In the spotlight is New ‘King’ of decks

By Matlida Nzioki

The moment the MC announced that DJ Nelly was the winner of the gruelling national deejaying competition, some sections of the crowd at Carnivore Grounds booed. The 22-year-old Nelson Isinga from Mombasa was all smiles as he basked in fame and glory after beating eight other finalists. Coming from Mombasa, DJ Nelly did not have any groupie to defend him as part of the audience rooted for the first runners up DJ Moh. Apparentely they felt that DJ Moh should have won the prize that comes with a Sh3million fully loaded van with deejaying equipment.

"Pilsner is a secular brand and probably they felt that they were wrong to have had a gospel deejay win, hence they chose to avoid repeating the same mistake," protested DJ Moh who played gospel accapellas on secular instrumentals during the competition.

When the winner was challenged over his win, he was equal to the task.

"DJ Moh is very good at what he does. Making to the finals of a country-wide competition is no mean feat, but there’s no doubt in my mind that I did better than him on this one," Nelly defended himself and added that he wishes they would have gone for a run-off so as to establish clearly each others’ dexterity.

On his part, the runner-up, claiming confirmation from sources close to the judges, insisted, "I emerged the winner, everyone who was at Carnivore last Saturday is well aware, it just couldn’t be given to me because last year’s competition was won by a gospel DJ."

However, DJ Nelly reiterates that since the auditions, he has topped the lot in wherever he competed in; hence he was confident that he would win.

"When I made it at the semi finals held in Nakuru early last month, I knew I had won the competition. Nakuru was very stiff," remarked the DJ representing Mombasa. As he was led out of stage clad in a coronation purple robe and a crown, massive boos accompanied him with some even hurling bottles at him. "I’ve come from Mombasa, and had no friends to support and cheer me along amongst the crowd," he pointed out. He added that majority of the people at the front of the crowd had come to support other contestants, hence the displeasure towards him.

Knock out stages

The diversified portfolio of judges, eight in total, stood their ground. "DJ Nelly combined club and DJ skills, and in fact he is the only contender I gave a score of 10," said legendary DJ Pinye, of Nelly’s spin master frolics. Other guest DJs and judges at the competition Silverstar from the UK and Randy concurred. "What the winner had above the rest was originality, skill and stage presence among other DJ characteristics," said Randy

He added, "Some people may not like it but it’s about giving the crowd what they deserve, which is quality."

This withstanding, the winner was understandably enthusiastic; he could barely answer questions from journalists. But what after winning the enviable reward of a ‘souped up’ van, Pioneer DJ CD players, a mixer, full sound equipment and an Apple laptop.

Having been in the game for three years and being a full-time DJ, the soft-spoken Nelly whose role models are DJs Adrian and Kaydee says the win will play a big role in launching his career. "I am a DJ at club Bella Vista in Mombasa, but this means that I will not be employed anymore, and I am planning to relocate to Nairobi." He plans to reach mainstream heights in the entertainment industry. The disk jockey is also involved in Mixmasters Entertainment with DJ Kalonje and Chris and also works with Samora CEO of Buzz Afrique in addition to a live weekly show on Baraka FM, which he does with DJ Lenium. He jetted into Mombasa to a grand reception at the airport by friends and industry players among them Tabasaam Records, Quayside Media and Coastal Films who jointly threw him a well-attended after party.

Other finalist were DJs Wizz, Drew, Black Ice, Bash, Genius, M-Jay, Boogie Benz and DJ Dollz of whom the last two made it to top four. On the well-lit stage with an ostentatious back drop of glittery ‘Mfalme’ inscription, several sublime skills were showcased such as remixing the national anthem, clipping an excerpt of President Kibaki’s speech in the set and also mixing with one’s back facing the decks among others.

The other judges comprised of DJs John of Homeboyz, Krowbar (last year’s winner of the competition), Gussy of Silverstar, Moorey of Inferno DJs, Stylez and Space. Contestants were judged on a slew of abilities including beat matching, scratching, innovativeness, equipment know-how, choice of music and connecting with the crowd, as well as swagger. After the showdown, Silverstar DJs were a great crowd tickler as they brought life back to the crowd with dancehall music till the night came to a close.

Success

This is the second competition of its kind, and Pilsner Brand Manager Dan Angima says the success of the first one led to the launch of the second one. This latter one however was marred with a bit of tumult, as there were claims of irregularities and incompetent non-DJ judges sent by the partnering DJ houses in the preliminary stages of the contest.