Presley Hype says he is the life of party

Out of the quiet community of Breadnut Hill, just above Fern Gully in St Ann, a disc jockey who goes by the name Presley Hype makes the journey to become a widely respected name in his field. Presley Hype, given name Presley Rodriguez, has a rich love for music; he fell in love with the art of DJ-ing at the age of 15 and has not looked back since.

With a command of the north coast's rural events, the now 35-year-old secured a job as a J Wray and Nephew (JWN) Mobile DJ - for about three years - and continues to take over the party scene. THE STAR caught up with Presley Hype on the weekend at the Jamaica Rum Festival held at the Hope Botanical Gardens.

"I become the party before I even take my position in front of the console to play," Presley Hype said. "I like to do a walk-through of the events to feed off the patrons' energy and see the environment from their side."

The disc jockey also doubles as a promoter and has awakened his community with seasonal events there.

"I am the life of the party because I am the one playing the music to make the people groove and move, plus, as a promoter, I know what I expect of the person in charge of creating that atmosphere with the music," he said.

Presley Hype has worked hard to perfect his skills and develop sets that never fail inside a party he said. As the only son for his mother, in a home filled with women, he was given enough freedom while his sisters were overprotected.

"At one point I was seen as the aggressive one, never needed to be protected and so I was allowed to go out ... I never had to sneak out to a party, and got the opportunity to learn the necessary skills. To this day, my mother is the proudest of me. More than anybody, she supports my career," he said.

"It [the career] has taken me to different places from I was doing it for free - for the love - and has also been my source of fun. I know I want to travel but I can't say where it will take me yet. I am comfortable in the zone I am in."

He does a lot of live show events and is a regular at weekly round robins; beating the streets solo or with other selectors like DMX, Pappi and Bradz in the Campari-branded mobile sound bus.

"I can handle myself; I know what I want to do and say and it's not often that disc jockeys find a mic man that can read the energy but I par with a good team of talented persons. Next place persons can catch me is at Show Time in Oracabessa, St Mary, this Thursday and Rum Fridays in Content Garden. I am also inviting the people out to my midday to midnight event on March 15, Campari Level Up at Imiji Car Wash in Breadnut Hill," he said.