What makes someone a South Florida legend? What makes someone a Grandmaster DJ?
DJ Jared Cole might have a pretty good case for both.
Born in Brooklyn in 1980, Jared Cole came of age during a strange cultural crossroads. You had the death of disco, the rise of video games, MTV, and cable television. Music was everywhere, but his first real taste of moving a crowd came in the most unlikely way.
We spoke to DJ Jared Cole or Toke as his friends call him. He gave us his origin story.
In 1985, his mother brought him along to a neighborhood bar after her shift at Buddy L Toys. To keep him occupied, she handed him a dollar for the jukebox. Five-year-old Jared had an Elvis cassette at home and one favorite song called “Little Sister.” When he realized that a dollar could play the song four times in a row, he climbed onto a stool and watched what happened.
“The first time the song played, no one noticed,” Cole recalled. “The second time, still nothing. By the third spin, people started looking around. By the fourth, the bar erupted in confusion.”
It was the first time Jared realized he could control the mood of a room with music.
DJ Jared Cole
After moving through Brooklyn, the Poconos, and Virginia, Jared eventually landed in South Florida in 1994, where the hobby began to turn into something more serious. The following year, a friend heading to jail pawned his DJ equipment for $200 and offered it to Jared. He took the deal and officially began his DJ career.
He launched The Tokeable Object Project around 1998 and later founded Toker Productions, promoting concerts across South Florida starting in 2002. In 2004, he even staged what he claims may have been the first-ever 4/20 concert.
From spinning vinyl to CDs to Serato in 2007, Jared Cole has worked virtually every corner of the music scene. Between 2006 and 2008, he toured the U.S. off the strength of MySpace-era independent music success, while helping book shows for countless South Florida bands alongside DJ Immortal.
Over the years, Jared Cole has DJ’d nearly every corner of the South Florida nightlife map, from iconic venues like the Fontainebleau and Mondrian to beloved local spots such as Purdy Lounge, Blackbird Ordinary, Sweet Liberty, and Fat Cat’s.
A self-described music nerd and former record store operator, Cole built his reputation on an ability to mix across genres with ease. Hip-hop, rock, electronic, funk, whatever the crowd demands. Along the way, he has shared stages or opened shows with artists ranging from legendary DJs like DJ Craze, Tony Touch, and Keoki to major touring acts including Morgan Wallen.
Decades later, Cole’s résumé reads like a tour through the evolution of DJ culture itself.
