IamDJTreats

Richard Dryden wears different hats—as a DJ, and journalist. For over ten years in his birthplace of Brooklyn, New York, Richard has built a library of knowledge about music, meanwhile sharpening his turntable skills under the name DJ Treats. Throughout his college career at SUNY College at Oneonta, he became a local town favorite on the school’s radio station with a weekly program called, The 31 Flavor Mix. In Richard’s senior year, he branched out into a bi-weekly public access TV show called The Spot—also broadcast throughout the campus. By showing his versatility for seamlessly bending musical genres, he landed an internship at Complex magazine in the summer of 2005, which led to a full-time job as Senior Staff Writer. During Richard’s three-year tenure with the young men’s lifestyle guide, he rose to newer heights becoming the face of the company, hosting and writing scripts for recurring online segments and interviews with the magazine’s cover subjects. His reach to other publications extends virally as a former music video critic for Elliot Wilson’s award-winning XXLMAG.COM, and contributor to the short-lived Comic Foundry magazine. With even a guest appearance as a correspondent on BET’s Top 25 Fabulous Freaks Countdown, he peppered the show with witty comments on pop culture. Currently, Treats continues to maintain his reputation as a forward-thinking DJ where he continues to break new talent as he did in 2006 when he was arguably the first DJ to play Kid Cudi’s chart-topping single “Day ‘n’ Night,” plus deejay for rising talent like Jay-Z’s newest signees J. Cole, Mickey Factz, Atlanta-based trio Supreeme, singer/songwriter Jade, the electric performer Theophilus London, and dancehall rebel 77Klash. Yet when it comes to being a staple in New York’s nightlife, DJ Treats cut his teeth spinning under the guidance of the prominent DJ Reach in some of the most legendary venues like Lotus, APT, Stereo, Plumm, a residency at NOVO lounge, and Living Room (now known as Retreat, for Kanye West’s Late Registration party with XXL magazine). If a DJ pushes the envelope of music, that can truly be said of the one, and only, DJ Treats.