DJ Prince is undoubtedly one of Kenya's most popular deejays. He's one of the Ghetto Radio presenters who keep attracting a large following, as you can tell from the massive response on Facebook (over 4000 comments each week) during his Friday Night Live shows. His other shows, Gospel Night live & Rewind Thursdays, are also a big success. Prince (real name: Eugene) is one of the three Ghetto Radio deejays who will be populating the Glass House during this year's Serious Request, from 19-24 December at the Hilton Grounds in the center of Nairobi.
Together with Mbusii and Musty he will spend six days inside the house, going without food and playing request songs, all in support of the campaign theme of blood donation. Unlike Mbusii, dj Prince has never been inside the Glass House before, though he participated in the Serious Request campaign last year. Prince: "It's going to be a very new experience, I never dreamt I could ever do something like this. I am very excited to try it out, on the other side I really want to go inside because of the cause: blood donation".
His fellow dj has been able to fill him in on the details: "I spoke to Mbusii who was in the glass house last year, he filled me in on how exactly it happened. He told me that once you get inside you can't go outside, you can't have contact with people on the outside. It's not easy, for six days - it's going to be an experience to talk about".
Dj Prince doesn't have to leave his passion outside though, as he will bring his beloved turntables. "For every time I will be going on air I'll be doing a mix but at the same time I'll be presenting and I will be talking to people on air".
While Prince is locked inside the house, the audience is invited to contribute to Serious Request by donating blood at the Red Cross facility which will be stationed at Hilton Grounds. Does Prince have plans to donate as well? "Personally I have never donated blood before. I was made aware that first of all we have to go through an examination, and then we'll know whether my weight allows me to donate blood or not. I think I'll be donating after I finish my time in the glass house."
Traditionally there's plenty of entertainment during Serious Request. Can Prince reveal a bit of the program for 2011? "We have chosen the six most popular deejays in Kenya at the moment, both upcoming and those who have been in the industry for 10 to 20 years. Each of them is going to be coming at a specific day within the six days of Serious Request and they are going to perform for the crowd outside the glass house, it's going to be amazing." Names of the deejays will be announced soon via Ghetto Radio.
Then, once the show is over, what is the first thing that Prince will do once he leaves the confinement of the Glass House? "We'll probably have a small meeting with some people who organized the event and then I will go home to join my family."
Listen to Ghetto Radio via the TIA player on top of this page or via the brand new update to the This Is Africa iphone app - search for 'This Is Africa' in the app store! An Android app is being worked on. Also, during Serious Request a non-stop video feed will allow people abroad to follow what is happening in and around the Glass House.
