‘Five minutes from legendary’: DJ Boof aka Da Shutdown

Known for bringing his electrifying energy to any venue, DJ Boof (@djboof) has made a name for himself as the new DJ to get familiar with. Outside of being the most exciting and entertaining disc jockey across the globe, you may also see him on day time’s television No. 1 talk show, The Wendy Williams Show, or on tour with superstar Nicki Minaj and Platinum Rapper Fabolous as he is their official DJ. Now it’s time for The Brooklyn DJ to take his career to the next level and start producing music, leading up to the release of his project. Stay tuned for more details on DJ Boof.

From the outside looking in,

From the outside looking in, DJ Boof is full of energy, spontaneous, and a hard worker who loves to entertain on all levels. For example, through music I interact with the crowd during my set. I get them involved vocally and by dancing, either myself or getting the crowd to feel the music and dance. Even the way I dress can be considered entertaining. It’s a form of entertaining on another level. I like to incorporate everything into entertaining. It’s a package deal when you get the DJ Boof experience…from my personality, to my Deejaying skills, all the way to my style of dressing.

What is the significance of your name and how did you get that name?

The significance of my name stems from me watching a movie called, “Teen Wolf”. There is a character played by Susan Ursitti named, “Boof”. Although, the character is female the name gravitated towards me and I felt that it was a really dope name. So, I decided to make it my own and turned it into something even more unique. Boof, is a memorable name and so is the “DJ Boof” experience! Combined it’s a lethal memorable & enjoyable experience.

Describe your style.

My style is very unique. It’s explosive and mysterious. I enjoy breaking barriers and challenges which allows me to be very diverse. I encompass more than 1-dimension when it comes to deejaying.

What was the first record you started scratching and mixing on the turntables?

The first record I started scratching and mixing on the turntables was a DJ Jazzy Jeff record.

You are a pretty diverse DJ, describe the music scene in your neck of the woods?

I am very diverse but, the music scene in my neck of the woods consist of hip hop and reggae. I actually started out primarily as a reggae/ hip hop dj. My love of music allowed me to branch out into other genres and master deejaying other forms of music. That passion for music gave me the advantage of being able to grasp different formats of music and blend it in an appealing way that people enjoy it no matter the genre or era it was made.

How is it to work live sets with some of today’s biggest stars?

It’s definitely fun! At the same time it’s a humbling and blessed feeling because I get the chance to work with artist that I am a fan of music wise. I get to work with them and be a part of their camp. We get to creatively interact and collaborate with one another. It’s basically making history because I get to be involved in a chapter of their musical career and vice versa.

Who and what are your influences?

A cliché answer would be to say that my influences for music came from a certain artist or song. To be honest, my music influences isn’t a “who” but it’s a “what”. So, what is that influence? Plain and simple, Music is my influence! Watching how music creates happiness and seeing how music alters a variety of emotions from people. Like Henry Longfellow said, “Music is the universal language of mankind”. Music can eliminate differences, dislikes, sadness, and it evokes all sorts of unity under one roof when it’s played. I am lucky to witness that every time I do a set.

What artist are you listening to right now?

Fabolous, Nicki Minaj, Bryson Tiller, Big Sean , J Cole, And Kendrick Lamar.

Who would you like to work with in the future?

Calvin Harris, Tiesto, and Afro Jack

What would be the steps you would take as a Dj to break an artist?

The artist needs to have good material/ good music and we would have to work on steps to market it
They need to be Consistent
Talent and drive is a must

With the ability for EVERYONE to be a “DJ” via technology, what are some of the challenges that serious professionals face?

People don’t take it seriously! They are doing it because it is a trend and they don’t really learn to master the craft. They lack the ability to gauge the crowd and know when to play certain music. They just get into it and start playing all the current top 10 songs at once. Being a DJ is not just about playing a hit record. You need to learn the fundamentals; scratching, blending, transitioning etc.. It’s also important to know the history of the music you’re playing. Just don’t know that it’s the latest song. Know if it was sampled and what is the original song that it was sampled from. Also the music composition, it’s important as well, just knowing that the beat sounds good isn’t good enough if you take being a DJ serious and call yourself a professional DJ.

Besides his shine with Wendy Williams, Nicki Minaj and Fabolous, DJ Boof is an international sensation in his own right. Recently his presence was felt throughout South Africa rocking crowds at the hottest party spots in the country…take a look: