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Jay Dabhi |
New York's Finest |
| Background |
Out of all of the South Asian deejays that have emerged from the New
York City club circuit, only one, whose unmatched dj skills and
incredible remix work, has earned the title of North America’s greatest
South Asian deejay: Jay Dabhi
Queens native Jay Dabhi (a.k.a. Lil’ Jay) began deejaying at the age of
14 and acquired his nickname from the days when he stood atop milk
crates to reach the turntables. “It all started when my mom would put
me in front of the radio when I was 4 to keep me entertained while she
was doing work around the house,” says Jay. “By the time I was 8, I had
rigged my parents’ stereo system to play records and tapes at the same
time, but out of different speakers.” Introduced to his first set of
turntables at the age of 12, he impressed his sister’s friends with his
ability to mix and match the tempos of different records at such a
young age. “I was so excited to use the turntables,” recalls Jay, “that
I would cut school to take a train and two buses to my friend’s house
where I could practice mixing.” After begging his parents to buy him
his own set of turntables, Jay spent all of his time after school
honing his skills and shopping for records.
By his sophomore year in college, Jay achieved national acclaim with
his top selling remix album, “NY’s Finest – Lil’ Jay.” A year later,
following the tremendous response to his first album, Jay’s sophomore
release, “NY’s Finest II,” was met with even greater fanfare. As his
success skyrocketed, so did his demand. Promoters from all over the
country started booking Jay coast to coast, from such famed New York
venues as the Roxy, Exit, Avalon and Webster Hall, to LA’s Hollywood
Palladium, Soho Club and Century Club. Jay also headlined numerous
national events including: SASA (where he was bestowed with the first
ever “South Asian DJ of the Year” award in Los Angeles). His hard work
paid off, as his stateside popularity garnered invitations to various
clubs throughout Canada, South Africa, and the UK.
As his name and reputation developed in the South Asian market, so too
did it grow within DJ and production circles outside of his ethnic
community. At the 2004 Winter Music Conference, Jay and his production
team “Da Groove Doctors” (Duane Harden and Moises Modesto) received an
honorable mention in Billboard for their track “Save a Little Love”
being labeled one of the hottest songs of the conference. The following
year, Jay was invited to be a panelist at the Winter Music Conference,
and served alongside DJ Skribble, Gabriel and Dresden, and other
esteemed djs and producers. Recently, DJ Riz of the Crooklyn Clan added
Jay’s mash ups to his mixshow playlist on New York’s 103.5 WKTU FM.
This, along with his records airing on New York’s Z100 Saturday Night
mixshow, cemented Jay as the first South Asian music producer on
commercial radio. `
Quickly expanding into the realm of other genres and club scenes, Jay
was featured and mentioned in several publications such as, The New
York Times, New York Daily News, The Village Voice, Newsday (NY),
Billboard, Spin, and India Abroad. Jay also caught the attention of
international video game developer Konami Digital Entertainment, and on
November 15th, 2005, XBOX released Dance Dance Revolution Ultra Mix 3
for which his remix of Hisham Abbas’ “Nari Narien” is featured in the
video game alongside the Black Eyed Peas, Run DMC, Good Charlotte and
The B52s.
Earlier this year, Jay reached #1 on the BBC Asian Network chart in the
UK with his infectious hit “Mumbai After Dark”, which will be releasing
soon on his upcoming album. He also maintained very strong chart
position with his Reggaeton remix of Bikram Singh and Gunjan’s widely
popular hit “Kawan”. Recently, The Crooklyn Clan added him to their
roster of djs on their website where Jays mash ups are now available to
download. Besides production work. Jay maintains a very busy dj
schedule that finds him spinning in clubs across the globe every week.
2007 looks even more promising as Jay, along with his partners Duane
Harden and Moises Modesto, are gearing up for the launch of their
record label SolTrenz Records. Jay is also working on a solo album,
which will release in ‘07 as well.
With a track record that spans over a decade, Jay is a prime example of
how a lil’ passion goes a long way |
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* Creator of world famous Hindi Remix Cd's New York's Finest Part 1 & 2 |
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