Finding My Way As A DJ

I was doing some fine tuning on my Facebook pages by typing my name in the search to see what others can see. To my surprise a video popped up that my daughter was filming about 6 years ago. She had to be about 3 years old. She was my biggest fan little at the time. Looking like life was beating me down, I was in the hot steamy Texas garage and I refused to leave until I felt good enough to start calling myself a DJ. I think the secret to success is truly doing what's in your heart, no matter how you FEEL in that moment. Too often we allow our temporary FEELINGS to control us. Do I feel like cooking? Do I feel like being social today? Do I FEEL like working out today? All of those feelings usually lead us astray. So in the video I wasn't feeling it, but I kept going anyway.

Finding my way as a DJ was always easy for me because I grew up around both music and diversity anyway. My educational background is in Spanish, I learned how to speak and then I learned another language at 5 years old. With that second language came spelling, math, social studies science, and those were also taught to me in Spanish. Music was a always a big influence in my life because the my first love for music came in the form or singing. Singing my joys and my cries to the Lord at a Methodist Church in the adult choir with my grandma. They didn't mind if we danced but they were watching us so closely, you bet not even bend a knee. You better shimmy them shoulders. Luckily my mom put me into dance school so I learned how to dance, and yes, I can dance really well. After dance came my ability to play an instrument. I wish I would've given my girl clarinet a name because I really did love her. However, I hated the vibration on my teeth though, I would stop playing my clarinet to rub that vibration out of my ears. But playing together in unison with a band to make music together, it gave me a feeling that I will always remember. That embracing connection is real. A Quote from the movie Drum Line, "One Band, One Sound."

Many years later I went to college for Radio Broadcast Journalism. Being on the radio was a dream come true, and more people tuning in because YOU'RE on the radio is even more exhilarating! Wednesdays were my days from 6PM-8PM on Wildcat 91.9! The longest college radio station in the nation. (I just learned that as I'm typing this blog) lol. HOW COOL IS THAT? WOW! So yes, I played the hottest jams and had the most fun connecting with people from all different backgrounds on the radio in college. DJing came because after this song, I wanna hear that song, and after that song I wanna hear this song. A.K.A Amazing taste in music! And I thank GOD that I'm not in the crate carrying era! I don't care WHAT they say, that sht is PLAYED OUT! Absolutely not! Everything I use is digital! Even creating my own music isn't from banging pots and wooden spoons, it's right from my laptop. I can explore, explore, explore! And that's what I've done "FINDING MY WAY AS A DJ!"

I'm very grateful for the people that I have met along the way! I sometimes go up to strangers and ask them what type of music do they like. You never know what you'll learn or discover. Music is a place that's everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. It's almost like swimming through the sounds of the air waves. You body moves in different ways, you may close your eyes and feel the sounds with your heart, you may even laugh or cry. Some songs have the ability to make you do wrong, or make you do right! Music is so powerful that scientist are still studying it's affects and what it can do.

EDM and House music did this for me. It forces you to feel. Classical and Jazz music are also a genres that makes you feel. Without the words to the song, what you see? What do you hear? How does it make you feel?

As a DJ, I mix them altogether before deciding how I feel. One song has the ability to change the whole vibe, I've seen it. So the goal, is to keep the party or the "vibes" going, and not just about playing a song. Whatever the occasion is, is what the energy of the event should go to. One time I dj'd a memorial, and all they wanted me to play were Post Malone songs throughout the entire event because that's what "the passer" loved. So though good ol' Posty has some real fine tunes, I had to play it in a way that wasn't a party. In another setting, that's all it would've been was a party!

One of my favorite mixed events was an African and South East Asian reception. Oh my gosh when I tell you we had a BALL that night! My kids came to the event and had their own fun too! Blending those 2 cultures of music like that felt like a gift was given to me. The energy was high, the food was amazing and the friends and family were the most delightful! The moving of the feet, the beat of the drums, the instruments that were native to each culture was a compliment of back and forth.

I have so many other examples of how music that aren't normally played together sound so well together when it's done right. R&B and Country , EDM and Hindu, Cumbia and Hip Hop, ect.

I did a sweep on the events I've done, and here is the list in counting of the types of all of the genres so far:

Jazz

Rap

Trap

Country

R&B

Pop

EDM

Blues

Animated/Kids/Cartoon

Bollywood

Palestine

Hindu

Tejano

Cumbia

Salsa

House

Soul

Arabic

Classical

Dancehall

Afro Beats

= 21 types of music

I once had an Uber driver show me 15 more types of music that is hear in Africa. That just gave me more excitement because yes, there's more.

In some ethnic tribes only the females danced and in others only the males.

Though there was no particular SONG that I could've referenced from, hearing foreign music gets me excited about what the song can be blended with.

Now I'm not going to pretend that I am Queen of all sounds because I'm not, I have a small list of genres that I dislike and will not play it with joy in my heart.

Should I tell you? Hmm. I'll give you one, The Blues. Though my childhood memories of listening to B.B. King while cleaning old records with alcohol and cotton balls, I'm truly not a fan of sad songs and alcohol drinking. But that's me.

My favorite genre to listen to in my own time, is... I don't have one because it's based off of my mood. But there are 3; Jazz, Classical, and Salsa. My favorite genre to DJ is a little different because it's based off of the people in the room. The joys of the dance floor never being empty is a joy that only a DJ or an event planner can explain. And nothing does the job like Pop, Country and Rap! Those are my top 3 but really it's 4! Latino people and Mexican people will absolutely get on that dance floor and they will also ask you to play another song that sounds just like it. Oh well at least your dance floor won't be empty!

As I continue this journey of music, I am beyond grateful for the experiences that I've had, I enjoyed and learned something from them all. Djing has turned into a legitimate business, and I explore other ways to connect with others and get my words out to a beat like Cardi B. I briefly wrote poetry as a kid and it's been calling my name all of these years! I am now a music writer and I'm good at it! Will I ever be a rapper? Hmm, one can dream, and I'm dreaming