Not everyone finds their calling in the hum of the everyday. For Dro1000x—better known as Dro, short for Alejandro—music isn’t just background noise. It’s the pulse that’s shaped him, saved him, and led him to his purpose. Born and raised in Connecticut’s 860, Dro is an East Coast original, but his story is one a lot of people can see themselves in, even if they’re not from his side of the map.
Music was always in the picture for Dro. His father played piano and guitar, filling the house with melodies and rhythm, and sang with a passion that couldn’t help but rub off. “I grew up around that automatically,” Dro says, and you can hear the ease in his voice when he talks about those early days. Music became his safe place long before he even realized it; by the time he joined choir in 4th grade, he was hooked. Solos, select groups, chasing every note he could—he ran toward the music and never looked back.
But it wasn’t just about the sound. For Dro, music was a way to belong, even when the world made him feel like he didn’t fit anywhere else. “I’ve always felt like I never fit in,” he admits. “I tried to be someone else just to fit, and I didn’t even realize I was being inauthentic. At one point, people made me feel so bad about my ethnicity that I didn’t even want to be who I am anymore. And this was as a kid? That’s crazy.”
It’s an honesty that’s raw, but it’s also what gives Dro his edge. He sees music as a place where everyone can fit in—where there’s no mold, no picture of what you’re supposed to look like or be. “You fit in by not fitting in,” he says. That’s the piece of the puzzle that kept him coming back, even when the world told him to try something else.
Now, Dro’s message is all about SHINE. “Shine is what makes me different,” he explains. Where some chase music for the lifestyle—the money, the cars, the status—Dro’s in it for something bigger. “I found my purpose within making music. I honestly love music if you couldn’t tell, haha. It’s amazing that I can do what I love, and tie it in to my purpose. I was brought here to help others—specifically, to help others shine their light.”
That conviction runs deeper than your average motivational post. For Dro, everyone has a light, a God-given gift that’s theirs alone. His mission is to help people find that gift, to share their shine with the world. “Carrying out my mission, wanting to help everyone shine their own light, can be conveyed through my communication, my expression, and in combination, that’s music.”
His favorite lyric is one he wrote himself: “Time won’t always wait for you—when it’s your turn, you better shine.” The song came together on his phone, just a voice and an idea, but it stuck with him. At first, no one else seemed to get it. In a live song battle, the judges and the crowd weren’t feeling it, and for a minute, Dro started to doubt himself. “I was someone who was easily influenced,” he admits, “so I was kind of like, damn, there’s no way that shit sucks. I was super bummed out.” But something about the line hit deeper as he started to find himself. “No, fuck them. This is hard. This is what I wanna do. This is important. It has a message. I’m keeping it.”
It’s more than a lyric—it’s a philosophy. “Time will always move, regardless of anything, and a lot of people get chances, opportunities that they don’t chase or act on. Our destiny is built and decided off of our actions. Will we SHINE or not?”
For Dro1000x, it’s not even a question. The only way is forward, and the only thing left to do is shine.
Follow Dro1000x
You can find Dro on all social media platforms @deathrace4dro (except TikTok, where he’s @dro100x). To hear more, stream his music everywhere under “Dro1000x.”