DJ Felli Fel

by Jason Birchmeier
 
Following the lead of DJ Khaled and DJ Drama, DJ Felli Fel signed a major-label recording contract and made plans to storm the charts with a star-studded album billed to himself. Born James Andrew Reigart in Rock Hill, SC, Felli Fel grew up in Atlanta, moved with his family to Los Angeles as a teenager, and began his career as a radio DJ in Dallas on K104. After three years in Dallas, he moved to Power 106 in Los Angeles, where found a longtime home, enjoyed a much larger audience, and made a name for himself within the rap industry over the years. While stationed in Los Angeles, Felli Fel also began working as a beatmaker, producing tracks for the Outlawz, the Luniz, Young Rome, Guerilla Black, Cassidy, Xzibit, Sean Kingston, Baby Bash, Smitty, and others. He also began hosting a series of mixtapes for regional distribution. In 2007, in the wake of DJ Khaled's and DJ Drama's commercial success, Jermaine Dupri offered Felli Fel a recording contract with Island Def Jam/So So Def. The DJ/producer made his major-label debut with a pair of singles -- &Get Buck in Here,& featuring Diddy, Akon, Ludacris, and Lil Jon; &Finer Things,& featuring Jermaine Dupri, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, and Fabolous -- released in promotion of his upcoming album debut in 2008, tentatively titled Go DJ!