Mark Bahati has expressed gratitude for the risks he took while making a career switch from an employed accountant to a self employed full-time Deejay.
Bahati, during an interview with RX Radio’s Crystal Newman on The Groove Cafe, noted that some risks are worth taking and how there tends to be fortune in expressing bravery when pursuing one’s passion.
“In this whole thing of doing what you want to do, I realized there's always a way. We can always have hindrances but there’s fortune in bravery. If you actually decide to do something and wholly focus on it, you'll always find a way around it,” he explained.
The guest, who revealed that he quit his 10-year-old job as a credit control officer in a prominent hospital in Kampala during a work meeting, said that although he always had a passion for music, he had never figured out his speciality in the industry till he picked inspiration from established deejays such as Black Coffee and DJ Fresh.
Bahati narrated that as a child, he had had a passion for music and would wake up at 3am in the morning to prepare for the next day’s musical presentation. Being a musical star in his high school made him forget the troubles from his humble home.
However, under the guidance of his uncle, he was advised to pick up a career in Accounting and Finance which he pursued and got employment from despite his heart still yearning for music.
“During work breaks, I found myself sorting music. I had my own collection, Shazams and deep inside I was like one day, I'll go back to this music thing because I wanted to be in those circles. So I would browse YouTube videos of Black Coffee and DJ Fresh who really inspired me because of their journeys.”
However, learning how to jeejay became a struggle because of how people devalued the profession, in addition to failure to get a willing coach from the successful deejays in the industry. He then decided to resort to Youtube from where he slowly and eventually learnt by himself.
“I went to Amazon and bought some equipment and after work, I followed YouTube tutorials step by step. With time, I started to feel the blend, I started mixing but I had never done so before an audience till I got an opportunity to play at a house party. One after another, I just kept on getting better.”
Bahati said that with experience he got from these parties, his exposure and popularity kept on growing till he started playing for bigger functions such as weddings. At this point, he decided to settle as a full-time Deejay and leave his job.
However, before quitting his position at CASE Hospital, he had acquired a bank loan that he said was a challenge that shook but also strengthened him.
“I now realized that I was in the thick of things and couldn't go back to my former workplace so I told myself that I had to make sure that the deejaying worked. I started hustling and had tucked away some money in a SACCO. I asked them to buy off my loan which they did and I was able to pay them in smaller amounts as compared to the bank.”
On the onset of the lockdown with no more deejaying gigs, Bahati learned how to plan better and he invested into rabbit farming. With the support of his family, Bahati acknowledged that his farm was able to grow to over 100 rabbits, a business he says is going well and is thankful for.
He also commented on how the lockdown provided time for self improvement, a habit which has now gotten him attached to reading books such as Mark Manson’s which taught him to not only focus on becoming the best in his career, but also enjoying and appreciating the experiences within.
DJ Bahati was appointed and is the resident DJ at Cork n’ Barrel Lounge and Bar in Kiwatule since 2018.
The Fatboy show is hosted by James Onen aka Fatboy, Olive, Sarah and Lesham every weekday from 6am to 10am on RX Radio.
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