We were lucky to catch up with Kelly B recently and have shared our conversation below.
Kelly, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?
During the pandemic, I taught myself to DJ as a way to cope with working during COVID as an RN. Learning to DJ came naturally as I always loved listening to music and discovering new artists. Music was always very healing to me.
Knowing what I know now, I would have loved to start doing B2B (Or back to backs) much earlier as a DJ. Going B2B has made me grow so much as a DJ because of how unpredictable it can be. In my opinion, the most essential skills is recovery. Sometimes transitions don’t go as planned so it’s important to know how to recover, be calm, and never give up. Be kind to yourself! In the beginning, my biggest obstacle as a DJ was myself not taking risks. I was always afraid to mess up that I prevented myself from playing at shows. My excuse was always, “I’m not ready yet.” Now I know that mistakes are part of the beautiful journey, and it makes us human.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My Name is DJ KELLS, a multiple genre music enthusiast with four years of experience behind the decks. I love to push boundaries by blending unlikely genres and creating original mixes that make my audience move. From New Jersey to New York, I’ve had the privilege of bringing people together for unforgettable nights of dancing and vibing. My goal is to put you on to music you didn’t know you wanted to hear.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
The most rewarding aspect of being a creative is ability to express myself. The possibilities of creation is endless and that to me is so beautiful. The sky really is the limit. Whatever energy you put into your craft is what you get out of it. It’s wonderful seeing all your hours and hours of practice come to life during a show.
In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?
In today’s society, the best way to support artists is to show up to their events and help promote on social media. A simple repost is such and easy and effective way to support creatives even if you can’t show up to an event.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktree.com/DJKELLS
- Instagram: KBALLAAA
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTyTJLSLQPeo0L8hIDH54lg
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kelly-balla
