When Brandon DJ Maniack Thompson was nine years old, he deejayed for the first time at a birthday party. Ten years later, he’s one of the hottest up and coming deejays on the island.
Maniack won the 2017 Hott 95.3 Come Up DJ competition and now he’s the talk of the town.
Looking back on how far he has come, Maniack told WEEKEND BUZZ he was humbled and pleased.
“When I was nine years old I deejayed at a birthday party but I was just playing that song over and over again from a computer. After that party my friends were just telling me I would make such a great deejay,.I guess they were just trying to make me feel good because I was only playing one song,” he recalled.
He really got into deejaying three years later when he got his first piece of equipment.
The second year University of the West Indies student said he still had a long way to go.
“Since I won the Hott 95.3 Come Up Competition, I have gone up a level, I could say. Since I started until now it’s been a work in progress. From where I came from playing at a few parties now going to bigger events like Kraze and Waiki and so on, I started to develop a love for the art. I started as an intern on Slam 101 FM. I entered the competition to get on radio and I’m really happy I got to do that,” he said.
Maniack said he felt great about the victory and was taking the time to enjoy all that came with it.
He said he didn’t have his own time slot on the station as yet, but was enjoying getting to fill in whenever the opportunity arose.
“It was a great success for me and I feel great about it. Very satisfied. But I didn’t let it take up too much of my brain because it’s just a small step. My following has really increased though. A lot of people have reached out telling me I have great talent and I should continue doing what I’m doing,” he added.
The confident deejay said he always felt he would have won.
“I had high beliefs that I could do it. I worked hard towards it and prepared hard for it. I prepared for it like a week before. That process was kind of tight on me in terms of time management and so on with what I do at school and so on.”
He is now focused on preparing to take his career to even greater heights.
“My next step for my music career right now is to focus more on my music production. In addition I plan to enter the Red Bull Competition next year.
“I’ve been preparing for that all along. A year ago I started using the turntables. When Puffy won it, a lot of people were telling me I should get myself up there in terms of the turntables and take it seriously. So that’s where my focus is now,” he said. (DB)
