Radio may still be the most important tool in the music industry despite the growth of the internet. For a song to really be successful, radio needs to be a part of that journey. Record labels and radio stations must work together to achieve that. Record labels must get radio stations to play the music of the artists they represent and radio stations need a constant flow of new material for their listeners.
Despite the growing popularity of the Internet as a means of distributing recorded music, radio still plays a major role in helping listeners discover new artists. Radio is no different from many businesses that are experiencing changes in the digital age.-Brian Rickman, programming director for URBan Radio Group in Tuscumbia.
Monochrome speaks to radio Dj, Shai Quan about her career in radio, women empowerment and most importantly how essential radio is for the music industry.
Happy Read!
Shai_Quan?…
My name is Chareen also known as Shai_Quan. I am 26 years old. And I was born in Omaruru.
I am a sister, a friend and future mommy to Alicia and Alex and wife to my beautiful future husband Michael. Hahaha I have always loved Michael’s LOL! They say speak things into existence.
I am Independently Owned & Operated
A young woman
A young vision
An open heart
A maturing mind
Very simple. Crazy. Warm. Driven and determined to make the world a better place for women to be independent and strong beings:
It needs women who are willing to be simple. The world has enough women who know how to be brilliant. It needs some who will be brave.
The world has enough women who are popular. It needs more who are pure.
The will to share has brought me here.
The call to give is my purpose.
How did you get into radio? When? Why?
It all started in 2010 when I auditioned to be a radio presenter at Unam Radio. A friend of mine told me about the auditions and we went together. Luckily both of us made the cut and none’s feelings were hurt. I did not study Media but I did study drama at Unam. I feel that radio has always been a part of me. From the days of Desiree Wana, Rouche Loux, Uejaa and Chi-Chi I always knew I wanted to be behind that mic. I would always be in the mirror with my hair brush or spray tin imitating them. My love for music grew even stronger and that’s why I am an old soul (LOL). Because music is my sweet escape from everything, from Leo Sayer-You make me feel dancing (1976) to Anything Ashanti. I am good. LOL! My aunt would always say ‘You know you deserve to be on radio or TV with all that personality and that damn big loud mouth of yours’ haha.
Day job?
I am a Marketing Officer and Founder of Ladies in Faith Together which is a sisterhood group.
What do you think of “Radio Presenter” as a career in Namibia?
To be in any kind of entertainment industry, you really, really have to be passionate about it and love it and persevere, because if that passion isn’t there, it’s easy to give up. If you really want it, the ambition is there, it’ll come. It’s definitely harder work than some people think. But it is a great journey and route to take because you will be introduced to a whole new world with new experiences and wonderful memories and most importantly you meet a lot of amazing people that have the same passion as you do and you are given the opportunity to broaden your knowledge and grow even more in the industry and as an individual too.
Talk to us about your DJ name? How’d that come about?
Lol! I was part of a dancing group back in high school called DHQ and we had to come up with really cool names and while I was brain storming I was listening to the radio and they were playing Busted by Isley Brothers and in the song the girl being caught in her lies had a girlfriend named Shaniqua and so I went with that name and when I first went to audition at Unam Radio they asked me what will my on air name be and in that moment I scribbled the letters of Shaniqua and came up with Shai_Quan Hahaha! It took me like five seconds to come up with it, I liked it. It was different and they loved it. They say that ‘Your best ideas often flash into your mind when you’re not expecting them’
What were your other options? Humor us.
Oh my! Haha. I had some of the most ratchet name options!! I think my main aim was to show the world how sexy I was and I came up with DJ sexy your fantasy, Miss Hot Booty, DJ Brown Sugar and the worst was DJ Turn you on. LOL. Like what is that hahaha but I am glad I did not go with them, but I also don’t think any station would’ve allowed me to use those names. Hahaha! *hides*
What does your family think of you being a Radio Dj?
My family is very supportive of work. They love hearing me on radio and my mom always told me, God didn’t give you all this talent for nothing, one day you are going to change lives with your voice. It’s always been a dream of mine to be on radio, and my mother knew that too. My mom rocks! She is the most amazing and supportive person in my life. In times where I doubted myself on air she would always tell me to believe in myself and be myself no matter what. The one thing she told me that stuck with me all this while is that ‘Tjuna you have so much heart, there is no way you cannot share that with the world’. In this industry you get to meet so many people with so many personalities and you quickly notice cliques and notice their behaviour and at times you would wonder if you are good enough for the job especially if you are young and still finding yourself. At times I felt I was not pretty enough, actually one of my teachers told me I wasn’t pretty enough to make it in the industry when I reached out to her for advice and it got to me and somehow I believed her and other times I felt I didn’t have the right accent or my voice was not right and I would always compare myself to other people. And this made me feel really bad about myself, until I started praying about it, I knew the devil was trying to take something good away from me and I started to pray for wisdom, strength and guidance. And look where I am now!
What do you love most about your job?
EVERYTHING! Too cliché? No. It’s a roller coaster ride. Every day comes with a new experience worth living. But one has to have a passion for the industry (the art), It’s deeper than being famous but more of keeping the art alive. I love the people I work with, we have become family. Being on radio is the best part of my day. I love my listeners because they have all creeped into my heart. Being able to touch so many lives just because of radio is amazing and I am grateful to God for the gift and to Fresh FM for giving me this opportunity.
How important is radio for the music industry?
The radio plays a major role in the music industry because it not only provides news information, but it also provides entertainment. Despite the onslaught of digital music, radio stations still play the top hits in various music genres. Radio stations give listeners new music to listen to while also offering a variety of music options. The radio also allows people to keep up-to-date with the latest trends in popular culture.
Music is a big platform to promote music and artists. Radio is what gives life to the music. Its radio that determines if the song is a hit or not because the music is first dropped off at the radio stations before music videos are produced. Most artists wait to see how the public receive their music before they decide on which song to shoot in a video.
Do you wish radio had more power in the industry? Like having the power to do the nominations for certain categories for music awards?
Oh Yes! Definitely! Reverting back to my previous answer I know radio plays a major role when it comes to the music industry. Radio is a powerful media tool and it is cost effective. All that is truly required from an artist is for him to bring his music to the radio station and it will immediately start to flight, at no COST! As for TV where you are required to pay for air time. We appreciate the music just as much as the artist appreciate us because we make things more easier for them, all that’s truly needed is you to market your music and their fans request their songs.
Music is a huge part of our job. You cannot have a show on radio and not play music, even talk radio shows use music between their breaks. All in all we make the music. We bring a song to life all with an introduction and playing it. The power of radio is that the world of radio is a pretty close knit one. Radio hosts often have a large amount of influence over their listeners, and if you are able to get the host of the show to introduce your music, it is like getting a direct endorsement form for the artist.
Since we work with music all the time we know all about the hits, the misses and the almost there songs. We have the statistics to back it all up especially if we do countdowns of hip and happening songs at the time. We are the first to see which songs are really making it big on the scene and how people receive and respond to the song. And this is through the requests that we get on the sms line, our phone lines and the social media pages.
We should definitely be given some power to actually nominate songs for the awards especially for categories like Song of the Year and Artists of The Year because we work with the artists too and we know how much an artists has worked on their brand and what made them stand out to earn such a nomination. They should actually look into having radio managers that have been in the game for a long time to be on the panel of judges. Baby steps right?
Please do not get me wrong, I do not want radio to take over the entire awards because we still need to include the opinions of people that have been in the industry for a long time to also put in their expertise and knowledge into the mix. Especially people that have nothing to do with our music scene like Angelique Kidjo and Yvonne Chaka Chaka that have been doing music for over 30 years, imagine how much they have learned along the way and how much our people can learn from such people.
The radio stations can take in so much insight from this and even host their own awards just to break the arts, culture and entertainment market to create more events on the social scene.
What do you think about music in Namibia? Are you happy with where we are right now?
The history of the music industry is inevitably also the story of the development of technology. From the player piano to the vinyl disc, from reel-to-reel tape to the cassette, from the CD to the digital download, these formats and devices changed not only the way music was consumed, but the very way artists created it. And for this I strongly feel the Namibian music industry has evolved a whole lot. From the days of the Sanlam Music Awards to the NAMA’s even the quality of the awards has upgraded. There is always room for improvement and our artists need to keep an eye and ear on the International music to be updated with what is happening and how they can also improve themselves. It’s not just about your music but also you the artist as a brand that speaks a lot about you. Yes we hear your music but what else is there to you?! And this is where PR and Music Managers come in, not a lot of our artists believe in investing in that because they feel they can do it themselves but you need to get someone that can manage you properly someone with expertise and the knowledge if you want to build a master brand.
The quality of music being produced now in our country is good, the quality of music videos has improved, and the quality of music shows has surely improved too. Looking back where we came from.
But if we also become innovative and not do what everyone is doing a lot can be done for the industry. Great things happen when you leave your comfort zone.
Whose craft do you admire most among Namibian artists?
I LOVE anything and everything Lize Elhers.
I admire this woman so much because since she came on the scene Lize has been the epitome of evolution for me. She is hard working, driven and ambitious. She created the brand Lize and got so many people to believe in it because of all the work she puts in towards the brand. She is always out and about doing music courses to improve herself on stage. She believes in the dream of the Namibian child and with this she has created a great platform for upcoming Namibian artists to show case their talent at Song Night, which has proven to be a great success. She wants more for herself, her family and the Namibian nation and that really made me fall more in love with her. She has so much heart and it comes out in everything that she does, from fashion, charity, to her performing or just walking on the streets she carries herself with so much grace. She was the mastermind behind Day Of Giving last year and see how much of a success that was. She is constantly reminding you to care for the less fortunate. We need more people like her in the industry and so many artists can learn so much from her. Mind you she is the only Namibian artist that has her music available on itunes. Oh my, I can go on all day about this stunning woman.
Who (artist) can you never not include in your set?
I try to include everyone in my set because every artist is someone’s favourite artist. You have to cater to different people because not everyone has the same taste. I never want to exclude anyone from the journey. I’ve always wanted to be a DJ so I could play the music I love for other people. That feeling hasn’t changed, but my sets are always evolving. In terms of tailoring to a specific crowd, certainly I do play differently depending on the situation. It’s a different feel, for example, in a small club versus a festival or someone being happy or sad and just giving them that bit of hope that they might need at that time. You just never know who is listening and what they’re dealing with.
What is your favourite part when doing your set?
Giving my listeners feel good jamming. Music heals. Music gives hope. Music reduces stress. Music elevates your mood too. I make it a point to take my listeners on a journey, a journey that will take you to your happy place that you haven’t been to in a while. I am not about that basic life so what I bring on air goes beyond telling my listeners the time and show name! I want to touch and gradually but firmly establish an idea or attitude in a person’s mind when you listen to the show. Be it that you learn something new or give you a new found love for the art.
Do you dress up for it? Like all out? Or not at all?
It depends on what I was doing before I go on air, if I had a busy day running around with errands especially meetings then I might be a little too overdressed. But most of the time I get time to head over home to change and come to studio. At times I will meet my girlfriends after studio so I will be dressed up for the night lol and at times I am just too lazy to get dressed up and show up with no makeup, messy bun, big shirt and leggings. LOL! Especially on Saturday’s when I have to wake up at 4 am for the Classic Sunrise. I show up looking a mess, as long as I show up right?! Hahaha!
Do you ever get bad feedback about your sessions?
Honestly, I have not received any bad feedback on my shows. Sometimes a listener will just be a little mad at you because you did not play their song but that is because time ran out and you cannot get to all the requests but the quality of my shows is always up to standard. I work hard at preparing for every show because I do not want to go on air and just be ordinary, I want to touch your soul. Something has to shift in you. You’d be surprised at how many times you have a first time listener, and trust and believe first impressions count the most. You want that person to be a regular and find home on the show so it’s important to bring your best across and it all comes with prep and heart.
What’s your favourite song right now? Local and International?
I am such an old soul and anything soul is what I love the most but these days I have been listening to some hip hop music because of the Hip Hop Music Shows we collaborate on as media partners. I am digging Fifi Cooper’s vibe. I love her song with Emtee ‘Kuze Kuze’ and locally it has to be Adora and Sally’s Ahawe. Girl Power!
Do you have a catch phrase?
Yes I do. Uzozumoya. Which means keep the fire burning. I say it at the end of my sets, reminding my listeners to never stop dreaming and be happy.
Hope for the music industry?
My hope is that our artists take the art seriously and actually keep educating themselves about it and keep bettering themselves and the industry. Once you work on yourself you have more to bring to the table right?! I would love to see more music workshops beings held in Namibia to create new standards for the quality of our music production too. These are essential and it will strengthen the artist’s power over their music too, how great would it be for our artists to even learn how to play instruments and not just flow with beats. This will lead us in the direction of having more Live Performances as well and more people would actually come out to see the shows rather than me paying to go watch you perform to a song playing in the background on a CD or stick. I hope that our artists get working hard until they no longer have to introduce themselves to anyone in London or the States for instance. I hope to see our own be nominated for International recognized awards and actually influence the Continental and International music scene.
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Quick fun Q’s
Rick Dee or Ryan Seacrest?
Rick Dee. Most of my best childhood radio moments are because of him. I love him!! Every Sunday between 2-6 I would tune into the top40 because of him. While getting myself ready for school the next day.
Who would you want to have on your show?
Drake or J Cole?
J Cole. He has so much heart and he brings that across in his music.
Nicki Minaj or Rihanna?
Rihanna
AKA or Cassper?
AKA
Young T or Kalux? Young T
Young T. He produces his own music and he is lyrically gifted. He has a different flow and not your everyday sound. And I like different.
Kiss, Marry or Kill
Gazza, Miguel, Bryson Tiller
Kiss-Miguel: Have you seen those lips?!
Marry-Gazza: That beard is so damn sexy.
Kill-Bryson Tiller
Catch Shai_Quan on The Fresh Ingredient on Fresh Fm 102.9 Namibia
It’s every day from 6-9pm.
as well as
The Classic Sunrise on Saturday from 6-10 am
