dj SKINNY FRESH | R.I.P. AUNT PATSY

DJ Skinny Fresh. An ordinary guy or extraordinary dj? Some would say he can be put into both categories. From balancing his own personal life with his demanding night job, DJ Skinny Fresh is one interesting individual. Although he has come to be more talented today with djing than he was before, he didn’t always have all the flair for 100% perfect djing.

DJ Skinny Fresh, born Andre Niles, was originally born and raised in South Bronx, New York. He moved to Westwood, a local urban neighborhood located in Cincinnati, Ohio, when he was only 11 years old. At that time in his life, barely a teenager and not even in high school yet, DJ Skinny Fresh had no idea that a few years down the line he would be djing. Being taller than the average, he contemplated the NBA. He even considered involving himself in a teaching career but quickly changed his mind because he felt “teachers didn’t make enough money.” But, when he entered high school, unlike many of his other peers, DJ Skinny Fresh began to contemplate on what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. He already dismissed two possible careers so he decided to just become a dj.

When asked what influenced him to become a dj he said, “New York is saturated with djs. Cincinnati doesn’t really have a hip-hop scene and I knew I could make an impact here.” He was also influenced by his hometown. New York is not only considered one of the homes for fashion but also the birthplace of hip-hop. Growing up in a place with such a background he was raised and grew up on hip hop. It was only the inevitable that he fell in love with hip-hop and everything it consisted of. Once he decided the djing career was what he desired to do, it’s like his “stage name” fell right into place - DJ Skinny Fresh. “I was the Skinny everybody knew. My senior year in high school I won best dressed and people said I was always fresh. So, I put it together, "DJ Skinny Fresh,” he said when asked what was the history behind the name. He also felt the name was “more catchy” and said that, “People liked the name so I ran with it.”

DJ Skinny Fresh has been djing since he was fourteen and since then he has become well known in the “Nati”. For majority of those seven years though he was mainly doing house parties and block parties. An important turning point in his career was in 2006 when he did his first club gig and then he “blew up” as he jokingly stated. Seven years in the game and he no longer gets those nervous and excited feelings he once use to get when he was doing his first major parties. When asked does he in fact get those same feelings he replied, “No. Sometimes I get bored with it. Sometimes I’m tired and I don’t feel like djing. It’s just a regular job, but to keep me entertained I just start doing little tricks and stuff, trying new things. But when there is a huge crowd, I feel amped up and ready like its time to showoff!” Although he no longer receives those jittery butterflies in his stomach when he’s setting up his turntables, he still feels as if he has a one of a kind djing style. He bluntly used three simple words to describe his style, “Fresh as hell.” He went on to say, “You always hear something new when I’m djing so it’s just fresh. You can’t ever get tired of me. That’s why I’m still here. People are excited to see my name on a flyer. I’m fresh. It’s part of my name.”

Although not cocky, this dude is very confident. But why wouldn’t he be? He’s managed to gain so much success for himself in less than 10 years worth of time with the help from no one but himself. At the beginning of his djing career there was a dj name Kevin J who showed DJ Skinny Fresh a little bit of the basics of djing. After that, it was the student who became the teacher. He may have taught himself the game, but he had influences who made him want to even get into it. Street legends like DJ Clue, DJ Funkmaster Flex, whom DJ Skinny Fresh grew up listening to, and DJ Drama, all had an impact on him. It wasn’t their fame. Nor the fact that they were all on TV that caused DJ Skinny Fresh to look up to them. It was their come up. “All three of them were street djs,” DJ Skinny Fresh said. “They all had to grind their way up to mainstream radio.” Grinding is exactly what DJ Skinny Fresh has done and is still doing till this day.

With all his success and with success comes fame, one must ask how does he stay so humble and grounded. He simply answered that question by stating, “I don’t act like I’m too good for anybody. I’m still a regular person. I know this can easily be taken away from me and I don’t take anything for granted.” He has done shows for production companies and artists like MTV Productions, Hi-Tek, Webbie, DJ Drama, Fabolous, Bow Wow, Sammie, Pretty Ricky, Jim Jones, Soulja Boy, Jody Breeze, Chip Tha Ripper, Young Jeezy's CTE/ USDA Label, TC Entertainment and more. Nominated "BEST CLUB DJ" at the Ohio Hip-Hop Awards and mentioned inside The Ozone Magazine. Now interning at Atlantic Records and he also has the hottest mixtape series in the city, "Streets Royalty Radio".

With so much experience under “his belt” and so much gained success in the past years, DJ Skinny Fresh feels that djing will definitely be a lifelong career that he will constantly be getting better at. And while continuing to dj, he will also be active in other businesses such as TV, radio, and A&R at a major record label. He knows what he wants out of life and it doesn’t appear as if anybody or anything will be able to hinder him from doing just that. He had a dream and is making his dream come true. He spits nothing but a positive message when speaking to those who have the same goals as he did. “Be fresh. Stay humble. And no matter what anybody says just keep grinding and don’t pay attention to the hate,” he tells anyone seeking advice. Those who want to obtain personal success just may need to take heed to that advice. After all, the once ordinary Andre Niles, who had no idea what he wanted out of life, is now the extraordinary DJ Skinny Fresh… “THE STREETS CHOICE, CROWD'S FAVORITE.”

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