State your name:

My name is Kwame Malik Dunston by day and DJ Malik Stone by night.  I’m a true Gemini that has no problem embracing two roles; an educator and deejay.

Where are you from and where do you live now:

I am a native New Yorker born in Harlem. I currently live in Atlanta.

What’s your story:

I’ve lived in Harlem, Yonkers, Durham, Albany, Greenburgh, Atlanta, Queens, and Brooklyn. I’ve been working with children for over 26 years beginning as a summer camp counselor and tutor in the late 80′s. Since I had the experience to live in both the North and the South, I prefer the South mainly because the quality of life you get in the South allows you to do more with the resources available.

How did you decide to get into education:

I got into education because I do not feel I was given a fair shake in public school. School for me was boring and most teachers did not give me a reason to want to learn so I decided to become an educator that can inspire my scholars. I’ve been a public school educator for 14 years now and have taught English in elementary, middle, and high school. I was named Teacher of the Year as an 8th grade English educator at Columbia Middle School in 2006. For the past four years I have been the Dean of Students at The Leadership and Community Service Academy and Brooklyn Collegiate. My passion is to make sure the scholars that I work with have the opportunity to effectively learn and continue their education.

As the husband of a teacher, I know there are a great deal of unfortunate politics that tend to make teachers feel as if they’re wasting their breath.  When you leave work everyday, do you feel like you’ve made a difference:

I know I am making a difference. The politics that are a reality in education make things difficult but not impossible. There are scholars I’ve taught who are now 24 years old and have careers and families. The best man in my wedding is one of my former scholars. He is now a Social Worker at a high school in Massachusetts. He is a phenomenal young man with a very bright future. There are so many others like him who decided to make education a priority and are doing big things. Of course every scholar does not take advantage like we feel they should but the majority of them go on to be successful in their own way.

And on on another note, how long have you been DJing:

I’ve been spinning since 2008…publicly since 2010.

Where do you spin? Do you have a regular gig or just wherever needed:

I currently spin @ Cloud IX Restaurant and Lounge in Atlanta. It is an after work affair called the Two-Step every Tuesday from 6-11pm. That is my regular gig and I do a few house parties/ BBQ’s as well.

What kind of music do you specialize in and why:

Soul, Hip Hop, Rare Grooves, Samples, Reggae, House, World Beat. My sound comes from the experiences I’ve had as a socialite for over 25 years. The Soul Kitchen, Funk Hut, Funky Buddah, Sticky Mike’s, Northern Exposure (ATL), Little Ricky’s Rib Shack @ APT, and many other functions helped me define my DJ style. Kool DJ Red Alert, Marley Marl, Rich Medina, DJ Spinna, ?uestlove, Jazzy Jeff, D-Nice, Neil Armstrong, DJ Kemit, DJ Jay Cee and others are DJs who spin the music I specialize in. The parties I’ve attended that they did had me on the dance floor all night which is what I try to recreate in my own way. I think the reason why I spin Soul mostly comes from listening to Hip Hop and then finding the samples used to create the song. I believe that if a song that is considered great uses a sample, then the artists that was sampled should get some shine as well. What I’ve found is that the original artists have a great catalogue of music as well which led me to listen to artists like Curtis Mayfield, Donald Byrd, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and the like. My opinion is that artists from the 60s and 70s were far more creative than our current generation of artists. You do not hear live instruments anymore; everything is digital and sampled from a different idea. I prefer the source of where the music is coming from which is what I spin.

Very awesome.  Let’s get to it: how long have you been married:

We have been married since July 31, 2010; so a little over a year and a half.

How would you say marriage has changed you or your state of mind:

Being married means that you must think about someone other than yourself…daily. That tends to be a difficult transition for our generation because we have been trained to be independent for so long that when we bring another person into the equation, we have trouble adapting. Therefore, I do not think of me when making decisions anymore…I think of us. For example: what do we need from the store, where are we going to eat, how will this decision affect us, when are we going out of town or on vacation are all questions that we must adapt to asking whereas before marriage the questions were based on what I needed or wanted. Being married has also changed the way I behave in public. In other words, I can’t embarrass just myself…I would be embarrassing the family. There is much more at stake when you take on the family role because the decisions made are affecting the unit, not the individual.

True Indeed.  What do you think is particularly cool about marriage:

I love the consistency of marriage. I’ve never been the type to be attracted to drama so to not have to worry about unexpected BS is a great thing. When two people are working on a common goal, we tend to accomplish more in the end. This can work with combining income, creating a project, self-improvement, etc. I love that I can rely on someone or share a feeling and know that they are going to hold you down.

Do you have any kids:

No kids but I have a posse of god-children and the kids that I mentor are like family.

What do you think the future holds for you in all of your various endeavors: 

I am currently looking to obtain a position as an administrator in Atlanta but my ultimate goal is to have my own school for young men with an overseas component that will exposed them to more than their current surroundings. DJing is my hobby and I love to spin but education is my priority. As for my DJ career, I am only interested in growing the Two-Step into a staple for Atlanta nightlife. In my lifetime, I’d like to continue to travel the world with my wife as we grow as a family (two kids is enough for me…the queen wants three).

Whew, good luck with that.  I can barely handle one…