The Detached podcast
Welcome to the podcast. This is a space where I get to vocalize my thoughts and dive deep into conversations with some truly remarkable individuals. It’s not about surface-level chit-chat—this is where we get into the real stuff. We talk about the things that matter: health, fitness, relationships, and the process of breaking free from the limitations we place on ourselves.
I don’t believe in small talk, because nothing meaningful ever comes from it. So, let's dig deep into the topics that can actually change your life. I want to bring you value, provoke your thinking, and help you see the world differently.
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Sophia
The Detached podcast
EP : 98 From Dubai Bling : DJ Bliss Unplugged
What does it take to carve your own path in a city known for its glitz and glamour? DJ Bliss pulls back the curtain on his remarkable journey from a college student renting DJ equipment to becoming one of Dubai's most recognized entertainment personalities.
With disarming honesty, Bliss reveals how meditation became his sanctuary amid fame's chaotic demands. "Practicing gratitude and being humble takes effort and practice, like everything else," he shares, describing how these practices ground him through career highs and lows. His entrepreneurial spirit emerged early—working in his father's toy stores at 14, paying his own college tuition through DJ gigs, and eventually supporting his siblings' education before establishing multiple successful businesses.
The conversation shatters common misconceptions about Dubai wealth. Born and raised in a city where Emiratis comprise just 20% of the population, Bliss built his empire from scratch, emphasizing that Dubai's transformation offered opportunities for those willing to work for them. This multicultural environment profoundly shaped his musical identity: "My genre is really a representation of Dubai. I want to make music that works at a duty-free where everyone from around the world would love it."
Perhaps most compelling is Bliss's raw account of his Netflix "Dubai Bling" experience. The disparity between his authentic self and edited portrayal triggered an avalanche of social media hatred that tested his mental health. "It's hard to take it all in. No matter how thick your skin is, it hurts," he admits. Yet this challenging period ultimately reconnected him with his true passion—creating music that brings joy.
From recording unreleased tracks with Will Smith to manifesting 90% of the goals on his vision board, Bliss demonstrates the power of visualization alongside persistent effort. As he evolves his sound by infusing house music with Middle Eastern influences, he remains committed to positive impact: "I'm detaching myself from what no longer serves me and moving toward things that impact myself, people, and life in a positive way."
Ready to be inspired by authentic stories of resilience and reinvention? Listen now and discover how finding your unique lane might be the key to lasting fulfillment.
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Thank you for listening.
All right, DJ Bliss, thank you for coming on the podcast today.
Speaker 2:Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:How are you feeling today?
Speaker 2:Feeling good. Good day. The sun's out, the weather's getting a little cooler. It's almost time to switch the water heaters on. I think it's a good time in Dubai when the weather starts to get better. Kids are going back to school season's starting again. It's a good it's. I think it's a good time in dubai, like when the weather starts to get better, kids are going back to school season's starting again.
Speaker 1:It's a nice time of year are you saying kids going back to school? Has there been a headache for you?
Speaker 2:um, you know I'm glad they're going back to school. It's hard to entertain them and you know they want like constant entertainment and it's uh, it's, it's, it's. It's not easy. They have a lot of energy to give and to get and you know, I think school just helps out. I think school is too long. I still think like it should be shorter. I feel like they go away for too big of a part of a day. Aw, yeah.
Speaker 1:That's kind of cute to say that this ends. So, even though you just said that you're feeling great today, would you actually tell me the honest answer if you weren't feeling good?
Speaker 2:I would. I would just like break it down, but luckily you caught me Like I've only done one thing before I came here. I haven't really gone through my phones and my emails and what life has, so I think maybe that's why.
Speaker 1:So when you say I think you would see it. No like, think maybe that's why so when you say I think you would see it, no like if I was, do you know, sometimes people can have a good shop front. Yeah, and because you're in the music business and because you're in media business, sometimes it can be quite difficult because you can have a poker face fair, fair.
Speaker 2:And also the eyes never lie. I don't know if you can see my glass, my eyes, but it's one of the reasons why I wear glasses all the time, because I work at night and day and the kids and all that. So I always think like if you're tired, like the eyes never lie. So yeah, I think you can hide it in all of your face.
Speaker 1:Maybe you have a poker face, but the eyes always tell the truth true, true, um, so I'm guessing, then you're a good judge of character, right?
Speaker 2:I like to think I am.
Speaker 1:When have you been proven wrong then? Do you have any massive examples throughout your career where you've taken, I suppose, trust in someone and you've been mistaken?
Speaker 2:I mean, I think I've been through it all, you know, and I think it's the fabric of my character and, yeah, I mean I've been proven wrong, you know, lost trust, you know, just picking up on the words that you mentioned, been humbled, all of it, you know, I think. I think you know good days and bad days and uh, and I think they're all just important lessons and it gets you to where you need to be and that's right here, in this moment, right now, I think so when you say humbled, do you have any kind of like pinnacle moments throughout your career that you've been super humbled?
Speaker 2:On a constant, honestly, on a constant. I think you know practicing gratitude and you know being humble is not just something you just learn and that's it. I think it, you know, takes a lot of effort and practice with like everything else. You know, like you get better at this podcast by doing more podcasts. And uh, gratitude and uh and humbleness. A lot of it comes from meditation. You know a lot of the uh.
Speaker 2:The meditation that you start with really just, you know, takes away the ego, uh, you know, gets you face to face with just reality or shadows, and you know who you are as a person and those moments, if you can be humble enough to humble yourself in that moment, it's a pretty cool experience and it's on the regular. It happens all the time and as time passes and you practice gratitude and being humble, I think you get better at it. Like your game of golf every now and then you still need to call the instructor and let him come over and watch your technique and see if you're doing well. And like the pilot who reads the book right before he flies the plane. I mean, he knows how to fly the plane but you know he brings out a book just to remind himself about what it is. So I think those, those think those things help a lot why did you start meditation?
Speaker 2:by chance, maybe, I think I was drawn to it. You know, when I was uh in my early 20s, I did a thing called reiki um and for the listener.
Speaker 1:What's reiki?
Speaker 2:uh, for listen, it's, it's like using energy to heal, um, it's, it's a form of, I would say, a form of meditation, and it uses, you know, palms and energy healing. So I went to this course and I was attending, and I took my dad with me as well, and I was like this is interesting, there's something over here, for sure. And then, you know, I chose the name DJ Bliss. The word bliss is also very common in the meditation world.
Speaker 2:And in a lot of like, uh, spirituality talks and a lot of motivational talks as well, um, you know the likes of Deepak Chopra always dropping that word everywhere, and I think you know bliss, the, the highest form of happiness, uh, and the fact that the word is very, you know, related to meditation, um, and then just bits and pieces here and there, you know a little meditation sleep audio at night, a little um, ice bath at five in the morning, with some breath work. You know, course, here, a little bit here, a little bit there, and I like it. So you know it's, it's a good, it's a good part of, uh, my fabric.
Speaker 1:I say so you just mentioned how you brought your father, so I'm guessing your family's quite open-minded.
Speaker 2:I mean, obviously they are. They had a kid who was a DJ and they're from the Middle East. They are pretty open-minded. My dad, I remember taking him because he had like leg or back pain. At the time we were trying everything and I was like you know, know, come with me, let's just go do this. No, no harm. So I took him to it. He didn't really practice it so much afterwards, but I like to believe that there was some kind of healing energy for him. Um, and now just, you know, coming back and thinking about it here in this interview, just thinking how cool it was that my dad was part of, uh, that first time so what kind of family did you grow up in?
Speaker 2:my siblings were all in like multinational jobs uh how many siblings yeah? We're five all together. Oh wow, so yeah, big family yeah, typical uh, middle eastern family.
Speaker 2:I don't know how my mom did it. Every like I, I call her every now, and then I'm like, wow, mom, um, and my dad was, uh, you know, the sole provider of the house. My mom was, you know, fully dedicated to us. Um, he was in the toy business. I learned a lot of like business stuff from my dad, like over the summers. So go work, like at his office or at his retail stores, um, and yeah, that's how we grew up Four brothers, one sister.
Speaker 1:What did your father think of you when you said that you wanted to be a DJ? Or was there an actual moment where you were like Dad, I want to be a DJ.
Speaker 2:I don't remember that moment like that. I never really went. Hey, I'm going to be a DJ. I was DJing a little bit when I was in college and it was cool because I was able to like I was making some money there on the side, so I was DJing a couple of nights a week and, you know, I had some money to, like you know, eventually get my own car. As soon as I finished college, I immediately landed a radio job. So when I got into radio it was a bit more prestigious than just being a DJ, but actually for me it was great because DJ and radio, hand in hand, worked perfectly. So they liked it, you know.
Speaker 2:And then from there, maybe like many years later, I got into television presenting as well. So, and I was hosting events, like I was doing a lot of different things, not just DJing, you know, I was like hosting the Dubai International Film Festival. I'd like, at this point, presented in front of, like every royal family member. I'd like, at this point, presented in front of, like every Royal family member, you know, as part of my emceeing or hosting career, and doing TV and radio and DJ at the same time. So, but DJ is where I started as my first true love and today is you know where I'm back as well Kind of brought it back to the thing that I love the most.
Speaker 2:And I think they saw the journey. You know I opened my own companies and I had shops and I was supporting. You know I bought my mom her first car. Um, they saw how well I was doing. You know, for my career I had, like you know, office with staff and, you know, multiple businesses at this point. So I think they always saw it uh, growing and it was also their approval was always very important to me from a young age, you know, because I was doing something that was not within the norm of the Middle East. I said if my mom and dad are cool with it, then I'm cool with it as well. And then I always had to like you know, make sure I kept that in my mind like, whatever I did, would they like it or not like it? Because if they liked it or at least didn't mind it, if they didn't mind it, if they didn't mind it, then it would make life a lot easier what kind of kid were you?
Speaker 1:were you outgoing?
Speaker 2:if you ask me or my mom we'll we'll go through both um at what age?
Speaker 1:so, growing up, even as a child, were you someone who was very curious.
Speaker 2:Very curious Middle child Gemini.
Speaker 1:What does Gemini mean to you? Oh best star sign in the world Until the Middle East right. It twisted my arm Until I moved to the Middle East. I never used to look at star signs, but I feel like people really look into them.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I think yeah, it's definitely a Middle Eastern thing. We used to have this thing, like back in the days, like newspapers and magazines, there was the horoscope, so you'd always open it and read it.
Speaker 1:And it goes to the page.
Speaker 2:But yeah, Gemini fun, you know, fun personality, bad rep, I think you'll never get bored when you're around a Gemini that's what I hear a lot and creative a lot of the great creatives are Geminis. I think it is what you make of it at the end of the day, but there's always a little some truth to it.
Speaker 1:How would your mom describe you?
Speaker 2:My mom said I was, because I always tell her stories about my son, I'm like he's such a troublemaker. He's like, yeah, he's just like you. I'm like what I thought you did some nuts. Um, that's what I was. What my mom said I was very like, very like in my own world and, um, very mature for my age. Always, um, I always had to do whatever was on my mind, um, and I'm like great, that's great characteristics. Actually. You say I'm persistent and consistent from five. But yeah, those are the stuff that she says and I can see it. I can really see it. We have some videos of when I was like five years old and I'm watching like my son. I'm like the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree.
Speaker 1:How has your personality changed the minute you've kind of got into the DJing business?
Speaker 2:So long ago, I don't remember. I think it's a constant evolution. To be honest with you, you learn to be in different rooms and different meetings and meet different types of people, different nationalities, different settings, and I think you just learn to wear you know so many different hats as you're, as you're going along the journey, but I don't think it really changed who I was. You know, as far as my personality maybe brought it out, you know I I believe everyone's who they are inside. It's just about whether you are able to bring it out and just be who you are did you ever feel nervous being in these kind of rooms with high-profile people?
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 1:Imposter syndrome.
Speaker 2:For sure. I mean, I still get it Every time I step on a stage. That first few seconds you always have these like butterflies in your belly and you're not sure what happens and I always just think it's so weird that I get it. But apparently everyone gets it, you know, obviously, when it was a high-profile situation you're worried about, like reading a script, or you know teleprompter running and hoping that it's not going to go wrong or whatnot. But you hope for the best, you do your best and you know things always work out for the best. That's the mentality you should have Light. You know things always work out for the best.
Speaker 1:That's the mentality you should have Light bubble around you. Yeah, they say. 75% of people are afraid of public speaking.
Speaker 2:I can believe that.
Speaker 1:It's the second most terrifying thing for someone to do and the first one is death Wow.
Speaker 2:Right behind there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I swear.
Speaker 2:It is petrifying. I can see it. It's not. I think it's becoming a little better now with social media, but I still, I can still see it, you know is there anything that you tell yourself before you're going to perform that helps regulate your nervous system?
Speaker 1:yeah, don't f it up you got this?
Speaker 2:um no, I honestly I like to, just I. And if you ask people around me like I stay super calm uh, everything's gonna happen the way it's supposed to happen. Sometimes I have my whole set ready, sometimes I haven't got anything ready and you know, I believe everything is just the way it's supposed to be. Pause, breathe, relax.
Speaker 1:Let's go do this so take me along your journey of your first song that you created oh man, my first, the first I ever released yeah it wasn't a great song.
Speaker 2:Uh, I love the honesty. I, I I learned a lot from it. It was not the genre that I wanted to be doing At the time, it just sounded super cool. That was a humbling moment. There you go, you brought me back to a humbling moment and I just thought it was the greatest song in the world. It was my first song and I put so much energy and love into it. And you know, I talk about it in one of my videos. I'm like I, I loved it, but the world hated it, and that's just the reality. You know, um, where I go back and change it or not, do it, nope, do it again every single time, because you don't learn unless you do. And that song landed me another car deal. It got me. Uh, it opened my, my music chakra, my music releasing chakra. So I was now, I never had that. Well, I've never released a song before. No, well, that's behind me now. What's next? So it taught me a lot of great lessons and, yeah, I'm grateful for it.
Speaker 1:So you mentioned like you've been quite successful in terms of business. When I look at most successful people in the music industry, it seems like they start off with nothing. Do you think now I could be speaking from outside, where I don't actually know this information? But did you start your music career on being financially stable?
Speaker 2:No, not at all.
Speaker 2:Okay, so that's interesting then, yeah actually, when I was djing in college, by the last part of it I was actually paying my own college tuition myself as well, and I was rated by my own car and um, and even while I was in college, before I even dj'd, the way I bought my first bit of equipment was I would, I would rent it from someone and then re-rent it somebody else and then like, keep it for a long period. So if he was like I don't know, for example, 100 for a day, I'd say I'll give you 200, but let me keep it for a week. And he said, all right, fine but.
Speaker 2:I was renting it already like for way more money and I was making a profit on it, and now I had the equipment for a whole week to practice being a dj myself. So I would do a lot of those kinds of things and slowly start buying my own equipment and rent it and then having like all the stuff that I was doing. So I was very like switched on when it came to business, and that came from my dad, because I used to work at his office. I used to watch what he would do and I worked at his retail stores. As a very young kid, by the way, I was like 14, 15,.
Speaker 2:My summer holidays I'd be working with my dad always, and even as I got, you know, older, I would they do like leave me to run his. He had like a toy store and I was like working in the toy store at the age of like 14, 15. So I was, you know, I, I learned a lot of things and these things, I think, helped me. So by the time I finished my college, I was already paying my own college and then I started paying my uh younger siblings uh tuition as well and jump into radio. Now I'm a radio presenter and a DJ and I'm making even more money and got myself a convertible car like I was just, you know, very I was very like focus driven. I never took I don't, I don't, I don't even remember taking any money from my parents since, since college really.
Speaker 1:That's amazing.
Speaker 2:And when I started college it was off the back of a summer where I already had my first DJ gig at a theme park called Wonderland, and then I got fired from that job for not doing the job. I was learning how to mix, how to use the equipment, and I got fired from it and I was working with my dad as well. So I had some pocket money Go into college They've paid my tuition, obviously and then I started DJing while I was there. So I was already making my own money and by the end of it I was paying my own tuition, my siblings' tuition, and got my job, bought myself the car, so I learned pretty quick. So you know, I don't remember taking any. I don't even remember college days, but I would assume maybe like when I first started college. I don't even remember. Yeah, I was making my own money and just doing it all myself.
Speaker 1:I feel like there's such a misconception around Dubai, where people who grew up in Dubai, you know especially the Golden Spoon. Emirati's exactly yeah. So yeah, could you actually explore that a little?
Speaker 2:bit more, as in like, not all dubai people are rich. Yeah, I mean it's, it's, uh, it's fat, it's a fact. Um, there's people living, you know, regular lives, doing normal things. I mean there's the opportunity, you know, I'm sure I could have just studied, uh, you know, regular lives doing normal things. I mean there's the opportunity, you know, I'm sure I could have just studied, uh, you know, something in college or university related to management and then became a, you know, senior person, and then a ceo, maybe, and then maybe, you know, so on and so forth and um, but I chose a different route, you know, I followed my, my heart, I followed my passion, and it was a different route and I was able to build, like, all of this by myself, like it was literally from my first paycheck to, you know, all the offices and staffs and businesses and everything that I did all by myself.
Speaker 2:So I chose that path. The other option was available to me, and Dubai is a great place to live and there's opportunities like that. Some people are born into it, some people can achieve it just through their own career path as well.
Speaker 1:When life's too easy, there's less satisfaction to back it. You know, because you get this dopamine rush from things that you earn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and there's a lot of people doing that. Now you know, there's, uh, there's an amarti kid who wants to get into the coffee business and you know, his family business something completely different and he starts from scratch. Uh, you're going, uh, you know, you can have all the money in the world but you still have to go learn to be a barista. And you know, sit with certain people and learn, learn the art of it. So I think, uh, yeah, there's, it's, it's a misconception. I don't think it's a misconception. I mean, I think I think, there's people maybe, maybe from.
Speaker 1:I probably believe in the misconception because I'm from ireland, right? Yeah and I think from that side of the world it seems like oh, people in Dubai have it so easy and blah, blah, blah. You know like they?
Speaker 2:you mean like as a whole, or just the Emiratis, like the locals? Locals um yeah yeah, local, we're only 20 percent.
Speaker 1:Come on, guys, I thought it was 10 percent oh really, yeah, I think maybe 20. It's getting a lot smaller, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we're only 20. The government has really done a great job to take care of its people.
Speaker 1:Which is amazing.
Speaker 2:As they built the country and the cities for the whole world and there's a lot of great benefits for the locals and those benefits are changing but they're still there to support in any ways, you know. So, whether you want to build your house or you want to start a new business and you want to get a license when you get married, you might need help for it and you know those things are there for people to help them out, to take care of a very small population and I think it's great. There's, you know, from healthcare to all of those things. Now, maybe historically, you know, dubai wasn't, you know, as big as it was. Now you know, the population as a whole is increasing.
Speaker 2:So there was a lot more focus on the locals because it was, you know, they were just there and they were like majority families. But today it's like no, like families have expanded and you know, five kids turn into 15 grandkids and 15 grandkids turn into 20, 30 great grandkids. So generations are changing and you know people are trying different things, doing different jobs. You know today you'll find an emanati working at the cashier of care for you know, um, they're working on as uh hostesses and hosts on on on flights. They're doing their baristas and coffee shops because that's what they want to do. I think you know it's expanded a lot over time.
Speaker 1:What was Dubai life like growing up? Because it's so different now, right.
Speaker 2:I don't even remember anymore Very different. Yeah, I think maybe, like if you told me like which era, like I would be able to like really pinpoint because I'm, you know, born and raised here, never left, so I was here through it all.
Speaker 1:And it's been a real change, a real transformation. But what were some of the struggles that dubai faced through this transformation that you've acknowledged?
Speaker 2:I don't think there were so much struggles. I think it was all always in a positive. I think the struggle is to kind of like, uh, keep up with you know how, how fast it was moving, um, but it's the same story of streaming music or the same story of chat gpt or you know any of those things you know. At first you're like, whoa, this is a little too fast and too good to be true. But if you um, you know, if you look at the positives of it and if you surrender to it, then there's opportunities.
Speaker 2:I think and it's across the board for everything, every part of every single industry, whether it's a certain kind of sneakers that you want or a vinyl player, or if it's food at 2 am or a mall. You should not eat food at 2 am In case in case, I don't, I don't. Or if you want to take a run in the mall that you clean, you should not do the 2am In case in case, I don't, I don't. Or if you want to take a run in the mall, then you know I know, I did that the other day.
Speaker 2:Habibi, come to Dubai I know.
Speaker 1:So has there been anything that you know with the current Dubai itself that you're unhappy about? Because I can imagine I don't know, for being Irish right we have so many different nationalities in Ireland, but Ireland still has a lot less different nationalities than Dubai. Does it's so like it's so advanced when it comes to the amount of different nationalities that you have there? Do you feel like Dubai is being lost?
Speaker 2:No, because it's always really been like this. If you look at the percentage ratio, it's always been like that, right. Everywhere I went, my first radio job, there was not a single local over there. It was completely British, western expats over there. I was the first one, and then we have, like you know, our amortization rule is having what 10 or 20% locals working at the firms, right. So if you think about it over time, it's always been that 10, 20 percent uh locals working at uh the firms, right. So if you think about it over time, it's always been that 10 20 percentage mark.
Speaker 2:Anyways, it's just dubai has become bigger, the uae has become bigger, so it's just a lot more of us and a lot more of you guys. Um, so the the percentage, though, has always been the same, so I don't really feel it different. If anything, I see it more as a positive. I think it's impacted, you know, way more positively and it's helped speed the the process of this new dubai. And also, I love airports and I love duty-frees, and dubai is like one big duty-free. That's what it feels like people coming in, going out, different nationalities, and you know, and I like people watching anyways. So it's for me, I love it.
Speaker 1:So just to go back to like the whole music industry, you started off doing R&B, right? Yeah, yeah. So when I look back in time, like you, look at Tupac Biggie, oh, the content they were pushing out. Yeah, do you feel like there was a little bit of red tape with the content that you could push out? Being from Dubai, being from the Middle East, like because I feel like in the US, right, there's nowhere to take videos, anything goes, yeah, so do you feel like you have to be quite careful?
Speaker 2:You do have to be a little careful. You know, at the end of the day, we're not the United States and you know, I see these TikTok videos of like people just assaulting like authorities over there, like when I see it's coming from this culture over here, it's like whoa, so that's America for for you. And then there's, of course, they have their freedom of speech and whatnot, but also they have a lot of struggle and things that happen over there that doesn't happen over here. So, naturally, especially rap and hip-hop uh, you know, comes from a place of struggle and you know a lot of these great rappers were actually talking truth and you know that's kind of how raps change, I think, over time. There's not a lot of those like greats that write those great lyrics.
Speaker 2:I mean, as a rapper over here in the 70s or 80s, I mean, what was the real struggle? You know that was to rap about. It wasn't, you know? The struggle was really to trade across the creek and go to all these other countries and, you know, do business and you know the start of one of the greatest cities to ever exist. When you talk about rap, when we're talking about Biggie and Tupac, we're talking about New York. We're talking about LA. We're talking about, like you know, these places that were the core of rap music and the struggle was real and these guys are telling you like this poetry, it's art. So naturally they, you know they can release music like that.
Speaker 2:Now, I know there's a lot of violence associated to it as well, but it was part of their culture, it was the life that they were living. When you come back over here, we didn't have that. So that's why, you know, I think there's not a big culture of rap music and where you're seeing rap really come out next, outside of America or the UK, who are sort of the main, you know, exporters of that kind of music it's starting to come out of. You know the, the arab countries that have struggle, have numbers, have that kind of life the egypts, the morocco, the algeria, france. You know there's a lot of good rap coming out of there because of, uh, the stories that they have over here. We're in, we're in the middle of it, we're building the foundation of what the music culture is going to be over here and it's going to be a representation of what it's like.
Speaker 2:What we said earlier, it's 20% Emiratis and 80% all other nationalities from around the world and that could create something pretty cool, and because music is also really crossing boundaries and genres, and that's what I'm trying to do as well, myself as well. So when people ask me what, like my genres is, like it's really a representation of dubai. Like I feel like I want to be able to play a song at a duty free and everybody would love it. And that's how dance floors are, that's how stages are. When you go to these like big stages, like everyone flags from around the world, the music is universal, it's, uh, unconditional, it's, you know, it's what brings us all together.
Speaker 1:What does music mean for you?
Speaker 2:Medicine, emotions, stories and just part of my everyday life, to be honest with you.
Speaker 1:When do you get your most creative flow going?
Speaker 2:At night, for sure, at night.
Speaker 1:And is there times because, like I do see, like artists, like say, for an example, like michael jackson, wakes up at three o'clock in the morning and he wants song, he wants to produce it yeah so has it been there any, any moments or stories that you have like that, where you're just everything has to stop and you need to create?
Speaker 2:no, but I'm, I'm constantly at my desk and sometimes I'm like in there, I'm like I cannot leave, like there it's coming. You know, I could feel it, I could just feel something coming. So just mix playing around with ideas and getting there and just watching time, just, uh, you know the luxury, the, the greatest luxury or currency in the world time. Just spend, spend it on there and I could just feel like I'm going to come out with something.
Speaker 1:Do you think you can be creative when you're in a stressed state?
Speaker 2:No, not possible.
Speaker 1:So this is, like the interesting thing that I like to kind of unpack is the fact that when someone's like financially struggling or they're having like any sort of struggles at home, they can't be their true potential self so to create. Has there been moments in your career where your just creation has gone completely because you've had something happening in the background?
Speaker 2:I mean ups and downs all the time. And you know, because I, you know, thankfully I never had to like, okay, this is like a whole six months a year, I couldn't just do anything because of it. But you know, thankfully I never had to like, okay, this is like a whole six months a year, I couldn't just do anything because of it. But you know, like, you know, just be a business owner, the father of three kids, um, you know, having so much going on like around in life, like you know, I even look after my father's uh, business now because he had a stroke and he he's kind of like retired from work, so that there's that business, a couple of businesses that I had, which I'm slowly trying to like, just, you know, move away from. It's not even so much about like stress, like bad stress, it's just like having to. If you have to sign all these checks and release these payments and talk about who's leaving and who's joining, and hiring, and signing and releasing bank payments, like it becomes a lot on your plate. And when you have a lot on your plate, it doesn't leave room for creativity. You know, creativity needs to be just open, peace, space, time and, you know, freedom, and it's kind of what we spoke about when we first started.
Speaker 2:I don't know if it was off camera or on camera, you like, how are you having a good day? It was on camera, right, and you said would you tell me if I wasn't? And that's why I said, I think if, if I wasn't, you would probably know. And it's the same thing when it comes to creativity and music, because and you know, my answer to you was I haven't opened my phone yet, I haven't really, like, got into what's happening today and you keep it fresh and clean, and I think it's also another important part of before you go to sleep, not picking up your phone and doing that. And when you wake up in the morning, first hour, like your hour of power, let it be for you as well. So all those things, I so all those things, I think it's all those things that affect your time, your peace, your mind, for you to be able to be creative.
Speaker 1:How has fame affected your mental health, in a good way or a bad way? All ways.
Speaker 2:I want everything.
Speaker 1:Give me all the details. Broad question. So right, let's start with. How has it impacted your mental health negatively and do you have any kind of examples of moments where you've been in your deepest, darkest moments, because maybe you felt validation through fame likes the stage, the next gig that you've had?
Speaker 2:I would like you to kind of develop that a little bit I mean, the reason why I asked you to elaborate is because you know, I've been through so much, so many different career paths, almost um, but I think mental health was something that really popped up. Uh, you know, in the last few, and a lot's happened in the last like four or five years, you know, in the world around me family and just career choices so I think you know, what we spoke about earlier is about not having time and the stress of all these things that can cause a situation where you're not able to be creative. So when that becomes, when the, when the list becomes more and you're even less creative and not be able to do what you love doing the most, I think it leads you to a place of okay, are we like we're sitting at a table with, like, mental health? Now all right, because this is like this, turning into a pattern and you know I'm not feeling so good anymore. So I want to understand all of this, like what's on my plate and what's actually going on.
Speaker 2:So you know, and I always used to like listen to a lot of people talk about it, especially, like you know, a lot of artists, a lot of, like you know, people who used to bring that up and I never really quite understood it. I'm like you know what is the problem with being? You know, when you're famous, you have everything you wanted right. So what is there to, you know, suffer from? And uh, and then I, I really started understanding, with understanding it a lot more. You know, I was starting to like really dabble in this, like space and you know, everything was super stressful and like life was getting super real right before my eyes. So, yeah, we, I, I really felt like you know fame and and again. That's why I said I don't want to say this as a whole, but I think fame definitely takes its toll on your mental health if you don't really pay attention.
Speaker 1:I think you go from such high moments in your career that, of course, what comes with a high needs to go low right. So, how do you find yourself in the middle? So how do you regulate yourself to find yourself in the middle when you have such high situations?
Speaker 2:You know, for me it's not so much about the highs and the lows of fame, it's more about the lifestyle you know I couldn't really care that much about you know. Well, you know I was so famous yesterday and I'm only half. You know, I have half the likes and half the views and people are not. You know, I kind of like dealt with that a long time ago. It was it's more of, yeah, social media plays a big role in it. You know, people sitting behind their keyboards and just writing comments and and I think for me it's more from a place of well, that's not even true, that's not even my story and that's not what I did, that's not what I said, and you have the completely wrong example and picture of me from what you've seen. And that's where the problem really comes for me, really not about the other thing, where it's like oh well, so famous or not so famous.
Speaker 1:When you reach that level of fame now, where a lot of people know you, how do you trust people? How do you let people in, or are you cautious?
Speaker 2:I think I've become a really good judge of character now, and it's not really so much about letting people in or not letting people in anymore. I think it's just we're just here and we take it every day at a time. We take every person you know every person at a time as well and just follow your gut instinct and just you know every person at the time as well, and just just follow your gut instinct and just you know, be a little bit more thoughtful in your approach and I think we all have the answers. I think you know our, our intuition, or that voice within in our head or in your heart or in your gut. It usually has the right answer for you.
Speaker 2:it has something for you if you're curious enough with it and you tap in. You go back to like stories when you're like man you knew. You absolutely knew that feeling. It was so right. Why did you like go against it? Because you talked yourself out of it. You know you rarely. You I think you're that intuition feeling and coupled with your mind, your heart and just your knowledge. If you put it all together and really sat down and had some seriously good, deep conversations with yourself, you you'd be surprised how, how much you actually know yourself.
Speaker 1:Is there anything that makes your intuition foggy for you? For an example, I would suggest right, I used to drink alcohol, I gave up alcohol and then I felt like my gut feeling, my intuition, was crystal clear. Yeah. Is there anything that makes you foggy on your decision making? I?
Speaker 2:know the things I haven't done it. Your decision making, I know. I know the things I I haven't done it. I I know that, um, obviously it's, it's, it's part of your. You're keeping your physical body healthy as well. You know it's, it's a mind, body and spirit thing. So obviously you know, treat your body like this is your home, like this is your vehicle for life and you know it's import, import, export. Whatever you know the better you import, the better it exports. You know from what you eat, from what you say, from what you do, from how much you sleep, from how much water you drink, from you know whether you're eating the things that are good for you or not.
Speaker 2:Reduce inflammation. There's so many great things that you can be doing for your body. I think you know all that together can create a great body. You know a great body of work. If you may, and when you have this like this great body of work, it can do magic and wonders for you. But don't expect to be eating at 2 am and fast food and putting junk in here and trying to figure out why it's not working. Try putting diesel into your car and you'll understand.
Speaker 1:So with being a DJ, right like, your lifestyle isn't incredibly healthy when it comes to sleep and having regular patterns. How have you managed that? Have you been the typical dj that's fine here, there and everywhere for gigs and has maybe sacrificed your sleep like? Have you found yourself in those moments where you, your health has deteriorated over your passion and your growth of your career?
Speaker 2:I have had moments like that. There was a time where I was doing six radio shows a week. I was doing like two or three days of TV work and I was DJing three or four nights a week and I was working breakfast, morning radio. So I'd finish DJing at three in the morning and I was ready to go at like 5 am and I think I was was burning the candle from both ends, as they say. But now I'm like no, like now my, my, my sleep is super. I mean, obviously sometimes there's some schedules that make it a little bit difficult and also you know the kind of music that I play now and like the, the lifestyle is more like, you know, beach parties and concerts and festivals and, uh, different kind of parts, not all just like nightlife every day of the week, thank God.
Speaker 2:Because being a father now and obviously, Not so much about that, it's just I love playing clubs because it's like where I, you know, it's my playground. But I just like I think the party culture is changing. Look at all these parties that are happening in coffee shops now as well, like so many different things are happening, and just Dubai's actually got, you know, nine great months of weather too, so outdoor parties are so much better no-transcript approach you.
Speaker 1:Did you approach them or what happened?
Speaker 2:they approached me. I got an email. I thought it was spam.
Speaker 2:I didn't reply at first, and they wrote me another email back and they were like it's a production company who's filming a show for I think, I don't think they said netflix at the beginning and I'm like, whatever I like and really pay much attention, they asked me to send like an nda and uh, some other details and they took an interview and then interview two, interview three and and then next thing, you there was like. I was like I still don't believe it until there's a contract with, if I see the word Netflix, I'll believe it. And then one day we got this like email from Netflix. We had to go through this like website and check some stuff out. And then I think that day I was like, oh okay, this is really happening. And yeah, it was about three just over three years ago.
Speaker 2:And yeah it was about three just over three years ago. And, yeah, we did three seasons and we just wrapped up last season, just got aired a few months ago?
Speaker 1:earlier this year, Did you know who you were going to be working with alongside on the cast in prior to?
Speaker 2:I had heard some names. I had heard some names. I didn't know all of them, I'd heard some of them. But yeah, we kind of like all met in the Inviter Zone one day right before we started filming. We sat at our big long table and just met each other there and they're like, well, you're going to be friends with this person, that person's going to be friends with that person.
Speaker 1:Because I think there was one character that was on there that you didn't see eye to eye with, Chris Fade.
Speaker 2:Only one. Have you watched all three seasons?
Speaker 1:I haven't, but we have. I did do my research on you but I didn't. Yeah, I didn't watch everything. But yeah, how do you deal with conflict in front of the camera?
Speaker 2:Approached it like a, like a warrior. Yeah, yeah, just walked straight to the walk straight into the forest and just tried to have a confrontation.
Speaker 1:didn't happen so when it comes to reality tv, then like how much of that is real?
Speaker 2:oh, oh boy.
Speaker 1:Are you going to get in trouble for this?
Speaker 2:It's a difficult question to answer, because if I was doing a podcast over here and my sister jumped into the room and you told me that it was pure coincidence, like I would tell you no way, but we're having a pretty good conversation over here, right? So if we did all of those together in one podcast and you released the video, like that, like, and people said, yo, is that podcast real or not? I cannot answer if it was real or not real because you know my sister was planned so that was not real, but our conversation was pretty real. So that part of it's real Does that.
Speaker 1:I love the way you just tried to skirt around that. Does that answer your question? Do you know what I feel like? You're an honest person, that you would give me an honest answer, but you've answered that pretty well, so I'll not hang you on the podcast.
Speaker 2:No, I'm here to. I mean, I tell you whatever you want, like you know, and I think, coming off a show like that, I think it's important for people to hear real stories and just to understand or maybe even empower people to have a better judge of character, to be able to answer that question for themselves. When you see anything like that, you know in life, you know I'm just talking about in general you sitting trying to explain to my kids that you know cartoons are not real and um, I think that that's where we, that that's that's the only thing that we can really do, like really just open people's eyes and minds and, uh, and just be open to the fact that you know you can watch a movie or or anything and be a good judge of character of what was real and what was not.
Speaker 1:Has Dubai Bling represented you as the person you are today?
Speaker 2:according to me, no.
Speaker 1:Netflix. What have you done?
Speaker 2:it's not actually them. The show's produced by a production company. Now, yeah, I still have my Netflix subscription. I love it so what's Netflix?
Speaker 1:we can get a sponsor over here they should. They're good people so what has been so different to the person here? Have you been misrepresented on Dubuibling?
Speaker 2:I think now, sitting here, knowing understanding what a format like that produces, like I understand it a lot better. But you know, your question was really to me and me sitting there watching myself on tv is that really me? And my answer is no to that and um, for a lot of reasons. You know it's we don't edit, like we don't edit the show. We don't edit the show. We don't see the show before it comes out and there's really no control, right? So when the control's in somebody else's hands, you can really do whatever you want. They're making the show, not me. So it's almost like I don't know, it's a cross between being an actor but not an actor. I don't know, it's a weird one. Some people have told me that before. Like, just if anyone asks, you just say you were acting.
Speaker 2:Just to cover your back yeah, I'm like I cannot because there's. I do some real, real, real stuff. Like you know, we found out my daughter, my, my wife was pregnant with my daughter on the show.
Speaker 1:That was real wow yeah so how do you feel when you're watching yourself back on netflix?
Speaker 2:you know, you want to know the truth. I've only watched season two and season three once. That's it. Yeah. Yeah, just once through when it came out, both of them. I've seen bits and pieces here and there like if somebody was watching, or clips.
Speaker 1:Do you feel nervous?
Speaker 2:After season two I did. Why.
Speaker 2:I don't know. I just had a weird feeling in my gut while we were filming that whole season. Something was just not right. It was off, and when it came out like, I just didn't have a good feeling and then like and what happened. I had a pretty bad experience with people on social media. A lot of people were coming to me and telling me, like you know, really ugly, mean, dirty, very just like just horrible stuff, and it was just nonstop. It was just going like my DMs and my comments.
Speaker 1:What kind of stuff were they saying? I?
Speaker 2:didn't want to remember, but a lot of every nasty thing you can think of. You know, from treat your wife better to what kind of guy are you and your music is this, and just. You know, when people get that kind of power, which you do have in social media, and you have an opinion, you're not going to just stop it. You know, look at Google reviews. Whenever it's a good review, it's two words Really good food, had a great time. But go read the bad reviews.
Speaker 1:How do you feel when you've had negative comments? Does that question your confidence, your relationship? Or how did you feel when?
Speaker 2:you've had negative comments. Does that question your confidence, your relationship, or how did you feel it's hard? It's hard to. It's hard to. It's hard to, kind of like, take it all in. You know, I always say you have to have thick skin, but no matter how thick your skin is, like it hurts but you learn from it. You know, you. You you're lucky to have good people around you who explain to you the concept of. You're lucky to have good people around you who explain to you the concept of the fact that this is not real, like never and ever. Have you ever?
Speaker 2:And someone said to me have you ever walked into like a room with like a how many comments are on your post? I said like a thousand, five hundred thousand comments. He's like, have you ever walked into a room with a thousand people and did one person ever come to you and say anything close to one of those things that they send you on DMs or comments? I said absolutely not. I said there you go, because it's not real. It's somebody sitting behind a computer, maybe not even a real person. It could be just someone who doesn't like you or just didn't like your character and is just going there and just writing a whole bunch of stuff. You are never going to meet that person. They're never going to say say to you face to face. They're not going to have the courage to say to you face to face and the reality is, it's not real yeah, I often say never take advice.
Speaker 1:If you see a bad comment is would you take advice from that person? That's at it. And if the answer is no, then just let it go over your head is yeah, I mean it.
Speaker 2:If you can get past that first feeling of how crap it feels you click on their like profiles. There's like no profiles or like some. It's always like some. It's always some random stuff. It's not even like, but you know some of them. You know they go into like in-depth detail. They're real like awesome, like you're like oh, wow, okay.
Speaker 1:But you learn from it.
Speaker 2:You know, have you ever been threatened like since that's threats, and good question have I, have I seen threats?
Speaker 1:and probably probably because I know, obviously in the middle east anyway, it's not. Uh, yeah, you're a little more safe here than I can imagine, and you're they don't care.
Speaker 2:People on social media don't care. They would send threats too, and just like I'm telling you, just like the worst, the worst things you can think of.
Speaker 1:So what have been?
Speaker 2:I'll put them out one day so you can read them.
Speaker 1:I would love to see that. No, I'm all about the positive vibes. I'm all about the positive vibes. I'm a positive person, so all of it, and that's what I am too.
Speaker 2:You know I'm a positive person and after all of that, you know I'm sitting here at this table and having this talk about it and you know, when I was sitting in my room just like miserable, thinking about like how bad life was because of the situation at that, hand over here.
Speaker 1:And now I'm just sitting over here and I'm thinking like that's really past me and behind me, and life goes on, you know what has been some of the greatest things that come out of dubai bang for you.
Speaker 2:Uh, I mean, I think dj bliss was the best thing to come out of it for me. Um, you know, I got to remember who I was again. Um, it took me back into, uh, knowing what I don't want to do and what I do want to do, and what I do want to do is just get back into doing music and DJing and impacting people in a positive way and just making people happy and, you know, having a good time, raw, unedited, fun smiles. You know just real realness. And you, you know just music, like dance floors, like it's always just good vibe. People have decided to take a flight somewhere or buy a ticket to an event, come there and see you and have a just a genuine good time, you know, and just like kind of it just really reminded me to, you know, to put everything aside and just go back to my first and true love, which has always been just DJing and music.
Speaker 1:So I'm sure after doing Dubai Bling, you've probably had a lot of opportunities come on your plate. How do you decide whether an opportunity is right for you, because I can imagine you probably get a lot, and I know Dubai as well. There's so much going on, so how do you really focus and understand what's right for your future?
Speaker 2:Nothing's really come where we're like, oh, we cannot do this, it's just not. You know it doesn't work with us. I mean, I think brands usually pick well. You know, I think maybe, like a couple of times, one or two I'm like I don't really, you know, see this like happening. Maybe it was, you know, the brand that I don't want to associate with or work with. But generally, you know, I think it's been working pretty well. You know, as we move forward, you know there's a lot of talks that we have is to make sure that whatever we're doing, whatever collaboration, brand opportunities, fits well with me and my brand and what I stand for as well, so that, like, the people who are following me also don't feel like, well, wait, why did you bring this weird person to the party?
Speaker 1:you know we're used to seeing you doing you, so it's kind of that, that's kind of my thought or my mentality towards it what kind of advice would you give to pretend even an entrepreneur that has a lot of opportunities that's coming into his, his zone or her zone, and how do they focus and how do they make the right decision from a career standpoint? An entrepreneur.
Speaker 2:Um, I would say study law, do a course in it. It would help you a lot. Um, and just why I think law is such a key part of every business, and the more you learn about the law, the more you learn to operate. And this works in any industry and I think it can help you no matter what career you're on. You don't have to study law, but just understand law.
Speaker 1:Do you think ChatGPT can help you on that one?
Speaker 2:Yeah, ChatGPT can help a lot. It can help a lot, but ChatGPT can help you on that one. Yeah, chatgpt can help a lot.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it can help a lot, but ChatGPT is a canvas, right. You have to feed it in order to receive it. And, yeah, I think entrepreneur, like being an entrepreneur, is a big decision. I talk about it often because you know, like, in the society that we live in, in the school we go to, no one's teaching you to be an entrepreneur. They're teaching you how to be an employee. You know, as soon as you graduate from college, what's the first job that you're going to get? It's an employee job. No one's really trying to get you to graduate and become an entrepreneur.
Speaker 2:So, no matter what your journey is towards that whether you, you know, you graduated from college, school or just started working and got into that role you got to realize that it's such a responsibility and it's really. The difference is the decision that you make on what you want to do in life. So you have to stick to that decision and be well rehearsed. You have to, you know, be so adamant, persistent, consistent, and actually these are advices for any career that you're doing, even as a DJ. I would say the same thing to you as well. Even as a DJ learn law so you can do great contracts for yourself and you know. Be the best that you can at your art. Be persistent, be consistent and just go for it. You know what the best that you can at your art? Be persistent, be consistent and just go for it.
Speaker 1:You know what are some of the unseen parts of being a DJ? Because from the face front you can see it looks like a glamorous life, right? Is it? Is that what it looks like?
Speaker 1:When you see people flying here there on jets and way you know being being in the best beach clubs, you know like drinking, know like drinking, whatever like. So what are some of the unseen parts? Well, I know when people actually know and they're in it and they can see it they. But from a like a instagram shop front, it looks glamorous yeah, I mean, look, you have to put.
Speaker 2:You have to put on this face that it's just great all the time. Imagine like doing shows all the time, like, and you just always have to be in a good mood and you, but you are, though you know you do. When you get into that zone, you forget about everything, the sleepless nights, you know it's. Also, if you really want to be great at what you do, you have to put in a lot of time and effort into it too. It's not that easy. It could be glamorous, but is this what you can do forever, for the rest of your life? Create generational wealth, take care of your entire family and be one of the greatest to ever have done it.
Speaker 1:That's the question. Has there been any role models for you in your career?
Speaker 2:So many different ones, so many different ones in different categories, different genres, different. You know, I pick up from all the greats Like I'm just fascinated by people who have excelled in the career path that they've taken. I'm so curious about how they did it, what they did, what is their characteristics, like you know, all those things. So many different role models.
Speaker 1:I did see that you worked alongside Will Smith. So what was that like? How did that happen?
Speaker 2:Yeah, one of the greatest human beings I've ever met in my life. And when you said role model, actually I was thinking about Will Smith as well. So I was like if you were going to tell me, like, pick one person, it would be him. Just a super cool, humble guy. He's done so many great things in his career Great conversations, just his energy in the room. When you walk into the room, he just remembers everyone by name. Um, you know, he always asks me about, like my kids, like you know, always very courteous and just a lot of knowledge. Like he's written this great book, you know, and I'm currently in the middle of listening to the audio book, actually, and just a real life guy.
Speaker 2:You know how did that happen? I got an email once from someone who needed a barber and I own a barber shop and I wasn't in town. I was actually hosting the Oscars red carpet. I was in LA at the time and we went through all the details which hotel blah, blah, blah. At the end of the day, this is a VIP client. No one can talk about it. It's Will Smith. I was like there's no way. And I put a picture of him on a vision board, like two or three years before that, him and his family and I'm like can't believe I'm not there I set it up. They went there, um, got his hair cut. The barber sent me a picture of him. I'm so jealous, I'm like I cannot believe it. A week later they called like he needs a touch-up again. I'm like I'm still here, I cannot believe it. Fine, sent the barber again, second time done. I came back to dubai maybe another week, like a week after that, and he was still here and he needed another appointment and I went with the barber. This time I'm like I met him. I said, hey, this is my barber shop, my barbers, and great to meet you and your crazy story. I put your picture up on my vision board.
Speaker 2:He's like, oh cool, he's like you produce music. I said, yeah, he's like you have a studio. It's like, all right, come through the studio tonight. I was like there's no way. I call my producer. I'm like yo, will smith's coming tonight. He's like there's no way sat there and then we're like waiting there, empty office on the dot 5 pm. Boom, he walks in, walks into the studio, listen to some beats. We took some pictures like I'm having dinner tonight. You should come join us at the ifc. Just talk to my manager and he'll arrange it all.
Speaker 2:He left and me and my producer looked at each other. We're like Will Smith's just really walking here Was it really him? And I'm like, are you coming to the dinner? He's like no way, I'm not coming. I'm too shy. He's like I'm like I'm not going alone. He's like too courteous, like will smith, probably just like humble and just inviting us. I called the manager. I'm like, hey, is the dinner still on? He's like yes, 8 pm. Mr smith is expect is expecting you there. So we sat down for dinner and, yeah, it was a super cool time conversation and he came back to the studio another time. We recorded a song together. Never got released. But just where is the song you want to hear? No one's heard and no one can hear it.
Speaker 1:Did you sign something off or what happened?
Speaker 2:We didn't sign. That's the problem.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:So the way music works is you always like you know, you come up with ideas, but not all songs get released. But I'm so grateful for the opportunity to have recorded the song with them, to have had that experience, like it was just a really cool thing.
Speaker 1:So it's like can we ask for will smith to give you permission to release it?
Speaker 2:if you see him, please do oh, we'll figure out a way.
Speaker 1:You just mentioned a vision board might stick this on the vision board. So he met right up there so, vision boards, do you visualize all the big goals that you've ever achieved?
Speaker 2:I've done one great vision board once in my life and pretty much like 90 of it has all come through, all like almost all where did visualization come from for you, like, when did you figure out?
Speaker 1:oh, here I should create a vision board.
Speaker 2:I I read something about it. I read something that said, like you can visualize all you want, like we all want this great life, whatever it is, what great life means for you, whether it's a penthouse, a three bedroom apartment, a villa, a mansion, a palace, whatever Right, and you visualize, like, how you want to live and travel, whether you want to fly first class, business, economy, private jet, budget, airline, whatever. You visualize it right. Well, you can forget about this picture that you had about how you want to do things right, that business that you wanted. But if you actually put it all down, take pictures and titles and put it out and look at this thing every single day, it's going to come to. It's going to come to life. That's in some way or form.
Speaker 2:If you're continuously putting your attention and manifesting these things and I'll explain to you how that concept works right, you never wanted to buy a certain type of car, right? Then you have your mindset on this. You know whatever car, whether it's a Tesla, a Mustang or a Jaguar, a red one, red, it's a Tesla, a Mustang or a Jaguar, a red one, red. Interior, white on the outside, red on the inside, convertible. You know the car, right, but you're not going to remember every day. Now, if you took a picture of this car, of this white Ferrari, red interior with the top down, because that's how you like it, you put this picture on this vision board Two or three years later, when a couple of those things are happening and this opportunity comes up and you see this opportunity to buy this white Ferrari with red interior being sold on Dubizel, and you put that picture on your vision board. The universe is here in front of you saying here it is, you go for it and you do it and your vision board comes to life.
Speaker 1:Before you perform.
Speaker 2:True story, by the way.
Speaker 1:Yeah, really.
Speaker 2:True story.
Speaker 1:I love this because I do think it's really important to do things twice Once in your mind and one in your physical body. Yeah, once in your mind and one in your physical body. Yeah, and I think, uh, for me, anything big that I've ever done or any kind of public speaking events, I visualize myself actually getting up and speaking before I do it. So it's like you're pre-rehearsing, so it's already been done. Yeah, the situation's been already done. Have you ever done that when you're performing?
Speaker 2:yeah, especially a lot of the mc jobs that I do. I do that usually how I'm gonna walk'm going to walk, I go practice how when I put my paper here, when I turn it over here, if I'm reading that, or when I'm DJing. Same thing as well. I know like the other DJs played before me and they must have messed around with all the settings, right, I don't want to look and decide, okay, while I'm playing, oh, he's put this setting no, right before I start this setting, that's mind boom, boom, dirtish. That this for reset.
Speaker 1:Now we start have you ever had a situation where things have gone terribly wrong and you've performed so bad and you've gone how? And you saw homemade packs?
Speaker 2:not, not not so terrible at the end, but yeah, there's been times I've showed up. The equipment was a completely wrong equipment and I'm looking at like a thousand people in front of me at a private event. I'm on the stage. I'm like, what am I going to do? Just make it work.
Speaker 1:Have you had any moments where people have come to you and said that was terrible?
Speaker 2:Probably. I don't remember it, but probably. Not in real life. Not a lot, no, not really okay. Yeah, there's people I mean you can't. Someone once said if you want to impress everyone, you gotta sell ice cream, because aside from that, like I can't think of any other job. Like there's people who complain about, there's always someone you can't please everybody.
Speaker 1:When you make music, do you make it for you or do you make it for others?
Speaker 2:I create it. It's a mixed feeling. It's a mixed feeling. I'm not releasing anything I won't like and I won't release something that people won't like. And I won't release something that people won't like Because what I like and what people like are generally in life it's been a pretty common thing. There's never really been like, oh he likes that, but people don't like that.
Speaker 1:Has there been any music that you've created that has completely taken you by surprise and has gained a lot more traction than what you ever thought?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I made a song about a drink called karak I've heard it and I didn't think like that was going to be.
Speaker 2:Like it's when my one of my biggest songs ever. I just created that song as a joke. We used to drink karak all the time at across from my studio and I told my producer I'm like let's make a song about karak. And I played it to a video director and like five or six years later he calls me. He's like hey, listen, I have a brand who wants to like shoot the whole video and can we bring this project to life? And I said, sure, and yeah, we. It became a huge trend. Like everywhere I go like people are playing that song. I opened the caddock place as a result of it, like we took the caddock world by storm. Um, but yeah, I think that was the. That was a surprise and that happens the song you least expected.
Speaker 1:How long does it take to actually produce music for you?
Speaker 2:It depends on song to song. You know, some of them are like a couple hours, some of them can take years.
Speaker 1:Has any of your music actually taken you years?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And during that year process, how much of it does, how much of it changes you have to change the song because it doesn't stay the same anymore, and so you know, something might not even see the light of day. It's just all part of the process. But also, you know, music changes with time as well, unless you've made a timeless type of song. Um, ideas change, music changes and yeah, there's a little bit of change that goes into it so since you've been in the music industry, I've seen your genres have changed.
Speaker 1:How has anyone come to you and said, no, you should niche down and you should just stick to the one thing and and stay in the one thing and really develop that stick to the one thing and stay in the one thing and really develop that Not really.
Speaker 2:Not really. I mean nothing serious. You know, every now and then I'll get someone. Please play some Tupac. Here's an Afro House remix of it.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you know when they say you like you should stay in your own lane.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Have you ever felt like oh, maybe I should go back on my lane?
Speaker 2:Or do you find, nah, you're happy to create whatever you want. My lane is so big, Like, wherever I go, it could be so different and still work. I go, it could sound, it could be so different and still work. And I think that's just been, you know, part of the the Jack of all trades, uh traits, uh mentality that I've had, and I'm actually telling myself these days about which lane to go into, because I've, I know myself better than anyone else and you didn't. I'll listen to people and I'll hear them out and I'll pay attention to the people around me and to the noise, but I'm really just deep inside trying to listen to what the voice inside is trying to say.
Speaker 1:I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say if you were to stay in the one lane, the one genre, do you think your success would amplify? Which genre Like from R&B to house music.
Speaker 2:Do you think if you stayed in R&B and developed that further, so, you know, I looked at it from an outside perspective, you know, and I started going to a lot of like edm festivals and dance music festivals and meeting a lot more dance djs and I started looking at sort of what's life like for an, I'd say, urban music, r&b, hip-hop, dance hall dj and a house music dj, and they were very different paths and I was doing both at the same time. I was, you know what they call this open format dj. So a lot of the tours I was doing I was playing a lot more dance music and then back home I was playing a lot more urban music and then in my sets I would still be mixing at a lot of it here as well, and I've been doing it for a while, but when I was leaning more towards doing, like you know, these big stages and the energy, it's just it was more me than anything. So and when I look back historically at the first set of cds that my brother got me from america, I look at those songs and there's a lot of dance songs in. There was the era where I grew up. I'm like it was around me the whole time. All these remixes of these songs that are coming out right now, like Rhythm is a Dancer and all those you know Missing and Insomnia they're all songs I grew up around.
Speaker 2:Anyways, I started playing UK Garage when I first DJed, so it was all there. You know, the answer was there all along. I just had to clear the space around me and create room for what was for me to, you know, to be for me I listened to your house live, sir did you like it?
Speaker 1:I loved it. I listened to it whilst I was running yeah um, so would you say. Now your pathway is house music, moving forward yeah, definitely.
Speaker 2:I mean house music is a broad genre, but I think it's a it's it's also I'm planning on infusing a lot of like sounds from the middle east, like the drums, into it, like what they're doing with afro house, like what they're doing with the indian house and the latin house, um, and you know, with all of those as well, all them together, like create this nice percussive, like house sound that people can have fun and dance to, and it's a representation of what I like. It's still kind of urban. I still remix a lot of urban songs and put a lot of urban parts in it, because it's part of me. You know, then, that's my lane, so I'm trying to create my own lane so that when I create music within this lane, then no one needs to tell me to get back into any lane, because I'm in my broad lane and this is what it sounds like amazing.
Speaker 1:So, because this is called the detached podcast, what would you detach yourself away from?
Speaker 2:that's limiting you today oof, I'm, I'm, I'm on the detachment journey. I'm not gonna lie, you know. I've uh, I've very clearly, loudly and proudly have said the things that I'm detaching myself from which no longer serves me. It's not, you know, it's not for me, and I'm moving on, and I'm moving on to things that impact myself, people and life in a positive way, and that's what I want to do. So you know, the detaching journey has already begun. We're just here to tell you that this story is going to be televised.
Speaker 1:DJ Bliss, it's been an honor to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 2:Thank you very much. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much.