The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

CONQUERING her nerves, Donneisha "Baby D" Fox came out on top in the Stoli’s Most Original DJ competition, the finale of which took place at Club Ibiza on Saturday night.

The competition, launched by Burns House Group of Companies in conjunction with 100 Jamz last month, was open to all men and women over 18, aiming to prove the most original and talented. Each participant submitted a 15-20 minute demo that included Bahamian music, hip hop, R&B, pop/top 40, reggae/culture and soca.

From the submissions, 20 finalists were chosen to have their demo featured on the 100 Jamz Thunderstorm party. Listeners had the opportunity to vote for their top 10, who then had a chance to mix live on 100 Jamz’s Thunderstorm.

From the night she got the chance to mix live on 100 Jamz, DJ Baby D said the feeling was unbelievable. The moment she heard her name called as the winner on Saturday night, she said it was surreal. From beginning to end, she said the entire Stoli and 100 Jamz experience was amazing.

"When we all played on the Thunderstorm show, that was my first time playing live and I was so scared at first but then it turned out really fun for me. I received a lot of positive feedback. People was like they didn't know I had that kind of talent and skill. When it was my time to get on stage at Ibiza, I was a bit nervous at first but once I got into it I felt quite relaxed," DJ Baby D told In Ya Ear.

She got herself together by saying a prayer before hitting the stage, and stayed focused on being humble through it all.

"We had to stick to the format, mixing the six genres of music. We could not use any sound effects or scratching so it was basically mixing and transitioning. I got the crowd involved, put on a show and had fun with it. The only thing that was going through my mind when I heard my name was ‘Wow! God, you are truly amazing," said DJ Baby D.

She received prizes including an internship at 100 Jamz for one month, which includes being featured on the 100 Jamz Thunderstorm, Beats headphone by Dr Dre and Stoli Elit. Her five-week internship with 100 Jamz officially started on Monday and she hopes to one day earn a permanent spot at the station to further her craft and love for music.

"I have been doing this since the age of 15, and that is eleven years. I just really wanted to do this for the females and let them know that anything is possible through prayer, humility and hard work. My dad use to deejay in the 70s and my mom loves music so I grew up around it. After I saw my dad do it, I got really fascinated and said this is something that I can really learn to do. He didn't even want me to get into deejaying so I had to basically learn everything by myself and that gave me my initial push. I always said my dream was to be one of the biggest female deejays in Nassau," said DJ Baby D.

Winning the competition was a "breath of fresh air" she said, also adding that she knocked down a lot of barriers coming out "I think we need to change it up a little bit instead of the same old. For women that aspire to be deejays, I wouldn't even say the sky is the limit because anything that you put your mind to, you can do. I definitely don't want to stop here, I just want to keep going," said DJ Baby D.

AnnMarie Romer, a brand manager at Burns House Group of Companies, said the last time they held a DJ contest was the Heinieken Green Synergy Contest several years ago. She said the Burns House is regularly trying to find ways to increase engagement with their consumers.

"The whole mantra of Stoli is originality and Stoli encourages all of its consumers to be the most original you. If you are a hairdresser, we encourage you to be the most original hairstylist; if you are a DJ, we encourage you to be the most original DJ; if you are a musician, we encourage you to be the most original musician. We wanted to use this contest as a platform to showcase the best DJ talent that we have here in Bahamas. We looked for individuals who have the ability to mix, who are charismatic, who are unique and original in their approach to music.”