Artist Spotlight: Bad Boy Bill

With nearly FORTY years under his belt, Bad Boy Bill gives industry veteran a whole new meaning. Born William Renkosik and raised in Chicago, Bad Boy Bill started his career as just a teen in the mid to late 80s. Known for playing several separate turntables at once, Bill often performed in DJ battles and won the first one he ever entered. In 1988 and 1989, he placed within the top three at the Disco Mix Club championships. He also appeared regularly on local radio shows doing popular house mixes, such as WBMX 102.7 FM, WGCI 107.5 FM, and B96 96.3 FM, a top pop station.

As just a senior in high school, Bill started his own record label, International House Records, and signed tracks from DJ Pierre, Mr. Lee, and more. He landed his first Top Five Billboard Dance Chart hit at the age of 19 with his remix of Dada Nada’s “Deep Love.”

In the early 90’s, Bill produced a series of mixtapes under the alias, Street DJ Promotions. The DJ distributed these mixtapes himself across Chicago to local record shops, flea markets, and potential DJ gigs. Other DJs began catching on to the practice of mass producing and sharing mixtapes, which caught the attention of the Recording Industry Association of America and music publishing companies that were not receiving royalties from any of the music used. Bill then became a part of the licensed-mix movement and started his own media label, Mix Connection Multimedia (MCM), and has since become credited as the first Chicago DJ to produce legally licensed mixes.

In the late 90’s, Bill released five volumes of his Bangin’ The Box mix series via Mix Connection Multimedia. It became one of the best selling series in dance music history. During that time, Bill also founded Moody Recordings, which released the international hit, “Get Get Down” by Paul Johnson.

In the 2000’s, Bill changed gears and produced a CD/DVD mixtape entitled Behind the Decks, containing visuals from his live show. A few years later, Bill embarked on a three-day tour to support the Behind the Decks mixtape, and performed at famous clubs like The Church in Denver and The Avalon in Los Angeles. The audio and video footage from all three shows was released as a concert film in 2006, Behind the Decks Live. Bill now does a regular Behind the Decks radio show.

Having received numerous accolades over the years, including 80th best DJ in the world according to DJ Mag (2008), America’s Favorite House DJ by BPM Magazine (2002, 2003, & 2006), and more, Bad Boy Bill is unmatched in his skills on the decks. You won’t want to miss him live on May 14th at Shady Park in Tempe. You can grab tickets here!

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