Walshy Fire of Black Chiney

If you're in downtown Miami, try running your FM radio through the following in the late afternoon: 89.1, 89.5, 92.7, 97.7 or 96.1. You will hear that there is definitely a Caribbean thing in the air.

One of the greatest voices on Miami airwaves - also the pre-game DJ to ignite Miami Heat home games - we could not pass on the opportunity to have a Radio Maliboom Boom episode with Walshy Fire of Black Chiney. Listen to his exclusive Radio Maliboom Boom mix and read on for the full interview, as Walshy talks to us about Miami reggae and how he came to be part of Black Chiney. And also just why anyone might once have wanted the alarm clock to go off at 2.00 am, and then again at 3.00 am.

How did you get into DJ:ing?

Got into DJ:ing as a fan originally. I was on the scene hard, went to college in Atlanta and started to follow this sound called Changez. One night their mic man didnt show up. The party was not too ram, so joking around they were like "Walsh, get on the mic". I did and the rest is history. Fell in love with it immediatly.

How did you hook up with Black Chiney?

A mutual friend thought it would be a good idea for Bobby Chin of Black Chiney (the remix kings and production powerhouse!) to came see me DJ as myself at a party. That made it happen, and that was eight years ago!  

How do you see the Caribbean influence over Southern Florida music, culture and style?

Miami style has a definite connection. Everyone here is from, or has parents from somewhere else, so naturally that's going to play in the pop music that comes from here.

Between radio, night clubs and Miami Heat arena gigs, how many hours of reggae and dancehall do you spin a week, out of the total amount you DJ?

I DJ a lot. A whooole lot. But it's the traveling that kills me. I'm on at least four flights a week. But out of all of that DJ:ing I probably DJ 30% reggae dancehall. Walshy Fire plays the reggae hip hop and soca, and my alter ego DJ Leighton Paul plays the soulful house, old school hip hop, old school slow jams, salsa, everything! So when I travel I bring people to Miami through music, make them hear and feel what's happening in my world. Miami is the best for music, and all genres.

Black Chiney remixes and productions typically make a huge splash on the reggae scene. For each summer when there was a remix for any of the Chris Brown, Akon, John Legend or Mary J Blige songs, it seemed they would never go away! How is it that Black Chiney remixes have such great staying power?

[Producer] Dups is just a magician at production. He uses all these tools, and also used to rock a party in Miami. He passes this on to other DJs, to rock a party world wide.  It's truly a blessing to know that he is one of the top producers, period, right now.

You have a pretty impressive collection of old tapes. How did you come across them all?

Aaaah, my cassette collection! Well, where do i start. For one, I used to live on Molynes Road, Kingston, which is walking distance from Half Way Tree, where all the cassette guys would pedal their tapes. So i bought like crazy. New sounds, big sounds, tapes from the 70's, 80's. I had to have it. I literally had to have it. I was there every day to get what clash happened first. Then when I was in Miami, we had a couple radio shows that would feature a different sound system a week on it, but they aired at like 2.00 am. So i would set my alarm to 2.00 am, hit record, and then set my alarm for 3.00 am. Turn tape over, hit record, and repeat until all the shows were recorded. I just had to have it. Now I am anxiously trying to figure out how do i share this collection with the world.  

What would you say you learned from the Caribbean style of DJ:ing, and what specifically did you take away from the US style, when learning the ropes?

From the Caribbean you learn how to play music fast and set the mood for what's happening. The Miami side you get to learn how to mix it up out of the box - which is what created every member of Black Chiney.

Posted by: Stefan

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