If being well-travelled lends a sense of diversity, it should come as no surprise the sense of variety that Pete Butta embraces as a DJ.
The New Jersey-born 25-year-old was raised in Illinois before living his teen-age years in State College. His interest in music began in fourth grade, when he purchased Dr. Dre's "Forgot About Dre" single on vinyl. It was a small piece to a greater puzzle that Butta is still building today.
"Every record or little piece of equipment was an accomplishment," he explains. "Like, ‘Yo, look what I got, look what my next step in becoming a DJ is.'"
In 10th grade, Butta got his first set of turntables and began practicing in his parents' basement. At an Ol' Dirty Bastard concert, Butta met current WAMO-FM DJ Mike Jax, who, at the time, was a Penn State student with his own radio show.
"[Now] I knew someone that was a DJ and on the radio week in and week out," says Butta, who began sitting in on Jax's show. "Before I could learn how to drive, I was on college radio."
Butta laughs as he recalls his first time DJing live, spontaneously at an event at Damon's Bar & Grill. "They hit capacity early," he says, "so people had to go outside to try and get their friends in and there was an empty set of turntables in a room with, like, 30 people dancing. So I was like, ‘I guess this is the first time I have to play in front of people.'"
In 2011, Butta moved to Pittsburgh and continued to expand his résumé — which also included an internship with Sirius XM in New York City. Since moving to Pittsburgh, he's toured with Braddock-born hip-hop group The Come Up, contributed to various parties and earned corporate sponsorships.
As one-fifth of the Fuk Dat Party team, Butta has helped to organize a monthly event that travels to different neighborhoods and venues throughout Pittsburgh, bringing a variety of creative styles and sounds to each location. Butta also is a resident DJ at S Bar every Saturday night.
"Just being able to be versatile is what's really been dope as a DJ for me," he says. "From cruise ships, to gay bars, to playing skate competitions."
