Capital Fm mixmaster Joseph Mwenda aka DJ Joe Mfalme has been in the game for a couple of years now. He is one of the most sought after Kenyan disc jockeys for club gigs, private parties, corporate events, and even international events.
However, one does not become a sought after professional in one day, it takes time, hard work and a lot of patience, Joe Mfalme may not have won the Pilsner Mfalme competition way back in 2007 but he took it upon himself to build on the platform that he had gained and built his craft to become one of Kenya’s finest disc jockeys.
The Sauce spoke to the cheerful deejay about how to become a better deejay and these are the five things that he mentioned.
1. Do practice.
Practice makes perfect, with every practice session you learn more. You may not be able to play using a certain piece of equipment but if you purpose a few hours of your day to practicing, you will be able to learn the ropes.
2. Do music research.
Music is the biggest resource to a deejay and to DJ Joe Mfalme music is like fuel in a car. Therefore, it is vital as a deejay that you research heavily on different genres of music, the latest music, old music, the history of music in order to understand the different aspects of music. A deejay who knows his music is able to cater to different types of audiences.
3. Network.
According to DJ Joe Mfalme, your work as a deejay does not end with you mixing songs at an event, it goes beyond that. It includes interacting with your fans, clients and forming relationships that are beneficial to your brand, this includes showing up for meetings, going out to events and meeting potential clients and telling them what you do. This helps in forging your career forward, they say, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”
4. Invest in your career.
As earlier mentioned, DJ Joe Mfalme believes that being a deejay is more than mixing on the decks, he also believes in investing in different aspects of your career, from building a brand, how you look, your equipment and even employing people to help you become a better professional.
5. Time Keeping is a priority.
DJ Joe Mfalme can almost attribute his success to his time management skills. According to him, timekeeping is a priority because time is money and time wasted can never be recovered. He also values his client’s time, therefore he is always at least 30 minutes early to an event to set up and make sure everything is set for the event. Not only is time keeping a good habit, but it also keeps clients happy which will ensure that you retain the client and become a better professional at the end of the day.
Dj Joe also advises that as a deejay, you should not be caught up in the hype. He goes on to say deejays should not indulge on the job. Do not disrespect the client no matter how much or how little they are paying and do not take money from artists especially upcoming ones in order to get their songs played.
Dj Joe Mfalme who hails from Meru county has received many nominations and awards over the years. He is also TV deejay on The Turn-Up show on Maisha Magic. He has also worked with brands such as Guinness, Safaricom, Coke Studio Africa, and KFC just to mention a few.
