He holds court as one of Sydney’s most authentic, hardworking, innovative and historic radio / club / tour DJ’s, with a grind that is almost impossible to keep up with. In between churning out ground-breaking Mixtapes, to touring the country as support DJ for Melbourne hip hop act L-FRESH The Lion (Voted as best new Hip Hopon MTV World), to hosting his famed hip hop radio show ‘The Sounds of the Zulu Nation’ on Bondi Beach Radio. His musical diversity has seen him cross many cultural boundaries from Night Clubs, Fashion runways to international B-Boy, surf and skate competitions along the east coast of Australia
Born John Khilla in Sydney 1979, MK-1 began DJing at the age of 15 with the aid of mentor and friend, New York’s legendary DJ Steve Dee (founder of the X-men and inventor of the funk a.k.a beat juggling). By the age of 18 MK-1 had developed his own distinct style of DJing, shunning the many cultural clichés of the Hip-Hop scene. Over the years, he has been both a resident and guest DJ at almost every Sydney night spots such as Star City Casino, Iguana Bar, Lotel, GAS, BJ’s, Good Bar, World Bar and Black Birds Cafe in addition to numerous after parties for illustrious artists ranging from the Sugarhill Gang, The Black Eyed Peas to Duran Duran.
