Student DJs spin excitement at school events Thursday, March 03, 2011 By Kareema Boone [ArticleImageHyperLink] Advertising Juniors Abdul-Hineef Adams and Micheal Brown have been responsible for the beats and grooves at recent school events and parties. Brown has been a DJ since he was eight years old and is working toward a career, while Adams started just last year and said he is only trying to keep himself off the street. Adams said he started DJing because his father wanted him to try something new. He said he likes to DJ because it lets him know he’s a people person. “It feels good to entertain and move a crowd,” he said. Since Adams is an athlete, he DJs only twice a month. Adams said he does school events but hasn’t been booked for anything lately. For school events, he said the most he would charge is $300, but for our students, he would do it for free. According to Adams, the hardest part about being a DJ is knowing your crowd. He said that in a party, you have to find music that can satisfy everyone, not just certain people, so he plays varieties of music. He said he used to spend most days in his basement just getting a feel of what it would be like to interact with the equipment. He said peer pressure is serious in teenagers and it’s hard finding something to keep you busy rather than being foolish with your friends. “Being a DJ keeps me off the streets,” he said. Micheal Brown, who prefers to be called DJ Bolt, said becoming a DJ is a career for him because at the end of the day he’s making money. He said the hardest part about being a DJ for him is scratching. Scratching is putting one hand on the mixer, keeping your other hand on the turntable, and moving the record up and down to make effects. Brown said that being a DJ makes him feel good about himself because the crowd is always excited. He said his father inspired him because he taught him techniques, how to use other music,  combining varieties of music, and switching from one to song to another. He does both school events and our basketball home for free, though he usually charges $200 to DJ at outside events. Junior Sonarri Stoudmire said she’s been to parties where Brown and Adams have DJ’d. She said their parties are successful because people leave talking about how much of a good time they had. She said that Adams and Brown would be a great advantage to have at more school events. Stoudmire said Adams and Brown make attending basketball more fun, especially at half-time. She said she feels the DJs know exactly what to play for everyone to enjoy themselves. “When music comes on, the crowd dances and sings along,” she said. Junior Dajah Timmons said that the events Brown and Adams DJ are “live.” Everyone enjoys themselves and there are never fights at the end, she said. Everyone is distracted by the music, so they don’t pay attention to anyone else but the people they came with. She added that they play a variety of music that everyone can relate to. She said they could bring a lot of excitement if the school had more events. Sophomore Mecca Cooley said that Adams and Brown get the crowd really hyped at school . She said she’s never been to a party that they DJ’d at, but she thinks their skills are good enough to do parties. She said she thinks the music even impacts the players at the . “It gives them ambition,” she said. Sophomore Ny’Asia Powell, Brown’s girlfriend, said that him being a DJ is not a big deal to her. She said she is used to him playing music around the house and testing out his skills. “Overall it’s pretty fun and exciting,” she said. Powell also said she loves that she can be right by his side, especially when it comes to events. She said the music gets her hyped, and he plays all types of music depending on the event. “The crowd gives good feedback.”

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