For two UTA students, DJing has become more than just a hobby. It’s a way to connect with your peers, build their careers and leave that mark in college.
While Senior Public Health Tanya Harris and Senior Politics Andre Clay both face challenges in building DJ careers, UTA is the source of support for both.
“We want to support our students’ business,” said Shabaz Brown, director of the Centre for Intercultural Student Engagement. “We want to help them prosper and develop, and if UTA is focused on creating global leaders, including business leaders.”
Brown said the UTA will help students develop a culture of art, expression and community, helping students feel comfortable exploring and challenging their skills. The focus on this community is part of why she is booked not only by her department but also by other people and student organizations.
Harris, known as DJ Lucky T, began DJing at UTA about two years ago, but her love for music developed long ago.
“(UTA) is the foundation that started it all for me,” Harris said. “Two years ago, being a DJ at the time was a lot of people who were taking my chances.”
Tracing her passion for becoming a nurse, she fell into a new music venture. When the Covid-19 pandemic became a hit, Harris reflected on her passion and how she incorporates music into her everyday life.
She said she always had a musical background raised by her father who sang and performed on the Tennessee stage.
Since starting his DJ journey, Harris has built a huge presence at UTA. By the end of 2024, she had appeared in over 20 campus categories.
As a child of the frequently moved military, Clay, known as DJ Dready, said music was always constant. In middle school, Clay knew how to play ten instruments and make music.
“While my love for music and getting tired of paying people, I just said, ‘What do you know? Let’s learn how to DJ,” Clay said. “So I learned how to DJ and realized how much I love it, and it turned into me and I really pushed and learned.”
Clay said his journey began with throwing parties during his sophomore year at UTA, earning money and being with friends.
Clay said there will be plenty of opportunities to perform on campus as it is a Homecoming, UTA All-Nighter and Greek Life event. With the help of faculty and staff, he learned how to turn his hobby into a business.
When booking a DJ, they need to have a strong understanding of the audience and purpose of the event. Brown states that it is a trait that both Harris and Clay have. Outside of the UTA, they both work at other venues and perform on a large scale.
“They have that versatility. Some of them started here. They were able to expand their work here,” Brown said. “We will continue to work with them so they can continue doing that.”
Politics Senior Andre Clay Dance will dance alongside DJ Iamthegenius, thrilling the crowd at Rapper K-Camp at College Park Center on February 22nd. Clay was the DJ himself and had plenty of opportunities to perform on campus.
The majority of DJs are understanding how to read the room, Clay said. His performance in Texas may be different from what he does in Kentucky.
Clay sees music as a way to connect with the audience, mixing nostalgia with new releases, showcasing new music and playing songs that everyone knows and loves.
“UTA is very diverse, so when I’m playing in UTA, I play more diverse music to try and attack everyone, welcome everyone and entertain everyone,” he said.
Clay said his performance at the UTA was special to him. He loves to play in new places in front of new faces, but he can play for his friends and loves to see many of them support him.
Due to the diversity of UTA, Harris said the crowd’s diverse musical tastes make the set even more exciting, from R&B and hip hop to pop, Latin and Bollywood music.
Harris said her job as a DJ was to emphasize black culture and make it more relevant to people who may not know what black culture is like, and UTA gave her space to do it.
“It was beautiful to be able to express black culture through music,” Harris said.
One of the key connections she made during her early career was UTA alumnus DJ Swerve. He taught her how to network with different departments and encouraged her to think about her future. He also motivated him to join the Dallas music scene before graduating.
Clay said that UTA helped him understand how to translate the business knowledge and perspectives he learned from the classroom into a DJ career.
“Our job as a full-time staff member is to cultivate the goals and vision of our students to ensure that they enter the world and that vision and goals can become leaders for them,” Brown said.
@taylor ._. Sansam
news-editor.shorthorn@uta.edu
