On The Rise: Myles O’Neal Wants To Be House Music’s Next Superstar

Myles O’Neal never went to college, but he’s feeling right at home at the campuses he’s visiting thanks to his career as a DJ (which was influenced by his father, Shaquille O’Neal’s DJ side project, DJ Diesel). O’Neal has traveled across the U.S. hoping to enhance the college experience for students through music, giving them something they may not have heard on their streaming platforms.

“When I graduated high school, I had my graduation and the next day I was on a plane to New York to work at a licensing company in the city,” O’Neal tells Pollstar. “So, I never really got that true college experience. So, I always love playing college shows. They always are looking to have a good time, fresh and open ears, willing to listen to different types of music they maybe haven’t heard before. They’re never going to be standoffish.”

As he gears up his touring (last year he appeared at EDC Las Vegas and at Somewhere Nowhere in New York City, and he played the Elsewhere Rooftop in Brooklyn in August 2023), O’Neal notes his affinity for more intimate venues.

“Those are by far the best ones for me,” O’Neal says. “If I can bring someone to the booth for a little bit to stand with me while I’m playing stuff, it feels more like a house party rather than an actual performance. Sometimes people will come see me before I leave the building and we’ll have an interaction. It feels more personal.”

While his father began a bass music project that dives deep into heavy dubstep with a co-sign from Excision, O’Neal fell in love with house music and Fisher. He enjoys the energy across the entire rave scene, but felt that house music spoke to him the most among dance music’s variety of subgenres. O’Neal would travel with his father for DJ Diesel shows, helping to hype up the crowd, and he learned how to play himself as a hobby. He met his manager, Corynne Burrows at Midas Touch Management, and decided to give DJing himself a go, joining the roster at Wasserman Music with Brad Owen.

“Both my dad and I always loved Fisher,” O’Neal says. “It just made me dive deeper into that sound of music. So, when I started playing as a hobby, I wanted to be like Fisher. That led to me moulding my own sound. It was natural, all of this has been such a natural thing.”

Ahead of each show, O’Neal will listen to “aggressive rap,” like Rick Ross or Chief Keef in his green room, hyping himself up. “I don’t know why, it boosts my confidence,” he says. “It’s a good way to get my head in the game for these sets.” He’ll step out onto the stage, changing gears to house music and aiming to introduce his audience to older classics, like WAR, and provide a fresh sound to those songs that can allow fans to fall deep into rabbit holes. O’Neal notes he knows he can’t make those songs better, but he can showcase a classic to a younger generation so they can then go ahead and appreciate the original.

As O’Neal looks ahead to his touring career, he hopes he can have opportunities to play with some of his idols: Sidepiece, Mochakk, Max Styler and John Summit. O’Neal already had the opportunity to play support for Sidepiece on their last tour, including their Nov. 9 date at Los Angeles Memorial Colisum, but he notes he’d love to join them again sometime.

“I always gravitate toward people I have a personal relationship with,” O’Neal says. “I’ve always been that way.”