For DJ Heat, DJing was a space she was deeply passionate about from a young age. It was a world she was fascinated by; and one she was determined to one day pursue a career in. Growing up in Washington, D.C., DJ Heat remembers buying her first set of turntables at 13 years old and quickly strengthening her commitment to turning her dreams of becoming a DJ to reality. Over the next few years, she started working relentlessly to do just that. It was during her time in college though—at Morgan State University—that DJ Heat secured her first internship in radio with WPGC 95.5 and officially embarked on a journey of her own in the industry. This was just the start. From rocking turntables to becoming an on-air personality to touring with different musical artists, DJ Heat developed her expertise further in the following years and fostered her personal brand in the DJing world. As DJ Heat evolved in the space, she became interested in merging her love for basketball and music. A decision that would prove to lead her on an exciting journey, nearly 10 years in the making, to bringing these new dreams to fruition. Sure enough, through hard work, dedication, and perseverance, she did just that. In 2017 and 2018, DJ Heat became the official DJ for the Washington Mystics and Washington Wizards respectively. The rest is history. Currently in her fifth season with the Wizards and preparing for her seventh with the Mystics, DJ Heat is thrilled to continue bringing fresh, new sounds in her sets while curating one-of-a-kind experiences for sports fans during games. Incredible!
How was that transition from college into the world of radio and DJing? What were some challenges that you faced early on?
After my internship at the WPGC, they hired me right after my internship because they loved the work I was doing as an intern. The main challenge was that I got fired a couple months later. I got the job at the WPGC and started off as a board operator. Basically, when these radio stations are broadcasting live from somewhere, someone still has to be at the station to run everything, play the commercials, and play the music. That was me. So I got the job but, you know, I'm still in college, it's my senior year, and I'm focused on trying to graduate. I also wrote for the school paper at Morgan State at the time—I was the Entertainment Editor for Morgan State University's newspaper. A bunch of us on the college paper staff, we went to New Orleans for a big convention of all the different college newspapers across the country. That same week I went to that convention in New Orleans was also the same week that there was a mandatory event that WPGC was throwing.
I didn't know that it was a big deal and it was like an ‘all hands on deck’ type of thing—everybody had to work it. The rule was, again I didn't know, “If you don't work this event, you will lose your job.” So the boss’ boss, his name is Reggie Rouse—he works in Atlanta now and is another big (name) in radio, appreciative of him and also appreciative of him for doing this tough love—, he said: “Hey, when you get back from New Orleans come see me.” When I got back, walked into his office, and he was like: “We gotta let you go. Turn in your key.” I was crying. I was bawling. You know, I'm going through it because it’s like: “Yo, this is my dream job. I always wanted to work here since I was a kid.” I just ended up focusing on graduating college, and I ended up getting another internship at XM Radio when they launched. I didn't get hired after like I did at the WPGC, so I ended up just floating around. About three years after getting fired from WPGC, I'm thinking to myself: “You know, radio is my passion. This is what I want to do. Let me reach out to the same person that fired me and ask for another chance.” That's what I did. I reached out to Reggie Rouse again and he met with me. The good thing was that I was great at what I did at the station. I just had to be made an example of since the rule was ‘you miss this event, you get fired’. He brought me back on, and from there, I was focused. I wanted to show and prove my dedication in radio. I ended up working my way up—going from a board operator to finally being on-air to all the way up to a point where I was producing a morning show and being part of the morning show.
Take us through that journey of going into sports. You mentioned that in 2017 you became the DJ for the Mystics, and then in 2018 you joined the Wizards. Could you share more with us about that journey to becoming a DJ in the space?
Oh man, the journey. Honestly, it’s almost like 10 years in the making before I even got the job. I've always loved basketball. Basketball is my favorite sport—even though I suck at playing it (*laughs*). I love music. The first time I applied for the Mystics position was in 2008. Somebody told me about it and, back then, they just let me come straight in with the interview. Now looking back at 2008, I was not ready. It's clear that I was not ready. As I looked back from me getting the job in 2017 to me having that first interview with the Mystics organization in 2008, I was not ready because there were questions that they were asking me and I didn’t know. You know, I was still young. I tell people: everything will happen at the right time. It's not when you think that you may be ready, it's when the universe knows that you're ready. We can always think we're ready for something, but then we get in the situation and we realize: “Oh, I wasn't ready.” That’s what it was with me. I applied in 2008 and had that interview, applied in 2014 and heard nothing, and applied in 2015. I think in 2015, that's when they asked for an elevator pitch video. I'm thinking: “Ok, I'm gonna make this creative little elevator pitch video.” As I would check, I saw that the video had zero views (*laughs*). You can imagine how I felt when 2017 came along and somebody again was telling me, “Heat, you should apply. Do it.” Another thing I could say at that point, between applying in 2015 and 2017, is that I had developed a lot more as a DJ.
At that time I had left WPGC in 2015, and then in 2016 I started traveling and DJing for the artist Mya. I developed way more skills as a DJ—especially when it comes to being a tour DJ and learning that. I feel like that helped contribute to my skills overall. By the time 2017 came around and I applied for the position with the Mystics, I finally heard back after applying four different times over just about nine years. They asked for a sample mix, I turned in that sample mix, and they wanted me to come in for the audition process. I was like, “Alright, I'm ready for this audition process.” I didn't really know what to expect, but I had grown so much as a DJ that I was all about researching everything before any type of gig that I may not be that versed in. I was researching everything when it comes to music, sports music, different situations, (etc); and I later learned that one of the sites I researched was actually run by the person at the Mystics that I was auditioning for. I remember spending hours downloading just about every song he mentioned on his website. I learned this after my audition like, “Oh man, this is the person that would become my boss. This is the person who created this website about music and sports.” The audition process involved different scenarios like...what song would you play? So that all worked out. They also said they liked my energy at the audition because I was dancing and just having fun, hyping everybody up. They just saw something in me.
As you transitioned into the sports world, what was that journey like for you? What were some challenges that you faced early on and how did you navigate through them?