Hi, I’m Leon (Gov’t name: Leon Lee / DJ name: Leon de La $co)! I’m a DJ, producer, and the creator of Ella Luv Co. Here’s a quick snapshot of my background:

• Pronouns: he/him

• Hometown: San Francisco

• Education: City College of San Francisco (Broadcast Electronic Arts & Sound Recording), UC Riverside (Media and Cultural Studies), UC San Diego (Ethnic Studies)

I grew up in San Francisco and came from an immigrant family. I learned early on that music was a powerful way to bring people together. I was a b-boy as a kid (‘breakdancing’ is the commercial term, iykyk). Got into producing music as a teen. I worked multiple jobs to buy my first set of turntables at 18. Early on, I would help some of the DJ homies haul crates, and cover their bathroom breaks to get a few minutes on the decks.

I didn't just love music; I studied it. I earned formal certifications in audio production and worked in professional radio as a Board Operator for 102.9FM KBLX. (Fun fact: At the time, the station was part of one of the first Black-owned commercial broadcast companies in the country!)

I eventually moved to SoCal to study media and culture at UC Riverside for undergrad and UC San Diego for an Ethnic Studies Ph.D. program. I produced music documentaries, taught university courses on music and culture, and even ran Hip-Hop programs for youth—all while DJing every weekend.

To some, it might look like a hard pivot—moving from academia to the DJ booth full-time—but I see it more as a culmination. Honestly, I never went to grad school to be a researcher. I went to work on my ‘why’. To me, technical skills are just the baseline. The real work is in finding your place within the culture—honoring the history and the conversations that this medium grew out of. That’s what actually makes a great DJ. You can't hold space for a room if you aren't willing to participate beyond the aesthetic.

I didn't start Ella Luv Co to be a "Founder" (not actually a fan of the word). I started it because I couldn't find another way to do this work with the level of care it deserves—and I could no longer be an accomplice to problematic industry norms.

During my career, I’ve worked at multiple DJ companies and agencies. I even became the highest-reviewed DJ and a manager at one of SoCal’s largest DJ companies. I’ve trained DJs, handled client communications, built industry relationships, and—more often than I'd like to admit—quietly used my own gear to replace old, worn-out equipment, just because I didn't want to risk anything failing at somebody's wedding.

Here’s what really shook me up and changed the way I viewed this industry. When leadership began shifting at a large DJ company I worked at, and they increasingly stood in opposition to my values, I made a shocking discovery. I learned that a salesperson-turned-executive there was a permanently disbarred attorney—stripped of his license for a staggering 55 counts of misconduct involving fraud on vulnerable families and failure to pay restitution. Seeing how similar predatory patterns were being applied to the structure of the organization–the way clients and employees were being treated, the rule bending, gaslighting, egoism—all of it was a wake-up call.

While some companies revert to high-volume sales and loophole exploitation, we focus on transparency, direct communication, and a ‘people-first’ philosophy. We believe that the ability to DJ events isn’t a transaction; it’s a sacred trust. That’s why we operate with a commitment to ethical business practices that I personally stand behind—because I’ve seen exactly what happens behind the scenes when those values are missing.

I didn't start this out of spite or to compete with "big box" agencies. I don't even believe in competition—there's work out there for everyone. I do, however, believe that chasing volume at the expense of people is a broken structure. My vision was to build something completely different—a people-first approach.

No pushiness or "slick" sales speak. No bait-and-switching. No underpaying staff. I'm ditching the common outdated (and slimy) used car salesmen playbook in favor of honesty and mutual respect. We reject the old guard, even if that means some gates might get slammed shut on us.

Instead, we operate through a framework of reciprocity. We prioritize human well-being over transactional relationships. We resist the corporate norm of extracting labor from workers and capital from consumers without reinvestment. As our infrastructure grows, so will our commitment to empathy, transparency, living wages, and community building.

Ella Luv Co is a boutique creative studio and DJ service built on radical integrity. We’ve traded the "DJ Factory" approach for a "Value-First" philosophy. We lead with empathy—not as a marketing buzzword, but as a technical requirement.