Exploring Life & Business with Rondale Adams of Musically Equipped Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rondale Adams.

Hi Rondale, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Music was a part of my life before I ever knew what I was going to do with it. My auntie actually put me in piano lessons when I was young because I wanted to play the drums. I hated those piano lessons and didn’t even finish them, but she wanted me to learn how to read music first. Looking back, that was probably the first seed.

In high school, I found the art of DJing through one of my friends. The funny thing is, he was the DJ, but he loved being inside the party more than being behind the turntables. He would leave the turntables to go dance with everybody, and I would jump behind them and start mixing. Something that was just fun at the time ended up changing my life.

I couldn’t afford my own equipment yet, so I used my friends’ turntables while we threw parties around Manchester and Stanford in South Central LA. I actually blew my first income tax check on clothes, jewelry and dumb stuff. By the time the second one came around, I had become a father at 21 and my mindset was different. I used that money to buy my first pair of Technics 1200s. We call them tanks, and I still have those exact same turntables in my house today.

My father and uncle were big Funk and Motown lovers, so I grew up hearing records playing in the house. Once I had my Technics, I started going through their records and playing them myself. That gave me an appreciation for music history that I still carry with me today. Eventually I got my first Serato box, an SL2, and started building my own sound. Everybody around the neighborhood already called me Deezy, so I put “DJ” in front of it and DJ Deezy was born.

Those early years were about the love of it more than money. I remember DJing four or five hours for $100 or $150. Hood functions, birthday parties, clubs — I didn’t care. If I could DJ, I was there. I had a Chevy Lumina and would pack equipment into the backseat because I had three 15s taking up the trunk. I remember those days like they were yesterday.

December 8, 2013 is the day I consider the beginning of my professional DJ career. I was working at FedEx during peak season, looked at all those boxes piled up and knew that wasn’t where my heart was. I walked away and decided to really bet on myself.

It wasn’t like everything took off overnight. I reached out to DJs trying to learn and felt like some of the older generation didn’t really want to give the younger guys the game. Then I met DJ Mike Smoove. He took the time to teach me how to really blend and understand music. From there things started changing.

The Cousins also played a major role in my career. I owe a lot to them because that relationship was really the beginning of me getting connected to the industry. They brought me into the radio world at LA Talk Live, which eventually led me through Accelerated Radio and then Home Grown Radio.

Home Grown became family. That’s where my relationship with DJ Hed really grew too. A lot of people say they believe in you, but Bro really believed in me. He planted seeds that are still getting watered to this day, and I’ll always give him his flowers for that.

As my career started growing, I had to make a real decision to leave the streets behind and completely lock in with music. I became known throughout the LA scene, from bars and clubs to radio, and in 2019 I got the opportunity to join Power 106. Leaving Home Grown and spreading my wings wasn’t an easy decision, but I knew eventually you have to leave the nest.

Then life put everything into perspective. I lost my grandfather, a man who believed in a lot of the same things I believed in. One thing he always taught me was that whatever you do, put the people around you on.

Then COVID hit in 2020 and everything stopped.

That period made me ask myself whether I wanted to keep putting my career in somebody else’s hands or build something that belonged to me and could eventually create opportunities for the people around me. That’s when I really locked in on building Musically Equipped Productions.

It started with two speakers.

Today, Musically Equipped has grown into a full-service production company providing professional sound, lighting, staging, AV, DJ services, photo booths and more. What started as a way for me to create my own opportunity has become something that provides for my family, creates opportunities for other people and, hopefully, becomes something I can leave to my children one day.

When I look at those same Technics 1200s sitting in my house today, they remind me that you really can do anything you put your mind to. This little thing called music ended up paving a way for my life.

And I’m nowhere near done.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Building Musically Equipped has not been peaches and cream.

Financially, there have been plenty of hardships. I’ve constantly reinvested in the business, sometimes when I probably wasn’t in the most comfortable position to do it. Equipment isn’t cheap, especially when you’re trying to grow from two speakers into a real production company. I’ve taken on debt, made investments that didn’t always work out the way I expected and learned a lot of lessons the expensive way. But I also understood that if I wanted the company to grow, I had to be willing to take some risks on myself.

Even my grandfather wasn’t always completely sold on the career path I chose. His biggest thing was always, “Whatever you decide to do, make sure you can take care of your family.” Becoming a father at 21 made that hit differently. I couldn’t only think about what I wanted to do. I had children depending on me.

That’s actually one of the reasons my dream was never necessarily to become the DJ traveling the world 300 days a year. I love DJing, but I knew I had to think bigger than just myself. I wanted to build something that could take care of my family whether I was behind the turntables that night or not.

Another struggle was separating myself from the streets and some of the things I grew up around. I’ve been close to losing everything because of bad decisions and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I’ve been in situations where things could have gone completely different for my life.

Losing my best friend also opened my eyes in a major way. He believed in me more than almost anybody, and I had started helping him change some things in his own life too. Unfortunately, God had other plans and he’s no longer here. I don’t question God’s decisions, but losing him made me understand even more that time isn’t promised and you have to do something with the opportunity you have while you’re here.

I’ve also been underestimated my entire career. I’m naturally quiet. I’m humble. I don’t say too much, and I’m not the type of person who’s going to kiss anybody’s ass to get an opportunity. Where I come from, being the underdog is something we value. I’m comfortable being counted out because I’d rather let my work speak for me.

There was actually a point early in my DJ career when I almost decided it wasn’t for me. I spent close to a year reaching out to people trying to learn and couldn’t really get anybody to give me a chance or show me what I was doing wrong. That was crunch time for me. I could’ve walked away, but I stayed with it.

And I’m still making mistakes today. That’s business. I don’t know anybody who started a company already knowing everything. Sometimes you take a risk, jump off the edge and figure some things out on the way down. Some decisions work and some don’t, but every mistake has taught me something.

The biggest lesson all of it has taught me is that you can’t count somebody out who stays focused and consistent. You might be overlooked for a while. People might not believe in you. You might make mistakes and take some losses.

But eventually your work will speak for itself.

We’ve been impressed with Musically Equipped Productions, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Musically Equipped Productions is a full-service event production company serving Los Angeles and Southern California. What started with me and two speakers has grown into something much bigger than I originally imagined.

We provide professional sound, lighting, staging, AV, DJ services and backline, microphones, projection and video support, photo booths and other production services for everything from private events and weddings to corporate events, concerts, brand activations, panels, schools and community events.

But I don’t really look at us as just an equipment rental company. Anybody can rent you a speaker or a light. What we’re really providing is peace of mind.

Our saying is “We Deliver & Setup For You,” and that’s something I take seriously. I know what it’s like when somebody is putting together an event and has 100 different things going through their head. I want our clients to be able to tell us what they’re trying to accomplish and know we’re going to show up, set everything up correctly, test it, operate it when needed and take it down when it’s over. I want them focused on their event instead of worrying about whether the microphone is going to work or whether the sound and lighting are going to be ready.

I think another thing that separates us is that I came into production from actually being a DJ and working live events for years. I’ve been on the other side of the equipment. I know what an artist needs, what a DJ needs and what it feels like when something isn’t right during a live event. That experience has helped shape the way we approach production.

We’ve been fortunate enough to work on everything from intimate events to concerts, screenings and larger brand activations, including projects connected with companies and organizations like Foot Locker and Universal Music Group. Every opportunity means something to me because I still remember when Musically Equipped was literally two speakers.

One of the biggest things I’ve learned while growing the company is that you don’t have to own every piece of equipment in the world to provide great production. I’ve built relationships with other production companies and people in this industry. If a project requires something beyond what we have in-house, I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and bring the right people in. I used to look around at all the established companies in LA and think I had to compete with everybody. Now I understand that collaboration can take you further than competition.

At the core of Musically Equipped is loyalty and taking care of people. I want somebody who hires us once to feel comfortable calling us again because they know we’re going to do everything we can to bring their vision to life.

We’re still growing, we’re still learning and I’m still reinvesting into the company. My goal isn’t for Musically Equipped to just be another sound company in Los Angeles. I want to build a production company that can eventually operate anywhere, create opportunities for the people around me and become something my children can inherit.

We started with two speakers. We’re nowhere near finished.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is to stay consistent and bet on yourself. You’re going to make mistakes, lose money, get overlooked and have people doubt you. Keep going anyway. I’ve also learned that everybody doesn’t have to be your competition. Build relationships, help the people around you, and let your work speak for itself. If you stay focused long enough, you can’t be counted out.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://musicallyequipped.co/
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/iamdjdeezy
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/IAMDJDeezy
• Twitter: https://x.com/IamDjDeezy