“What’s my DJ’s name…” -Rock The Bells: LL Cool J
Radio/TV Broadcast senior from Dallas, TX, Jacori Harper, carries “DJ Young Swerva” as his DJ name. Harper debuted his DJ’ing talents this semester during his first big event, Nac Nights, hosted by SFA student, Drex Arimo, and Fall ’12 Campus Cutie, Denzel Mitchell. While in high school, Harper discovered his love for DJ’ing by playing music at his high school basketball game. To earn money and buy equipment for his newfound hobby, “DJ Young Swerva” and a group of friends began to throw parties.
“Hey, Mr. DJ put a record on…” -Hey, Mr. DJ: Madonna
With experience DJ’ing a few SFA parties and downtown clubs in Dallas, “DJ Young Swerva” knows how to keep a party rocking. “I like playing the old school songs.” Harper said. “I just like to get people live, I thrive off that.” We asked Harper to describe the party scene through his view as a DJ, particularly, how to determine when a crowd isn’t feeling the music selection. “I look out into the crowd and people’s emotions. If people are just standing around or the energy is low, I’ll change the selection into a more popular song to raise the energy.” Now I had to ask Mr. Harper about his interaction on the microphone. You know those DJ’s…the ones asking the most random, obvious questions that require answers that are just “too-much-information” for my liking, but “DJ Young Swerva” assured me that he’s not one of those. :)
“Don’t stop, make it pop DJ, blow my speakers up…” -Tik Tok: Ke$ha
..but eventually, the DJ’ing has to stop at some point. We asked Mr. Harper about his activities outside of DJ’ing, and were not surprised when his answer involved DJ’ing. “I’m usuallly working out, playing football, hanging with friends, and practicing my DJ’ing skills.”
“Go DJ…’cause that’s my DJ!” -Go DJ: Lil Wayne
But who’s your DJ? As we all know, SFA is full of talent and although some may have the mindset of, “this school isn’t big enough for all of us.” Jacori’s mindset is far from that. We asked Harper for his thoughts on the other DJ’s on campus, and he respectfully replied, “It’s a friendly competition, and I believe we’re all supporters of one another.”
“Come Mr. DJ song pon de replay…” – Pon De Replay: Rihanna
So when is “DJ Young Swerva” gonna “turn the music up” for us once again? “Just wait and see…a lot is coming up.” Harper responded. So, not the “tea” I was looking for, but I can live with it. :) Jacori hopes to DJ a sorority/fraternity party and or a party from our fellow Fall ’12 campus celebrities, Presidential Hustle Entertainment. For future goals, Harper is looking toward the profession of a radio DJ or talk show host, as well as DJing for professional music artists. DJ Young Swerva left us with great advice to upcoming DJs, “Make sure it’s something you want to do, and it’s your passion. Every song you like, other people may not like, so it’s important to do your research and to pay homage to those that came before you.”