28 Jun 2015

After realising that many young people aspired to be disc jockeys (Djs), Leatile Rapoo, took it upon himself to open YDJ Academy.

The Gaborone-based academy was established in 2010 after he realised he had nothing to fall back on. Rapoo, who trades as YDJ,  said he was tired of deejaying only and needed something to keep him busy all week while waiting for gigs.

His experience after a gig in Namibia opened his eyes and gave him an idea to start something solid and perhaps a legacy to the next dj generation.

Rapoo narrates that in 2010 he missed a flight back home and had no money to buy another ticket, and his only option was to hitch hike from Windhoek at least to the Botswana border of Mamuno.

Luckily he managed to get a ride from a truck but its destination was Charleshill, he had to sleep in Charleshill and with no one there to accommodate him.
He had to make a fire and sleep by the fire.

“It was a very cold night and I had not had any proper meal for two days and I was in desperate need of a proper bath,” explains Rapoo.

He says his mother called him around midnight and asked him just one question.

Why are you a Dj’; Rapoo says at that moment he also called his friend and asked him the same question as to why is he a Dj.

And his stage name YDJ was born there, but he says he then thought of ways to make a living out of his craft not just playing but also imparting skills to others.

Opening the dj academy was a blessing for most hungry young people who wanted to learn the art of deejaying and it has produced good djs around especially female djs who in the past have not been keen but had the talent. But, Rapoo says a lot of times women are afraid to take risks in just taking dj lessons.

Rapoo adds that the dj industry in Botswana is growing only as a form of entertainment, but business sense it is still lacking as many enjoy doing gigs for free or paid in kind in form of food or beverages.

This, he says kills the showbiz industry as well as the one who is trying to make a living out of their artistic talent. When he started his business, he had no experience or capital to get the project off the ground.

Determination was the only thing that helped him get his business running. Rapoo says he had to raise funds as he had to buy necessary equipment for his students. Now, his academy is a Botswana Qualification Authority (BQA) accredited dj trainer.

This academy provides services such as teaching professional deejaying, Public Address and Music System, Stage and Lighting Assembly, Event Management and Solutions and Mentoring of Dj’s. Since the school opened its doors it has produced more than 200 individuals.

His advice to his students and any aspiring dj is that they should take their craft serious like any business or career. He says a dj booth should be respected and treated as an office which is seen as a means of livelihood for such djs.

He emphasises that any dj should educate themselves such that they are able to read contracts. Rapoo also appeals to djs to deliver to their clients and not for themselves and/or friends or their fellow djs.

He says most djs when at a gig play music for their peers, forgetting that they have been hired and that they should actually serve the needs of the crowd as most of the time the audience is their client and that entertaining the crowd and giving them what they want and more is actually what makes a good Dj. Ends