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During the week, Louisville, Kentucky, natives can find Langston Love working in the Yum! Brands Corporate Communications department as an intern – writing copy, conducting research or monitoring social media. But if Louisvillians run into him in the evening or on a weekend, they’re probably in a club, at a wedding reception or attending another event where music takes center stage.
That’s because the classically trained pianist and recent college graduate channels his longtime passion for music into a moonlighting gig as a DJ.
Like nearly all good music industry stories, this one starts with a big break. About two years ago, Love was at a party that featured a DJ who, in a stroke of good fortune, needed someone to cover the turntables while he took a bathroom break. Even though he didn’t have experience, Love quickly volunteered.
“I went up there and acted like I knew what I was doing, and it ended up sounding pretty good,” he said. “After that day, I thought, ‘I can do this’ and started looking at what I needed to buy equipment-wise. My dad spotted me the money for my first board.”
A father’s investment in his son’s passion paid off as Love quickly found that his love for music was something that resonated with a live audience. He was encouraged by friends to host an event, and the resulting pool party – which he promoted with flyers he made himself – drew positive reviews from a huge crowd.
“Everybody and their mother were there,” he said.
When he was subsequently contacted by the apartment complex manager, Love suspected the story might be taking a turn for the worse, but the owner actually wanted to inquire about having him provide entertainment for other parties.
From then on, Love Productions was born, providing DJ services for university events, music for the school’s YouTube videos and mixes for step shows and dance teams. But Love’s attraction to a good beat started long before his side hustle.
“I started piano lessons in the fifth grade and took them through my sophomore year in high school, when I started getting more interested in audio engineering,” said Love, who recently graduated from the University of Louisville with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a minor in music. “By my senior year, I thought more seriously about a career in music, and even spent some time shadowing a studio engineer.”
During his freshman year at the University of Louisville, Love even released a solo album, titled “Soul Tape,” which provided invaluable music experience such as songwriting, production and composing beats, although it didn’t produce huge royalty checks.
“I think I made about $30 from Apple Music,” he said with a laugh.
These days, Love typically provides the soundtrack for gatherings every couple of weeks – from parties and school events to wedding receptions (including three this summer). He is more experienced now, and his equipment is more sophisticated. And his music catalog has grown from about 500 songs to more than 10,000, which includes everything from R&B and rap to country and rock music.
Spending time in the Yum! corporate environment has him convinced he might like to expand his DJ business to company events. But that isn’t all he has learned while interning at Yum! Brands.
“There is a lot of my Yum! experience, which will help me in my DJ role, including ways I can promote my own business,” he said. “But more importantly, I have enjoyed this internship so much. It has been great. I’ve learned a lot about myself, how to prioritize tasks and handle the workload in a fast-paced environment.”
But that isn’t the part of his Yum! Brands experience that has had the biggest impact. He now knows not only that communications is the kind of work he wants to do, but that Yum! is the kind of company he wants to work for. And maybe his one-word description of Yum! as a place to work might not be a surprise, given his last name and his DJ name.
“Love,” he said. “Love is the first word that comes to mind when describing this experience – the compassion that everyone has. When you have that, everything else comes easier. If you get along with everyone you work with, there is really nothing else you can ask for.”
