Krista Henry, Staff Reporter

DJ Nicco, Heineken Green Synergy winner for 2006. - contributed

'Playing' his path through the art of selecting, DJ Nicco conquered the wheels of steel at the Heineken Green Synergy 2006. The talented disc jockey is planning to create different beats with one huge vibe at the regional competition come October.

From messing around the turntables at age nine, to freelancing with various sound systems, being a club DJ at Margaritaville Montego Bay and forming his own sound system Generation X with partner DJ Diamond, Nicholas Rasinski (Nicco) is already a musical entrepreneur. Despite the experience, Nicco wasn't always eager to enter the competition. "I had a lot of friends on my back about it. Persons told me I had the talent so I must jump on board. It was my manager Robert Howard that told me do the CD and get it in," he said.

Unknown

His years of experience should have made Nicco a clear choice for winner, but he doesn't believe that's what gave him his edge. "I'm not known. I'm a club DJ. When people come into the club they hear the music and have no clue who's playing. Other contestants had been in music for a good number of years. So I don't think I had an advantage," he said.

What put him above the rest? "My style is a little bit of everything, I know different genres of music. I know how to mix DJ and selector. There's a big difference between the two. selectors in a Jamaican context both play and talk. A DJ focuses on the music, some don't even speak. Heineken promotes a DJ but they try to see if the person has the personality. I do both, I'm the entire entertainment package," Nicco said.

He's an entertainment package with many tricks. "I use different tricks, spinning, using my elbow to scratch, having the turntable on my waist and playing it like a guitar, feeling what the crowd wants," he says.

A good strategy

Even with the fancy tricks, a good strategy still helps. Nicco says: "I plan to focus on selection as well as style. The voting regionally is broken up into categories. I plan to make a good number of points in all categories - plus my humour and vibe. the objective is to make people love me within the 10 minutes I have".

Talent competitions are often seen as the quick path to fame that doesn't always last. Nicco knows he can prove that wrong. "Fame is based on endurance; the real test is time. What's the use of 15 minutes of fame if you don't do anything with it? You have to play a 150 per cent, you don't play for yourself. The competition is just a catapult. Music is more than just hip hop and dancehall, and it depends on how you deliver it. I have a wide range of musical knowledge," he said.

There were 11 other DJs who did not make it to the end but Nicco does not discount their talent. "The competition is good. if you win or lose you get exposure, people realise you have talent. There are so many persons who want to be DJs, everyone is walking round with their CDs. If a hundred persons enter and only twelve move on, then you know they are the best."

Help and inspiration from a number of persons assisted the dynamo. he states: "I admire everyone who works at FAME, not to mention Leftside and Esco, a lot of upcoming artistes such as Mungo. A lot of sound systems helped me out too like Coppershot and Biggy from Don Studio."