His birth name is Karuranga Virgile but as a disc jockey, he goes by the moniker of DJ Miller. The 26-year-old is among the new crop of popular club DJs on the Kigali night life circuit.
His birth name is Karuranga Virgile but as a disc jockey, he goes by the moniker of DJ Miller. The 26-year-old is among the new crop of popular club DJs on the Kigali night life circuit.
Miller is also the founder of Dream Team DJs, a collective of four young and talented disc spinners.
How did it all start for you?
Since high school I was always a music lover, so after high school I started going out and that is when I started loving the DJ thing.
In 2012, I met DJ Karim who was among the best DJs at that time, and he introduced me to the DJ equipment and all that. That’s how I started.
How was the industry then, as compared to now?
When I started, the industry was kind of quiet. We had only about five names in the industry, which is so different compared to what we have now, now new DJs come out every day.
What are some of the big events at which you have played?
I have played as the official DJ for Rock Events, Waka Warrior Race 2015, Kwita Izina 2015, and New Years’ Vibes parties. I also played at the Sauti Sol album tour in 2016, and Jameson Connects Rwanda Party.
Tell us more about Dream Team DJs?
It is a crew of four DJs, Karim, Miller, Toxxyk, and the youngest, DJ Marnaud. Dream Team DJs was founded in 2013 by me and today I’m the C.E.O. I chose to work with Karim as he is the one who helped me to come out as a professional DJ and DJ Toxxyk with whom we share the same story as we are both Karim’s students. Later we discovered a young crazy and talented kid, Marnaud, who was also introduced to us by Karim. Together we are the dream team DJs.
What are the benefits of working in a group as opposed to individually?
Working as a group helps in terms of knowledge, there is always something new from a member and it helps in growing our career.
Any challenges?
Yes! Like any other job. But on my side I like challenges, it leads to hard work which also leads to a good service, and a good service comes with a good income.
What do you say to the many people who think DJ work is easy and so anybody can do it.
Yes, many people think, it’s all about pressing pause and play, but the truth is DJ-ing is not easy at all, playing music is one thing, but playing the right music at the right time is also another and hard thing, you have to do your best to entertain the crowd which is hard.
Your take on Kigali’s night life as is today?
Kigali nightlife has somehow improved compared to five or seven years ago. The business of night clubs, bars and lounges is also on another level, we see new places every day, but in terms of entertainment, we still have a long way to go, we still need more investors in the entertainment sector like big concerts and also night clubs need to be more creative to make people attend, we’ve seen many clubs closing after some months, so there’s need for more creative output.
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