Its a shame! For any DJ to say Ghanaian artistes are currently not doing good music as compared to other countries. This is a big lie! The truth is most of our DJs are just obsessed with foreign contents with a certain mindset that they have the best technologies and technical know-how, therefore it assist them in producing at a certain high quality as compared to our local music creators.
Interesting, we have something like a bank of music with recordings before independent and after independent, imagine, Ghana had independence somewhere 1957 and 62 years on, we have been graced with lots of beautiful songs from E.T. Mensah, Ampadu to Daddy Lumba, Obrafour, Sarkodie and now Fameye, Qwamina MP, Tulenkey, Euni Melo, Queen Haizel, Kurtis Yardie, Xupa, Efe Keys, Lipssy Brew, Lofty Fullpage, and more. This is a very big deal of music we have and not being able to select about 80% of these amazing selection of songs to satisfy our music demands and leave 20 percent for other foreign selection is something “I just can’t think far” about.
DJs blame the audience for choices of music they groove to, the public blame the DJ for choices of songs dey select and play. Blame here and there in a thug of blames where I as a music fella think the DJ is the one who holds the key to the playlist and controls how the public would connect with his choices of music.
Let us analyse it this way, who should enjoy the song?
Even in the DJs bad mood, his job is to make the listener of his music selection happy, it is not what he, the DJ, enjoy that the public would enjoy, so he must try his best to entertain the crowd irrespective of how bad he feels about himself. This is called professionalism.
Qualities of a good DJ
From my experience, I mark DJs on these 4 qualities
1. How to make a very old song sound new
2. How to make unknown song known
3. How to make a new song very popular
4. How to keep the crowd/audience/listeners in the dancing mood and sustain them enjoying him for longer period.
Very critical
If you posses these few qualities, I grade you as a very good DJ
Choices of songs
DJs just don’t expand their playlists. Some don’t research for new but good contents. They feed on known names and popular hits.
Which DJ should commit to making the song popular for you to grab and play? Late loomer lol
Sometimes you should be the pacesetter to create hits for other DJs to pick up. This adds up to your qualities.
Very often these days, the DJs want to be paid for every new and unpopular songs before they play, well you must feed yourself and family so I don’t have any problem with demanding some sort of motivation or charges to play songs
But hey Mr DJ! If you take the money, play that song and make it popular in your own way, don’t chop the cash, play one and sit on the song like a couch.
You might be sitting on someone’s destiny, that is a very bad habit.
To end, I want to use this opportunity to thank all the hard working DJs pushing Ghanaian music to the extreme and supporting the budding Acts to flourish.
But Please, the BPM thing is too much. Please, let’s also consider random playlist or jukebox playlists.
The pitching and fast tempo is sometimes distorting.
Article by Mixtic Romras (Youngprs.com)
(Pimpim police Da Industry police)
