Written by: Conchita Wijudo
Name: Shadi Kaileh
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Year: Junior
Major: Sociology
How long have you been DJ-ing for?
Since I was 13 years old, so about 14 years; and 6 years professionally.
What made you interested in becoming a DJ?
I never intended for it to become my career, it was something that I just loved doing and wanted to get really good at. When I began DJing it was before DJs were making Forbes lists. One year for Christmas (I think I was 13 years old), my parents got me a “DJ-In-a-Box” set up which were essentially two small speakers, two turntables, a mixer and headphones. From that day forward I spent hours each day playing with my favorite records and manipulating sounds, a neighbor who was a couple years older than me taught me basic “scratch” techniques, I was hooked from then on.
Why did you decide to come back to school?
In 2013, I became very ill and I was hospitalized for almost the entire year. While on bed rest I took online classes in business and entertainment law, which is when I made the decision to complete my undergraduate education to pursue a career in Entertainment Law with the hopes of managing artists and athletes.
How do you manage to balance between your job and studies?
Honestly it’s one of my biggest challenges but my passion and my education are only second in life to my family, so I work hard to be consistent in both. When you are your own business or manager you don’t really have the option to slack if you want to be successful. Being organized and proper time management are really important.
What music genres do you usually play or listen to?
I mostly enjoy listening to hip-hop, R&B, electronic and music from other countries, and those are the genres I play live as well. Though most of my sets are hip hop oriented, for day parties I play a greater variety of music.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years (or the near future)?
I’m going to continue DJing for as long as it makes me happy. As far as career aspirations, my goal is to be on the business side of the industry, I want to work as an entertainment lawyer to represent artists and athletes. Hopefully my own experience as an artist, as well as business experience managing my own career will give me an edge in that respect and allow me to advocate for other artists as somebody who has their best interests in mind. But I won’t count DJing out, because you never know what opportunities may come.