New Student Activities Assistant Candice Custodio-Tan not only has an incredible history as a disk jockey, but has also met some pretty impressive celebrities … before they were famous.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Custodio-Tan’s passion for music began with the inspiration from her father and his collection of records. Growing up, she had a lot of friends who were DJ’s and taught her the basics of becoming a turntablist.

She received her first turntable when she was 17 and it was then she realized she wanted to challenge her skills and go into competition. After two years of being an underground DJ, Candice came out as “DJ Kuttin Kandi.”

“Hip-hop was very prominent in my life because it was born and raised in New York, but competing is a totally different culture,” she says.

In her 20 years as a DJ, Custodio-Tan has accomplished quite a bit. She was the first and only female to make it to the finals of the “DMC USA World DJ Championships,” which is one of the longest DJ battles to ever exist. Custodio-Tan says DMC is one of the most respected and well known competitions in the world.

After proving herself as a professional DJ, she went on to perform and meet many well known musicians.

Busta Rhymes, Common, Jay-Z  and LL Cool J, are just some names that Custodio-Tan has had the chance to work with. She has also been on tour with the Black Eyed Peas and met Kanye West while he was still discovering himself as an underground rapper.

Some crew partners she has had, have even gone on to work with and go on tour with Jay-Z and Common.

Custodio-Tan has also been honored as a guest performer and spokesman for the 1999 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Hip-Hop Conference. From performing at the “Vans Warped Tour” to  working with Bob James, she has done it all.

“When you are in the music industry, you will meet everyone from every genre,” Custodio-Tan says.

Moving from New York to San Diego and now to the Bay Area, Custodio-Tan finds herself at Diablo Valley College, doing what she loves almost as much as being a DJ, working with young people.

She feels she can utilize her skills as a DJ to help the youth use music as a positive tool for change. Custodio-Tan decided to move to the Bay Area to stay connected to her music, but currently is trying to decide what is next in her life.

At the present time Tan is still a DJ, but not as often as she would like to because she is now focused on starting a family.

“I wouldn’t say I’m retired, I’d like to DJ maybe one night a week for fun, but it also depends on how I can balance that with my pregnancy,” she says.

She will not continue with her music career, but will keep it as a hobby. Custodio-Tan says, “hip-hop is something I live and breathe.”