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Jay
Dabhi
 Out
of all of the South Asian deejays that have emerged from
the New York City club circuit, only one, whose
unmatched dj skills and incredible remix work, has
earned the title of North America’s greatest South Asian
deejay: Jay Dabhi
Queens native Jay Dabhi (a.k.a. Lil’ Jay) began
deejaying at the age of 14 and acquired his nickname
from the days when he stood atop milk crates to reach
the turntables. “It all started when my mom would put me
in front of the radio when I was 4 to keep me
entertained while she was doing work around the house,”
says Jay. “By the time I was 8, I had rigged my parents’
stereo system to play records and tapes at the same
time, but out of different speakers.” Introduced to his
first set of turntables at the age of 12, he impressed
his sister’s friends with his ability to mix and match
the tempos of different records at such a young age. “I
was so excited to use the turntables,” recalls Jay,
“that I would cut school to take a train and two buses
to my friend’s house where I could practice mixing.”
After begging his parents to buy him his own set of
turntables, Jay spent all of his time after school
honing his skills and shopping for records.
By his sophomore year in college, Jay achieved national
acclaim with his top selling remix album, “NY’s Finest –
Lil’ Jay.” A year later, following the tremendous
response to his first album, Jay’s sophomore release,
“NY’s Finest II,” was met with even greater fanfare. As
his success skyrocketed, so did his demand. Promoters
from all over the country started booking Jay coast to
coast, from such famed New York venues as the Roxy,
Exit, Avalon and Webster Hall, to LA’s Hollywood
Palladium, Soho Club and Century Club. Jay also
headlined numerous national events including: SASA
(where he was bestowed with the first ever “South Asian
DJ of the Year” award in Los Angeles). His hard work
paid off, as his stateside popularity garnered
invitations to various clubs throughout Canada, South
Africa, and the UK.
As his name and reputation developed in the South Asian
market, so too did it grow within DJ and production
circles outside of his ethnic community. At the 2004
Winter Music Conference, Jay and his production team “Da
Groove Doctors” (Duane Harden and Moises Modesto)
received an honorable mention in Billboard for their
track “Save a Little Love” being labeled one of the
hottest songs of the conference. The following year, Jay
was invited to be a panelist at the Winter Music
Conference, and served alongside DJ Skribble, Gabriel
and Dresden, and other esteemed djs and producers.
Recently, DJ Riz of the Crooklyn Clan added Jay’s mash
ups to his mixshow playlist on New York’s 103.5 WKTU FM.
This, along with his records airing on New York’s Z100
Saturday Night mixshow, cemented Jay as the first South
Asian music producer on commercial radio. `
Quickly expanding into the realm of other genres and
club scenes, Jay was featured and mentioned in several
publications such as, The New York Times, New York Daily
News, The Village Voice, Newsday (NY), Billboard, Spin,
and India Abroad. Jay also caught the attention of
international video game developer Konami Digital
Entertainment, and on November 15th, 2005, XBOX released
Dance Dance Revolution Ultra Mix 3 for which his remix
of Hisham Abbas’ “Nari Narien” is featured in the video
game alongside the Black Eyed Peas, Run DMC, Good
Charlotte and The B52s.
Earlier this year, Jay reached #1 on the BBC Asian
Network chart in the UK with his infectious hit “Mumbai
After Dark”, which will be releasing soon on his
upcoming album. He also maintained very strong chart
position with his Reggaeton remix of Bikram Singh and
Gunjan’s widely popular hit “Kawan”. Recently, The
Crooklyn Clan added him to their roster of djs on their
website where Jays mash ups are now available to
download. Besides production work. Jay maintains a very
busy dj schedule that finds him spinning in clubs across
the globe every week.
2007 looks even more promising as Jay, along with his
partners Duane Harden and Moises Modesto, are gearing up
for the launch of their record label SolTrenz Records.
Jay is also working on a solo album, which will release
in ‘07 as well.
With a track record that spans over a decade, Jay is a
prime example of how a lil’ passion goes a long way.
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