From The Dish To The Disc: Meet A Boy Who Went Through The Same Pathetic Life As Mbusi But Enjoys Great Success Today… What He Is Doing Is Unbelievable!
Even those in the kitchen have bigger dreams than yours. Don’t think all they think is how to prepare you a sweet meal as you swing on that office chair and gaze at your PC as you run errands and other duties that do not need a sweat.
Here is a boy who started off as a cook in one of the radio stations in Nakuru before he could rise to become one of the most revered and influential DJs in Nakuru.
Charles Mogire, popularly known as DJ Charlie was born in Kisii but raised in Nakuru. It was after his high school in 2009 that he realized life was different from what he had seen it as a student.
Here he was alone. No money to proceed to college, Charles was forced to look for something that would bring him money and help him feed his poor family. So he landed a job as a guard where he earned 2,500 shillings.
He would later abandon the job and land at Hero Radio as a cook. And it was here at Hero Radio that his dream to become a DJ was born. As a tea-boy, DJ Charlie would serve workers at the radio station and sometimes as he delivered tea to the studios, he would be fascinated by how things were done.
DJ Charlie
This forced him to regularly visit the studio and luckily, the presenters and producers were always kind to him.
“I would finish my kitchen chores early enough so that I would go to the studio and see how things were done,” Charles reveals to Ghafla in an exclusive chat.
It was here that he started off with virtual Djying skills, learning gradually and would put it into practice in the studios when he was allowed to try his luck.
“At hero Radio, apart from Cooking for the presenters and cleaning the compound, I got a chance to access the studio, see how things were done and get a chance to give one or two jokes on air before going back to my duty as a cleaner. My dream was to become a dj though i was trying everything to see which one will work for me since comedy and djying were both my passion. Although I couldn’t raise money to join any deejay school, i learned basic virtual dj skills which i used in small events around my village. I had the small reputation since everyone in my area knew I was working with Hero radio though they didn’t know what work i was doing there… “at the end of the day i was a staff at a Radio station”, that enough made them respect Me. The radio helped me grow both Comedy and djying. despite being the cook, i would finish my duties early so that i could get enough time to spend in the studio and see how things are done.I was later given a slot to do a show as a deejay on club hero but still had basic Virtual Deejaying skills.”
So where did you get all this fame from? We ask him. Charles smiles and says:
“My name as DJ Charlie started getting known around Nakuru when all these happened and people started recognizing me as a deejay although i wasn’t professional yet. I met my childhood friend who had a deejay school and offered to teach me how to deejay professionally but part time since i couldn’t pay the fees, I had to work still as a cleaner and a secretary at his school in order to get the lessons. I agreed to his terms and started working with his school of which in return he would teach me professional deejaying skills. I did this for 3 months. I wasn’t getting enough time to learn well but I used the small opportunity I got well and after less than 4 months I was a professional deejay in both deejay software and live mixing. I could go to the cyber on weekends and learn more online and then perfect them when had a chance to do it live.”
Today, DJ Charlie is the most sought after DJ in Nakuru and beyond. With a following of more than 28,000 fans on facebook and 3,000 followers on twitter, Charlie remains the most revered Nakuru DJ.
He has already signed with system unit and his skills are impeccable.
And what is his take on the standoff between DJs and artistes in Kenya?
“Djs should not pay any penny to play Kenyan music. Instead, it is the artistes who should pay us to play their songs.”
I am confused DJ Charlie, honestly.
“Because if I won’t play local music, it will be hard for local music to be played, because I don’t have 15, 000 to pay and that means am risking being arrested if I play local music”
