Meet Kenya’s Youngest PROFESSIONAL Deejay
Deejaying has become quite popular in Kenya with the advent of virtual deejay mixing software such as SoundForge, Atomix Virtual DJ. It seems every young man (especially the ones in college and university) wants to make a killing off deejaying. Meet DJ Topaz (real name Patrick Ndung’u) who at only 22 says he is the youngest PROFESSIONAL DJ in Kenya.
Apparently he has spun for big parties in Nairobi, Thika and Mombasa. For his age he lacks experience for commercial television gigs compared to the likes of established acts such as Creme, Kaytrixx, Joe Mfalme, Hassan. However what he does not lack is a good ear for music and the courage to make his dreams come true.
When I asked him how it all started he said, “Me and a friend started playing with a DJ software on a computer. Some further thinking at that point made me realize that I had been setting myself up to be a DJ since I was a little boy. After playing around with DJ software’s for a while, I felt like I was good enough. That is when I contacted DJ Dannie Boy when I was 20 to help me start getting mixing gigs. My first time to mix in public was when I spun at a club along Kangundo Road alongside DJ Skepta. There and then I learned the ins and outs of mixing good music.”
He continues, “That same year I played in my first commercial party. It was a summer end festive party in Mombasa. I invited most of my Facebook friends to come and they almost all showed up,” he adds. “I later went on to play at a Private Beach Party at the same location, this was my first big break. Mombasa was not my only party, I became a regular at most of the big parties in the Coast region.”
Spotting a smile, he tells me, “Aside from the Coast, I spun at after parties for Meshack the Producer and Marc in Thika, played at different parties in the same location, and joined Deedy for a big party in Nairobi. My biggest party ever was an outfield party in Thika. “There were 3000 to 4000 people in attendance,” he told me. “That was the party with the most people in attendance.”
Apparently DJ TOPAZ is also a producer. He creates his own music. His focus is on creating Feel Good music. “Inspiration comes on the spur of the moment,” he explains. “I make a lot of music, but I only release the best.” At the moment he is working on a new hit to be released end of the year. He releases street mixtapes and currently works for DJ Dannie Boy’s Blackout Entertainment. He is also a Social Media Guru running some of the biggest fan pages in Kenya.
For the future, Patrick is planning to go study Audio Technology in the UK. He shares with me, “After that I would like to go get my Masters in Australia because I know someone over there that will help me achieve my goal.” His dream is “for everybody to hear my music.” His ultimate goal is having 10 big hits in the next 10 years.
Patrick Ndung’u has a bright future in front of him. Just talking to him inspired me, but he is not all about talking. “I want my music to speak for me,” he told me. “That is exactly what my music does”, he says firmly. If you want to hear his mixes, you can listen to him on Mixcrate, under the name “deejaytopaz”. To stay current with what he’s doing find him on Facebook and Twitter under the names “DJ-Topaz Kenya” and “@djtopazkenya” respectively.
And finally here is his message to the youth;
“If you want to achieve something, go for it” is his message to the youth. “Don’t be afraid of failure. If you are afraid of that, you will never achieve your dreams.”
