Jay Dabhi
New York City native Jay Dabhi began deejaying at the tender age of 14 and acquired the nickname “Lil Jay” from the days when he stood atop milk crates to reach the turntables. “It all started when my mom would put me in front of the radio when I was 4 to keep me entertained while she was doing work around the house,” says Jay. “By the time I was 8, I had rigged my parents’ stereo system to play records and tapes at the same time, but out of different speakers.” Introduced to his first set of turntables at the age of 12, he impressed his sister’s friends with his ability to mix and match the tempos of different records at such a young age. “I was so excited to use the turntables,” recalls Jay, “that I would cut school to take a train and two buses to my friend’s house where I could practice mixing.” After begging his parents to buy him his own set of turntables, Jay spent all of his time after school honing his skills and shopping for records.
By his sophomore year in college, Jay achieved national acclaim with his top selling remix album, “NY’s Finest – Lil’ Jay.” A year later, following the tremendous response to his first album, Jay’s sophomore release, “NY’s Finest II,” was met with even greater fanfare. As his success skyrocketed, so did his demand. Promoters from all over the country started booking Jay coast to coast, from such famed New York venues as the Roxy, Exit, Avalon and Webster Hall, to LA’s Hollywood Palladium, Soho Club and Century Club. His hard work paid off, as his stateside popularity garnered invitations to various clubs throughout Australia, South Africa, and the UK.
Quickly expanding into the realm of music production and deejaying, Jay has been featured and mentioned in several publications such as, The New York Times, New York Daily News, The Village Voice, Newsday (NY), Billboard, Spin, and India Abroad. Jay also caught the attention of international video game developer Konami Digital Entertainment, where his remix of Hisham Abbas’ “Nari Narien” is featured in the XBOX video game Dance Dance Revolution Ultra Mix 3 alongside the Black Eyed Peas, Run DMC, Good Charlotte and The B52s. Soon after, Jay hit #1 on the BBC Asian Network music chart with his Bollywood inspired track “Mumbai After Dark”
Besides mixing Eastern and Western beats, Jays also known for his genre-bending mashups with the Crooklyn Clan as well as his house music productions with his music partners Duane Harden & Moises Modesto, who together run Soltrenz Records – a prominent dance music record label with releases that regularly play on SiriusXM’s BPM channel as well as other dance music outlets throughout the world.
Currently, Jay has his own top rated daily mixshow on CBS owned 92.3 NOW FM, a Top 40 radio station with a potential reach of 16 million listeners in the New York City tri-state area. Jay’s mixshow can be heard daily, Monday through Friday at 9pm as well as Saturdays at 8pm. Besides mixing on the radio, Jay also deejays swanky private events for celebrities, politicians, as well as large corporate events and intimate banquets.
Whether it’s a big room Dance music production or an eclectic party rocking DJ set, Jay Dabhi is shaking up dance floors worldwide.