JSU graduating senior Dallas Brown has been selected as one of the top 32 college DJs competing in the first-of-its-kind 2021 National Collegiate Performing Arts (NCPA)™ College DJ Championship. Winning DJs will receive $10,000 in cash prizes split among themselves and their chosen social justice or environmental charities, plus $20,000 in high-end DJ gear.
“I’m grateful for this opportunity,” said Brown, also known as DJ Dally B. “I anticipate representing my HBCU, ‘THEEILOVE’ very well. I feel like going to all those college parties has finally paid off.”
Brown’s spinning skills secured him a position to compete against the country’s best college DJs, who were selected and seeded by region.
The inaugural all-virtual event is hosted by UpStaged™ Entertainment Group (UpStaged) and NCPA™, industry leaders in performing arts competitions. Sponsors include DJ equipment provider Roland and arts streaming platform Broadstream.
Voting for the bracket-style competition has already begun. Competing DJs will face off in three-minute vs. three-minute videos organized into regional brackets and are co-hosted by recording artist Ebonique and ESPN television host Cassidy Hubbarth. Modeled after NCAA’s March Madness, the voting battle will end on Nov. 21. Watch battling DJs and vote on UpStagedU.com.
DJ Dally B is the South Region’s No. 3 seed. He will represent the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Jackson State University as he battles head-to-head against the region’s No. 2 seed, DJ Riff Roadie of Conference USA’s University North Carolina at Charlotte.
Winners will be determined by fans voting digitally at UpstagedU.com and a star-studded celebrity DJ judging panel, including Disco Mix Club U.S. Scratch Champion DJ Immortal; Grammy Award-winning Record Producer DJ Babey Drew; and Power 106.1 Radio Personality DJ A&G. DJs are evaluated on technical skills, music selection, overall sound and energy, performance creativity, and showmanship.
To share wins and updates on social media and encourage students, alumni and fans to vote for DJ Dally B, please tag @UpStagedNCPA and use the hashtags #NCPAchamps, #UpstagedU and #NCPAdjcontest.
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UpStaged Entertainment Group is an NYC- and L.A.-based diversified performing arts platform empowering the world’s student performers to compete for live/digital national championships, like student-athletes, across more than 20 genres (e.g., step, comedy, a cappella groups) in premier venues and on virtual platforms — from Lincoln Center to Zoom. Operating under the NCPA and National High School Performing Arts (NHSPA) brands to bring successful sports models to performing arts, UpStaged creates the structure to bring cohesiveness to historically siloed performing arts communities.
Roland // V-Moda // Roland Cloud Since being founded in 1972, Roland has been a top DJing equipment provider, developing a steady stream of world-leading technologies and trendsetting products that have inspired creators and helped define entire musical genres. Their dedication to introducing new value to the musical instrument and multimedia markets keeps the brand on the cutting edge as they continue to expand into new areas, such as V-moda (headphones, earphones, and other mobile audio products that are a combination of style and top of the line technology) and Roland Cloud (a subscription service for software synthesis systems).
Broadstream is a new, free-for-the-user, arts and art adjacent streaming platform featuring original content that showcases art that meets the moment, specifically curated for young, engaged and diverse viewers. Broadstream proudly empowers and features artists who have too often been historically marginalized, dedicating their platform to amplifying their voices in pursuit of artistic justice.