJs trusted by labels to debut tracks and turn unreleased songs into mainstream radio hits.
Hypnotize Minds
Three 6 Mafia network
A direct Memphis → Birmingham → ATL pipeline. Gangsta Boo & Juicy J cut custom drops for his tapes, co-signing his Southern route.
Dirty South Mixtape Legend
Atlanta · Birmingham · Memphis
A fixture of the underground Southern mixtape market — custom blended remix tapes that brought Midwest dance energy to Dirty South clubs.
Records Broken in Atlanta
Gucci Mane
So Icy (ft. Jeezy)Broke the debut single in Atlanta clubs, forcing radio to follow
Lil Jon
BME Click / Crunk eraBridge between crunk productions & the street mixtape circuit
Lil Scrappy
Street crunk anthemsHosted & pushed raw crunk through the Southeast
Yung Joc
It's Goin' DownSupported Swag Team Mafia through the breakout
Da Brat & Jagged Edge
So So Def club cutsBroke club singles & remixes for the label
Gangsta Boo & Juicy J
Hypnotize MindsCustom drops: "Memphis → Birmingham → the ATL"
Southern Mixtape Catalog
Chicago Mentors & Peers
Artist Feature
DJ Dagwood (Darrick Taylor) — official artist video
Watch on YouTubeBook DJ Dagwood
Available for TV, film, mixtapes, and live events — host, DJ, MC, and remix work. Bring Chicago house to your stage.
TV
Host & Interview
Film
Extra / Speaking Roles
Mixtapes
Hosting & Remix
Events
Host, DJ / MC
Reach & Following
Artist Manager: Lenes Hopkins-Chery · @djdagwoodmusic · YouTube: @djdagwood · Mixcloud: djdagwoodmusic