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Jared Lucas (stage name Kap Slap) is most notably known for his mashups, mixes and original music. He built his sizable following as a touring DJ while finishing an Honors Integrated Business and Engineering degree from Lehigh University. 

Performing at universities and clubs across the country, the multitalented college-student-turned-DJ broke through thanks to his mashups and mixes – infusing the energy and groove of electronic dance music with everything from current pop hits to Motown classics. Kap Slap has since performed at major festivals, including KAABOO, Hangout Music Festival, Snow Globe, Made in America, Firefly Music Festival, as well as countless top venues and nightclubs.

Tiësto is a name that no longer needs an introduction. He is synonymous with the best of electronic music, and continues to inspire a generation of up-and-coming young artists.

In addition to two Grammy nominations and a Grammy win in 2015, Tiësto has been named the #1 DJ by Rolling Stone, voted “The Greatest DJ of All Time” by Mixmag, ranked the #1 DJ in the world three times by DJ Mag, and was recently awarded the Edison Pop Oeuvre Lifetime Achievement Award (an honor he shares with David Bowie, Quincy Jones and U2 among others).

After conquering the house and trance worlds, the superstar producer led the charge in helping electronic music crossover into the mainstream with his last album, A Town Called Paradise in 2014. His single “Red Lights” is now certified gold in the US, Sweden and Canada, while “Wasted” with Matthew Koma recently went platinum in the US and is his highest-charting release to date. Clearly a taste of what was to come, Tiësto has recently dropped new tunes with the The Chainsmokers, Martin Garrix, and pop sensation Natalie La Rose.

Collaborations are nothing new for Tiësto, who believes in passing along his success by working with well-known names like Martin Garrix and Oliver Heldens, to name a few. For years now, he has helped up-and-coming acts in the electronic world find their way with his record label, Musical Freedom. Aside from his label, he also took part in 7Up’s DJing competition “Your Shot,” a competition for aspiring DJ’s to learn the craft and perform alongside Tiësto in Las Vegas.

At this point in his career, Tiësto has toured the world countless times, performing for millions at Ultra, Coachella, Tomorrowland, TomorrowWorld and Electric Daisy Carnival, in addition to the innumerable clubs that he headlines. He’s one of the few DJs in the world to hold a residency in Las Vegas, where he plays at Hakkasan and Wet Republic.

In spite of his hectic tour schedule, residency, and focus on creating new music, Tiësto hasn’t forgotten his roots. As a champion of the DJ mix for decades, his Club Life compilations have become a staple in the dance world as has his Sirius XM channel of the same name. In addition, his weekly radio show is broadcast on 350 stations in 77 countries and has over 35 million listeners.

Tiësto also remains an expert remixer to the biggest names in music, reworking smash hits for the likes of Beyoncé, Coldplay, Kanye West, Sam Smith, Ellie Goulding, David Guetta, Major Lazer, Calvin Harris, and many more. In 2015, he won his first Grammy Award for his massively popular remix of John Legend’s “All Of Me.”

Tiësto has successfully transitioned his influence and savvy to industries beyond music, acting as an advisor to tech startups like Splice, Dubset and Doppler. Most recently, Tiësto released his newly re-designed mobile app, where fans can consume all things Tiësto. Through current collaborations with T-Mobile and Budweiser and soon-to-be-revealed efforts in the fashion space, the DJ is bringing dance music culture to more people than ever before.

Throughout the past two decades, Tiësto has remained not only one of the world’s most prolific and enduring artists, but one of music’s top innovators. In spite of his accomplishments, Tiësto does not see his work as being done. “DJing is my life,” the man isn’t afraid to admit. But more than that, “It’s a lifestyle.”

 The story of UB40, and how this group of young friends from Birmingham transcended their working-class origins to become the world’s most successful reggae band is not the stuff of fairytales as might be imagined. The group’s led a charmed life in many respects it’s true, but it’s been a long haul since the days they’d meet up in the bars and clubs around Moseley, and some of them had to scrape by on less than £8 a week unemployment benefit. The choice was simple if you’d left school early. You could either work in one of the local factories, like Robin Campbell did, or scuffle along aimlessly whilst waiting for something else to happen.

By the summer of 1978, something else did happen, and the nucleus of UB40 began rehearsing in a local basement. Robin’s younger brother Ali, Earl Falconer, Brian Travers and James Brown all knew each other from Moseley School of Art, whilst Norman Hassan had been a friend of Ali’s since school. Initially, they thought of themselves as a "jazz-dub-reggae" band, but by the time Robin was persuaded to join and they’d recruited Michael Virtue and Astro – who’d learnt his craft with Birmingham sound-system Duke Alloy – the group had already aligned themselves to left-wing political ideals and forged their own identity, separate from the many punk and Two Tone outfits around at that time. The group had nailed their colours to the mast by naming themselves after an unemployment benefit form. Their political convictions hadn’t been gleaned second hand either, but cemented in place whilst attending marches protesting against the National Front, or rallies organised by Rock Against Racism.

By the time Chrissie Hynde invited them to tour with the Pretenders during the summer of 1980 and their debut single "King b/w Food For Thought" had sailed into the UK Top 5, all the essential elements of UB40 were already in place. Their line-up will remain unchanged for almost thirty years, and they will continue playing a mix of original material and inspired choice of reggae covers in a style that’s instantly accessible with its bright melodies and sweeping horn arrangements – one that’s allied to a formidable rhythm section, capable of holding its own with anything from Jamaica.

UB40’s first album was released the following September, on Graduate Records. Their deal allowed them more creative freedom than if they had signed with a major label. The cover artwork memorably duplicated an unemployment benefit card, with the title "Signing Off" rubber-stamped in red, but it was the music that quickly worked its way into the affections of a young, mainly student crowd with its knowing lyrics, solid reggae rhythms and dubby, instrumental passages, offset by warm horn solos and Jamaican style scatting. There was nothing else like it at the time. As a multi-cultural band from Birmingham, UB40 weren’t drawn into trying to sound "authentic," and there was considerably more depth to their music than that of many punk and 2Tone bands. "I’m a British subject, not proud of it, whilst I carry the burden of shame," they sang on one of the tracks. Accepting the truth of their own situation amidst a sea of other reggae songs proclaiming black heritage gave us a valuable insight into where UB40 were coming from. They were unafraid to stand up and be counted, and British audiences instinctively loved them for it. "Signing Off" duly went to No. 2 in the UK and stayed on the nation’s album charts for 72 weeks.

On September 2nd, 2013, UB40 released their latest album ‘Getting Over The Storm’ on Universal/Virgin Records.

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