Born in Panama, Underdog moved to DC at age seven with his mother and has since set down strong roots and been instrumental in shaping the landscape of the subculture of the Nation’s Capital and beyond. Underdog has been teaching graphic design in District of Columbia Public Schools (Richard Wright Public Charter Schools for Journalism and Media Arts) for 11 years and has served as a mentor to students through a collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts (MoCADA) and the Brooklyn Community Arts and Media High School (BCAM). The MoCADA museum wrote about their collaboration with him, "Through DJ Underdog's work we are reminded of the power of the collective to transcend time and space, to ensure Black futures while honoring our past.⁠" His work with youth and community has a long history in DC, including co-founding TruSkool. In the early 2000s, TruSkool joined forces with Capital City Records on U Street to create a weekly home for DC's hip hop community. The beats and ciphers were legendary and the community connections—that extended to Philadelphia and New York City—continue today. Upon learning of the passing of DC's own Sam Burns in spring of 2020, Underdog initiated an impromptu celebration of the life of the late DJ at Eaton, which brought community together during the pandemic for an 18-hour dance celebration that included a number of local DJs who showed up to pay tribute. Underdog sees DJing as a palette to mix all genres and a canvas for the creation of new aesthetics that defy convention. Underdog’s roots are both local and universal—as his sets traverse the globe, transport to ancient times, transcend the future, and delve into inter-dimensional depths of consciousness and soul. Underdog’s recent acclaim stems from his UNSEEN mixtape series, which has expanded his listening audience and placed him outside of any playlist category or genre-defined identity. His work has included producing and arranging global meditative music. He has shared the stage with artists like Femi Kuti, Bad Brains, Sango, Zap Mama, Common, Black Coffee, Kelela, A Tribe Called Red, Questlove, and Thundercat; activated countless engagements, including Future R & Bass with Soulection; played almost every major festival in NYC, including holding a residency at AFROPUNK since 2014; and was invited to play AFROPUNK Senegal in 2018. DJ Underdog is currently holding down residencies with OkayAfrica DC, Eaton Radio (including serving on the Community Advisory Board) and ElectraAfrique NYC, as well as serving as the lead graphic designer for OkayAfrica. As of Spring 2021, you can also hear him through Blackstar Radio on WPFW.