Dontrell [“Uncle Loops”](https://www.instagram.com/uncleloops/) Lendsey is a Marine, sales coach, management trainer, musician, and serial entrepreneur, who founded his company [Music Mergers, LLC](http://www.musicmergers.com/) in 2012. Fast forward to 2021, he launched “Writer’s Block” Reviews and continues to partner with various business ventures within the music industry, boasting a fair share of success in a world of chaos.
Driven by a desire to assist musicians in the education and understanding of the music business, Uncle Loops developed a mobile application with his business partner and long-time friend, award-winning producer [Excel Beats](http://excelbeats.com/). The thought process behind the development of the application was the understanding that artist development was a thing of the past for young musicians. When the world changed due to the global pandemic of 2020, it only made sense to Uncle Loops to develop a platform where musicians could connect with industry professionals and vice versa.
_Flaunt_ spoke with Uncle Loops about his name, how he got started, what inspires him to help others, and more.
**How did you get the name, Uncle Loops?**
It’s pretty interesting how my name came about. Naturally I am an uncle due to my family, but Uncle Loops professionally was stumbled upon by accident. I’ve always been in the mix of a few different things and became a go-to for insight, from how to get things done or just basic information. In a sense, I’ve always been in the loop. I enjoy music, borderline addicted to it, so in my life music’s on a constant loop.
Now, adding Uncle to the mix happened accidentally. I moved from California to Texas and was walking through the office one day, one of my peers called me Uncle D. I looked at him and said, “Damn, am I that old?” He laughed and said “nah, Uncle is a term in the south you get when people respect you and a lot of people respect you.” From there, I adopted and embraced being called Uncle.
To sum it all up: Uncle Loops means respect music, respect information.
**Where are you from originally?**
I own being from California, because that’s where I spent most of my life. But if I’m being transparent, I am from all over: North Carolina, Colorado, Germany, Texas. My parents were in the military so we moved a lot, I lived with my grandparents in North Carolina for a good part of my childhood. When I was 10, I ended up in foster care in Colorado. I‘ve essentially been on my own since I was 11. I joined the Marine Corps in 2002 and made my move to Oceanside, CA where I picked up music. Through smiles and cries, I made my way throughout the state moving from SoCal to NorCal and now I’m in the DFW area.
**How did you get your start?**
I started recording music in 2003 when I moved to California. I had recorded with a group under Get Down Records named Flatliners at Golden Tracks Studios in Escondido, CA. I ended up spending some time in the brig and moved from SoCal when I was released. I moved up to NorCal and met a few people doing music in San Jose and started working with them.
I remember one day, this kid selling newspapers came to my door looking to make a sale. When I wasn’t buying, he asked me if I did music. Was a random question but I told him yes. He asked if I’d work with him and from that day, me and Mike Darole became really good friends. He was my little brother. I worked with him for years providing guidance in how to maneuver and helped him pen his first deal with EMPIRE. Over the years, I continued to guide musicians towards success and felt this was my calling in the music industry: helping connect dots and building strong alliances.
**How do you stay inspired to help others?**
It’s always been in my blood to help others. From childhood, I was always different. I had compassion to see others achieve something, I wanted to be a part of that success. Over the years I’ve seen a bit of success, but it didn’t come without failure. As an uncle, I feel if I bang my head so you don’t have to, you will learn without the pain part of it. Working with my nieces and nephews and helping them not bang their heads is a privilege.
It’s a privilege to watch them grow to be a part of that story. It’s a privilege to have them ask you for your opinion or insight. It’s a privilege to be in someone’s circle because they want you there.
**How so?**
Look at it like this: when people allow for you to be a part of their lives, that’s a privilege. They could have gone to someone else, but they chose to come to you out of respect or reference. To me, that makes it the highest privilege to have in this business. I have insights that I could guide someone through and relationships that could benefit those in my atmosphere.
There are also those I look up to, who are aunts and uncles to me. We all have those people we converse with out of respect, for guidance. Uncle Loops is true to his word and vows to help any musician he can. After losing his best friend Mike Darole to gun violence, he made a promise that everything he did would be in Daroles’s name.
