Some people ask me; how did you become a DJ or audio engineer? It began with an unquenchable love for music. My mother told me once that my love for music came from her. I don’t doubt that in the least as I was cut from the same cloth. My mom loved all genres and so do I. She told me it started when I was six weeks old and she couldn’t get me to stop crying. My mom noticed that I would stop whenever I heard music coming from the stereo. Then she did what a smart woman would do and she put a shoe-box tape recorder under my crib. The tape recorder played Aerosmith’s album “Toys In The Attic”. She told me that she played it so much that the tape broke. She stated that “anytime it stopped playing I would go back to screaming my head off again”.
As I grew up I had many musical influences from different people in my life. My mom enjoyed anything from the ’50s thru the early ’80s. My Aunt who was more like a sister listened to the late ’70s thru the early 90’s Pop culture music which boasted such great musicians like Tears For Fears, Van Halen, Huey Lewis, and The News, but not forgetting the great Phil Collins and Genesis: to name a few. My older brother was into music such as DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince, Beastie Boys, Kid-N-Play, Richard Marx, S.W.V., and many other groups from our early teenage years.
From the ages of twelve to fourteen, I listened to more rap. I was fascinated with the ability of DJs to make a whole new beat or track by mixing two or more albums together known as “juggle” and adding a few other instruments to make a whole new record for people to dance to. I recorded and watched countless music videos over and over; which included such greats as Grandmaster Flash, Kid Capri, DJ Red Alert, Jam Master Jay, DJ Scratch, and DJ Jazzy Jeff; to name a few of the biggies in the biz.
I was fourteen and was dating a girl whose mom like to party. I went to several functions with my girlfriend and her mom. Weddings, fashion shows, and the like. I saw the DJ booth and went over to make a request. For some reason, I stayed up there most of the night watching and asking lots of questions. I know the DJ was probably getting frustrated. There was something that drew me to it. The music, the lights, the smoke machine, being on the mic, and helping other people have a good time: it was enthralling and I was hooked!
I remember the night I went to my mother at the age of fourteen and I told her that I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I knew I wanted to work in the music industry. I wanted to start out as an events DJ. Then I wanted to go to school to learn to be on the air. I wanted to work in a radio station and someday have my own DJ slash music production company. At first, she wasn’t cool with it because in some cases that career meant going from place to place looking for work as DJs at that time were rotated as much as the format and playlists. However, as I was cut from the same cloth; I also inherited my mother’s tenacity. I did not let up. Christmas of the year 1990 I received my first audio mixer. It was a four-channel Realistic from Radio Shack.
I got myself a slew of other equipment and music and practiced away any free time I had. I’d spend hours watching MTV shows like Yo’ MTV Raps hosted by Ed Lover; in order to gain style and perfect technique. I remember my first DJ gig. It was the summer of 1991 and I was a nervous wreck. I remember telling a friend of mine “I don’t know if I can go out there”. The next thing I remember is lying on the floor backstage. I was looking up at the faces of my friends and some adult chaperons. I had passed out. I was not off to a good start being the party leader and center of attention that I had yearned to be. The more gigs I did the better I got. Until I became a sought-after party DJ in the New England area. I went to college right out of high school. Immediately I was in the television and radio broadcast program. I didn’t just attend classes. In my first year, I became a DJ personality and techniques trainer. In my second year, I was the station manager and program director. All I can say is if you have a dream SINK YOUR TEETH into it like a rabid dog. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot be something you know you were meant to be. Do not let your financial circumstance dictate your career goals. If you have the will there’s a way. In my case, it was God’s will that led me to where I am today. People have said that we live the life we do for a purpose. My purpose is to serve God, through the ministry of music. I’m not just a DJ or audio engineer. I’m a DJ, engineer, composer, producer, and teacher: I’m loving every minute of it! You just can’t get bored or dread going to work if you are doing what you love.
DJ LYFE