HJ Entertainment: Embracing a dream, serving a nation

May 15, 2022 News

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The Creators’ Coven…

By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – It is probably one of the loudest mantras of successful people, “do what you love”; to follow your dreams so that even at work, it never really feels like you’re working because you are always engaged in that which you are passionate about, that which drives you and allows you to contribute meaningfully.

It’s the same advice Kerwin Bollers gave when he explained to the Creators’ Coven how he, along with partner and fellow director of Hits and Jams Entertainment, Rawle Ferguson, decided to chase a dream that not only ended up filling a void at home, but placed a nation on the bucket list of foreigners, countrymen and women in the Diaspora.
Hits and Jams is the brainchild of the two ambitious Disc Jockeys (DJs) who birthed an entertainment empire from a profession that was once looked down on. HJ as it is popularly known is an entertainment hub with its own radio station, 94.1 BOOM FM, and television station, HJ TV. It is now part of the legacy of Bollers and Ferguson.
Oddly enough, however, Bollers actually started his work life as a nursery school teacher. In fact, the Essequibo-born DJ/entrepreneur was preparing to enter teachers’ training college when he picked up is first DJ gig and played with the sound system that helped to highlight his selecting skills and propel him to the big league. Bollers told the Coven that he has always had a passion for music. As a boy, his parents owned a stereogram. They used to hold house functions where friends were invited and family members came over to cook, eat, have some drinks and play music.
The highlight of those events for Bollers was the fact that he was tasked with changing the records his dad had lined up to play. He explained that the stereogram required one to manually change the records. So he was tasked with removing each record and replacing it with the next record; nothing compared to the remotes or automatic changes that exist now.
“I think that’s where my love for music came, and I remember I was probably about six or seven years old around then, and I started really getting into music,” Bollers said. He remembered moving from records to cassettes; and having access to his father’s music, was a serious incentive that fostered his love for playing and listening to music.
Becoming a teacher seemed to distance itself, and after accepting that the profession may not be his calling, Bollers said he started deejaying with a family-friend oriented ‘Deportee’ sounds system. It was there that his talent was recognised and within a few years he received a call from the mighty sound system, Stone Love. That’s when the businessman said he knew that his DJ career was stepping up to higher levels.
“Rawle and I were friends from school days. His family owned Fusion [sound system], so we all were deejaying as teenagers and we had this passion. So, we would compete, but we always remained friends,” he shared.
Engrossed in the profession, the friends started to look outward; at the landscape of entertainment in the country and saw that the prominent events at the time were house parties, then came the club scene until partying evolved to larger venues like sporting grounds. “We then asked ourselves what’s next. What can we do different and add to the landscape of entertainment in general. What was happening in Guyana at the time is that we were looking at things like soul train and the Grammys and wanting these same artistes in Guyana.”
Additionally, being able to travel and play at events overseas, those experiences confirmed what Guyana was missing and provided a guide as to what entertainment in Guyana could become.“We saw the level at which their entertainment industry was at and we felt like we needed to be doing more at home. This is what led to us looking at local entertainment on a wider spectrum.” With time and growth, Bollers said, he and his partner started to see things with a constructive eye; how they could make a living doing what they love and serve Guyana all at once.
But how do you do that when “ordinary” people did not want to be associated with DJs? “A young lady dare not tell her mom she was dating a DJ or a bus conductor, it was like the worst two jobs to have,” Bollers said. The profession was not respected locally until the business partnerships with major companies like Banks DIH, the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T) and many others started coming in. “I think what really gave us our big break is when we partnered with USAID on the HIV/AIDS Awareness Campaign,” Bollers said. It placed DJs in a more constructive and useful light, “That DJs aren’t just some people who may say stupid things at times, but that we could be useful, sell products and help to spread positive messages.”
Bollers said it wasn’t recognised back then, the power that DJs have given that they have access to hundreds and thousands of people from all over the country depending on the event and its location. It was the success of the USAID project and eventually government coming on board, that saw corporate Guyana buying into the idea of DJs as brand ambassadors and instruments of business.
Transitioning to media
DJ Bevon, with Royal Stout, was the first DJ to get on radio, a major win for the profession. “We could not believe that the day had come when a DJ from a sound system was on radio,” Bollers said. And companies were buying airtime and selling products. Then Guinness came onboard and soon DJs on radio became a norm. Travelling continued to amplify the deficiencies in Guyana’s entertainment industry. And it was while in Trinidad, Bollers said, he told his friend Rawle that Guyana must be able to enjoy the high quality entertainment that they were enjoying abroad. It was then that unmatched events like Jam Zone and The Car and Bike Show were launched, bringing a different experience, better ambiance and content. These events were so well received that the government made them tourist attractions on the annual calendar of events.
Such advances encouraged diversification. Bollers and his partner applied for a radio licence to get their entertainment message out. While this came some years later, the team was able to partner with Channel 72 to start Hits and Jams television, a 24-hour entertainment station which was also well received. Radio, nonetheless, was very different, Bollers said. “Although we were on radio six, seven years earlier, we were part time DJs and we didn’t have any experience in running a radio station.” One naysayer gave the team six months before they crumbled, “But we had the passion for radio, we already knew what we wanted, what sound we wanted, the format; so it was still an easy transition and we could have started immediately with programming since it was something we had been planning years prior.”
After the successful launch of Guyana carnival two years ago, Hits and Jams is set to launch costumes for its Genesis Band as well as its five days, six events Independence weekend celebration from May 25 to May 29. A number of trending artistes such as Sheng, Shaneil Muir, Kes Band, and Patrice Roberts, among many others will be performing at different events catering to different crowds.
Hits and Jams has attributed its continued success to the creative freedom of its dynamic young team. “I think one of our remedies to success, so to speak, is that we want you to be you. Everyone is different, everyone brings a different strength, so we allow our staff to express their own unique selves and this adds to variety,” Bollers said. “We do not have a one-structure fits all at our company; we allow people to have their creative space and for the sharing of ideas and inputs.” Bollers noted, however, that it is also extremely important for persons following their dreams to believe in what they are doing and put in the effort. He said now it is much easier with technology to get insight, to promote one’s self and be the creator they want to be. He urged Guyanese youths to never stop chasing their dreams.

 

 

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