Born, bred, and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, CAZU (he/him/his) is an open-format DJ who has been bringing joy and cultivating community through feel-good music for over a decade. He has performed for K-Pop Club Night, 626 Night Market Bay Area, SacAnime, PAUZ Presents CLUB K-POP in San Francisco, Seattle, and Sacramento, as well as events on Oʻahu in Hawaii, in New York City, Chicago, and Portland. Also, he has opened for performing artists DJ Habibeats, comedian JR De Guzman, Japanese singer-songwriter Mii, and alternative hip hop artist Nueve Lio. Corporate clients have included Bloomingdale’s, San José State University, and Stanford University. From nightlife parties, weddings, corporate events, comic & anime conventions, and high school proms, to anything in between, his dedication to connecting people through music defines his craft.

He finds joy in expressing himself and his enthusiasm through various genres and eras, such as hip-hop, pop-punk, K-pop, Japanese city pop, emo, funk, and much more, and by fusing together new and familiar tracks to get you nodding your head, listening, and moving your feet without realizing it. A few of his favorite mixes and biggest inspirations are DJ Neil Armstrong’s “Bittersweeet” (2003), DJ Mark Marcelo’s “ScRuNcHiEs AnD hEaDbAnDs: The 90s RNB Mix” (2008), and DJ Lazyboy’s winning set at the 2019 Red Bull 3Style USA National Final.

As a scholar and educator, he is a contributing writer to the education text, HipHopEd: The Compilation on Hip-Hop Education: Volume 2: Hip-Hop as Praxis & Social Justice. Through his work in higher education for the past 15+ years, he has incorporated Hip-Hop into his work through conducting various workshops, events, and conferences that develop the lens of social identity, and connect students to social action, through the elements of Hip-Hop.

When he’s not DJing, CAZU enjoys traveling, cuddling & playing with his dog Koko, catching up on the most recent Marvel series on Disney+ or watching Star Trek, playing chess, going to concerts and music festivals, attending comic and anime conventions, doing escape rooms, and collecting designer toys.