“Anything is possible.”
That’s the empowering message to young music creatives in T&T from the internationally acclaimed DJ Anarchy (Alinton Brereton).
In seven short years, Brereton went from dreaming of the bright lights in his Princes Town bedroom in south Trinidad to opening for the “African Giant”, afrobeats star Burna Boy (Damini Ogulu) in Detroit, USA.
The Moruga-born celebrity DJ also went on to realise a childhood dream in April when he walked the red carpet at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Back in T&T for a short stint last week, the affable entertainer was adamant about passing on the secret to success to similar young dreamers on the islands.
“My message to the young generation is that anything is possible. Manifest it and work diligently to make it a reality. Don’t let anyone dim your light or tell you that your dreams are ‘dotishness’, as we say here in Trini,” Brereton chuckled during a recent open online exchange with the Kitcharee.
To reach the top of any field, however, requires tempering ambition with humility, he warned.
“Most importantly stay humble and keep grinding. Starve the ego and feed the hustle.
“Too many times the younger ones are taught or misled to believe that you have to have a huge ego to be successful in this business. No, you don’t. The minute you develop an ego is when you start blocking your blessings. Music is a mission not a competition; help each other build and climb up the ladder together. Be your brother’s and sister’s keeper,” he added.
Actively chasing the dream
Brereton moved to Houston, Texas, in 2015 with one goal: making a name for himself in music. The St Stephen’s College-graduate had just completed a degree in Management Information Systems (IT) at The UWI South Open campus, but the call to music was just too strong to ignore.
“Before moving to the USA, I already knew that music was going to be my life. My first musical love was old school dancehall/dub, reggae and soca which my family would play non-stop while living in Moruga.
“When I moved out of Moruga I was exposed to many different genres of music like pop, EDM and rock because of the very diverse ethnicities of friends I met. I’m not ashamed to say it, but I was a huge Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys fan back in the day,” he laughed.
To this day, Brereton says he listens to all genres of music. That genuine cross-genre palate has accounted for DJ Anarchy’s famous “once it sounds good, I’ll play it” approach.
“I love music in its entirety. I love every genre, honestly, I don’t have a favourite because different types of music put me in different modes, and this is the true beauty and essence of it. Being from Trinidad and Tobago has definitely helped me to open my mind and embrace all genres of music because to really rock a crowd you have to be truly versatile,” he added.
Entertaining the stars
As a celebrity DJ, Brereton often finds himself entertaining other well-known creatives such as actors, writers, filmmakers and musicians. Through his connections from working on his SiriusXM radio show he has also been invited to tour with several music acts.
“This is what I do on a weekly basis; I work closely with these people and entities who are making a major impact musically on the world. You would be really shocked to know that these ‘celebrities’ are some of the humblest, easygoing people. They are just like me and you, but they simply believed in their dream and made it a reality through hard work,” he said.
Those examples of humility and the incredible work ethic he saw at close quarters from people like Burna Boy and Konvict Kulture label act Teemany have been inspiring, he said.
“These guys’ work ethic, focus and execution are out of this world and it’s truly an honour to be able to work closely with artistes of this calibre. It’s really funny because I’ve been puttin’ in so much work, sometimes I don’t realise the major moves I’ve been making because it’s always ‘OK, that’s completed now onto the next’. I guess it’s a clear indication that I’m on the right path to success and making my dreams become a reality one step at a time,” he said.
Brereton says his ultimate goal is to rise to a stature similar to the world-famous hitmaking DJ Khaled (Khaled Mohammed Khaled). Once he has that clout, the plan is to showcase local talent on his global platform.
“I’m all about flying the flag and representing for my country at the highest level. Also I want to help expose our potentially award-winning talented artistes right here in Trinidad and Tobago to the world, that’s the dream.”
