-takes coveted title in inaugural Digicel ‘Bring the Beat’ amateur DJ competition

By Tamica Garnett
AFTER more than 100 contestants had participated in five weeks of intense competition, West Side’s Keston Tyrell, aka ‘Selector Keston’, was the proverbial last man standing when the curtains came down on the Digicel ‘Bring the Beat’ amateur DJ competition early yesterday morning.For accomplishing such a feat, Tyrell has won himself some $500,000 in cash and prizes.

The event was held at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall tarmac, where the versatile disc jockey proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is truly ready to roll with ‘the big boys’ after persevering week after week and challenge after challenge to capture the top reward — and bragging rights to boot — for the next year.

Finishing in second place was another favourite throughout the competition, Berbician Travis Hart, aka ‘DJ Vybz’; while third place went to none other than the amusing Smidjit.

A ‘HISTORIC’ FEAT
Describing his win at the inaugural event as “historic”, Selector Keston has said he is very honoured by the victory. “I’m overwhelmed!” he said.

“For me it meant more than just music; it was historic. Being Guyana’s first Digicel ‘Bring the Beat’ champion is what I was aiming for. The title behind it is tremendous, so there’s no way to explain how accomplished I feel,” he disclosed.

From the ‘get-go’, Keston was one DJ in the competition to always get mad crowd support in almost every round -– each in its own right an event which pushed the DJs to the limit, often challenging them to do much with little, and with restrictions on genres and types of music the deejays could play. But through it all, Keston always managed to stay on top of his game.

“I’m overwhelmed. For me it meant more than just music; it was historic. Being Guyana’s first Digicel ‘Bring the Beat’ champion is what I was aiming for. The title behind it is tremendous, so there’s no way to explain how accomplished I feel” – Selector Keston

Hart was another deejay who deserved his place in the finals. Though he was always garnering noticeable support, the semi-final in Linden was when ‘Vybz’ really captivated the audience with his mixing skills.

Luck was on the side of ‘Smidjit’, whose real name is Cletus Smith. He made it back into the finals after winning a wildcard play-off earlier in the night when the competition kicked off.

With the finals of the competition being held in Georgetown, it was always expected to be a tough night for the deejays, whose continuation in the competition depended heavily on their ability to impress and animate the crowd.

DOWN TO BUSINESS

Following the wildcard play-off, things really got down to business, with each of the six finalists being challenged to play a five-minute mix that must include four random songs that they were given by the judges.

Only three deejays moved on after this round. The other participants in this round were Linden’s Jefferson Meusa, aka ‘DJ Spotlight’; Shequille Sparman, aka ‘Selector Shaqq’; and Brian Joseph, aka ‘DJ Bentley’. Keston was actually first disc jockey out on the stage in this round, and the 28-year-old quickly established that he had walked with his crew, which helped him garner big support.

DJ Bentley was up next, and a less-than-lukewarm crowd response clearly indicated that he was not making it past this round. Shaqq followed, and he, too, failed to animate the patrons.

About the middle of Smidjit’s performance, things finally started picking up, and patrons didn’t have to regret they had come out.

Selector Spotlight had good opening songs, starting off with Buju Banton’s “Our Father In Zion”, but he spoiled it all by fusing his music in a kaleidoscope of rushed tunes, the dizzying effect of which had one anticipating his exit.

CROWD GONE WILD
And then there was Vybz, who once again had the crowd going wild, with patrons blowing horns and creating flame throwers using insecticides, giving a fitting close to the performance of the final six, and having many believing that he had it in the bag.

Spotlight, Selector Shaqq and DJ Bentley were collectively awarded the fourth place finish, and received their prizes before the final three took to the stage once again, faced with the test of selecting one song to play under a number of categories, among which were “Kiddies”, “Guyanese”, “Ladies” and “Fete-a-holic”.

In the end, Keston took the title, but kudos must be given to many of the other DJs, who, though finding many of the challenges beyond them, still showed that they had pretty good mixing skills.