DJ Desi
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DJ Desi was born Nabeel Ahmed in Tripoli, Libya and raised in Pakistan and the USA by an Indian born mother and Pakistani father. He started to show interest in music at the age of seven. As a child, he collected music tapes and spent time at his cousin's music store making mix music tapes and listening to a variety of different genres.
The multilingual (English, Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Punjabi, Spanish ) Paki-American started to spin Indian music at family gatherings and small parties and performed at local events. When he was 16, music became a heavy feature in his life and alongside the Indian influences at home, he became heavily influenced by Indian Oldies, Rock and Pop, Hip Hop, and R&B. By the time he was 14, he had written numerous poems and songs. His music collection exceeded 20,000 tracks, and at this point DJ Desi started to realize his dream of becoming the best South Asian DJ in America. His inspiration was other successful DJs and musicians such as Bally Sagoo, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sting, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, U2, Lata, Adnan Sami, Cheb Mami, and many others.
A year later he moved to Southern California where he studied and worked full time while promoting his music. During his time in college he started working at local clubs, fashion shows, cultural events and high caliber events. In 1996 he founded DJDESI.COM, a recording studio that soon became a hit name in every South Asian household for local parties and basement Bhangra Blowouts.
The Africa born DJ Desi grew up in Cali and Washington DC area where he established a reputation as one of the more happening purveyors of dance music. His music incorporates all manner of bhangra, hip-hop and ragga. His passion of music and great knowledge of old Indian film-music has also influenced his art, made tangible around the time of n an underlying sense since film music has created a series of conventions for presenting itself. The kitchen-sink approach so beloved of non-Indian commentators was a tradition that DJ Desi could take to heart. He was signed by DKNY to do numerous fashion shows. It was evidence of his versatility and their belief in his potential.
[edit] Recent career
He was called one of the best South Asian DJs by India FM Magazine and received numerous compliments for his great sense of crowd and his on-the-spot arrangements. He reached out to Western audiences with a couple of fusion tracks and developed a niche. He is the only International DJ who is able to mix music in seven different languages.
In 2004, his popularity went to a record high when he was asked to do a premium fashion show by DKNY, which helped to increase his popularity in Europe and the United States. He has stayed low under the radar and chose to work behind the scenes as a personal choice however his music still gets accolades and attention when being played in clubs and events.
