As you may or may not have heard, earlier this week on South Africa’s Got Talent, a 3 year old child was named this years winner. After showcasing his DJ “Skills” on his first appearance, he was given the ultimate reward of the “Golden Buzzer” which automatically put him in the Semi-finals. His parents say he’s been DJing since a very early age. Considering at the age of 3, most children can barely scribble with a crayon, it’s safe to say that this kid is an apparent Einstein.
Regardless, after winning it all, the child took home a prize of 35,000 dollars, and has upcoming indorsements with Beats By Dre and Mini Cooper, just to name a few. It was also stated that any money he earns from sponsorships and donations, will be used to “improve his living standards and further his eduational needs.”
Kudos to Dj Archer Jnr, really. Any 3 year old who can hold his own on television to win that kind of purse gets a golf clap from me. With that being said.. My question is, what has our beloved scene turned into?
A fairly large television series sets up a child in front of a laptop, has him turn some knobs, do some cute head movements, and he’s awarded thousands of dollars for pushing the play button? Not to mention the other actually talented people he beat out for that large sum of money and other endorsements that would have come with. But because DJing and electronic music are so “in” right now, a child pushes play and wins thousands of dollars on a global television show. Is this a joke? Sadly it’s not. It does however, make our scene and the genuine collective efforts of those a part of it, appear as a joke. If you’re like me, you love this scene and take this as a slap in the face. We get enough criticism with the misconceptions that come with the scene, now we can officially add “DJing, for ages 3 and up.”