Story, photos by
Valdeen Shears-Neptune
He has read the entire nine-part series of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, loves English and mathematics, has a ready smile and a boyish charm.That, though, is where all things pre-teen about Tyrese Bartley ends.He's a 12-year-old dynamo on a turntable and he knows it.
In fact, it was his bold declaration to his father at age ten, to be the most "bada...DJ," which started his first steps along the journey to realisation.
Mixing and playing under the name DJ Tye, he holds the title of being the country's youngest DJ to have played on the nation's airwaves. This he accomplished by placing second at the Summer of Dreams, 99.1 FM, Next Evolution DJ Competitions during the July/August vacations.
As part of the prize, DJ Tye played for three hours every Saturday for five weeks, heating up the airwaves with mixes he enhanced with just sheer talent.Now his biggest supporter, dad Brent Bartley said his son's confident words to him during a trip to Port-of-Spain, was at first a casual joke.He admitted that he did not take his remarks seriously, as he knew that his son's experience playing music was isolated to messing around on his laptop on Virtual DJ.
Little did he know, his son was already dropping songs and mixing sounds.It was some time later, when his son presented him with a mixed CD, that he begun to see his ambition. It would appear that to DJ Tye, a year was enough for him to live up to his declaration.
"So I listened and heard the start of a spark, but then he continued and still continues to surprise me with his raw talent. This has to be a gift," said his proud dad, the founder of Crafted Sounds–a brand meant to promote his son and to be used as a forum for spin-off ventures.
However, he said while he can't mix or sing a song to save his life, he was born with an ear for music.What he would hear one day while washing his vehicle at their home in Princes Town, would finally bring him to the realisation that DJ Tye was bent on really leaving his mark in the music industry.
"I was outside just listening to whatever music was on the radio and thought to myself, that DJ could really mix, he real good, has a clean ability to catch the beat and knows when to create his own style.
"So I come inside to tell Tyrese about this DJ and he says to me, 'but daddy, is I playing that, yuh know.' That's when it hit me, my son is really, really good," he noted shaking his head in amazed recollection.
There was no doubt in his mind that this was not a case of misplaced paternal pride, but evidence that his son was really gifted. To this day, glimpsing at his son, he is still amazed by his ability.
It was this same amazement by chance listeners which propelled DJ Tye from a young man just messing around on a mixtrack pro two controller, bought by his father as a Christmas gift that year, to a part-time DJ at a restaurant and pub in San Fernando.DJ Tye recalled that it was the 2015 Carnival season in San Fernando, when he got his break at a bar.
"I remember the man from Audio Ambassadors telling me not to play to impress him, but to play like I was having fun and was being led by the music on what to choose. The thing is that's how I always play, with the music and the vibes, cause I never really go knowing exactly what I will mix, it kinda just comes," said the shy young man.
This uncanny sense of confidence transferred to his mixing and drew a massive crowd each day. He said he knew the element of surprise was a big factor, since no one believed it was a mere adolescent "mashing up the place."