Spotlight Interview: DJ Zel

20 July 2021

We are excited to welcome Zelda to Newham Music’s new team of Youth Ambassadors.

Zelda is 11 years old and attends St Antony’s Catholic Primary School. Zelda’s interests include DJing, music, doing philanthropy work, modelling and supporting her community. You can follow @dj__zel on Instagram where she has over 10,000 followers.

Can you tell us about your musical journey – have you always been involved with music?
My musical journey has been rewarding and exciting. I enjoy music, I like to see smiles on people’s faces, I love entertaining people as music is medicine. Yes, I have always been involved with music ever since I was young, I would always dance and sing, so when I got older I wanted something that could combine the two so I chose to be a DJ.

What inspired you to start DJing?
I love entertaining people, seeing smiles on peoples’ faces and music is medicine. I want to also inspire and empower the younger generation through music.

Who are your biggest influences and why?
My biggest influence are my family as they always push me to be the best that I can be, they always tell me to never give up and be determined.

What is the most exciting/enjoyable thing you have done since becoming a DJ?
My charity work in Ghana and my ongoing 11 for 11 campaign.

Why is community so important to you?
Community is so important to me because there are people who are less fortunate than me and are not as privileged as me therefore I want to help and support them to the best of my ability.

What do you campaign and fundraise for and why did you decide to do this?
My 11 for 11 campaign which launched on my 11th birthday. During lockdown, some of my friends were not able to do online school because of a lack of electronics as they have to share with their siblings at the same time. This made me want to help and raise funds to support children whose education has fallen behind.

What are your future career goals/plans?
My plan for the future is to fundraise a bigger amount through DJing to support food and education poverty globally.

Why are you excited to become a Youth Ambassador for Newham Music and what are you looking forward to most?
I am excited to become a Youth Ambassador for Newham Music because I love the work that [they] do and [I look forward to] giving young people the opportunity to be the best that they can be through music. I look forward to the opportunities that this can bring to the wider society.

What would you like to achieve throughout your time as a Youth Ambassador?
Throughout my time as a Youth Ambassador, I would like to inspire more young people to get involved with music

Newham Music is so excited to have Zelda on our team of Youth Ambassador’s and can’t wait to see the impact they make in our communities. You can find out more about Zelda’s 11 for 11 campaign here and donate to support her goal of raising £11,000 to tackle food and education poverty in Newham and Ghana. You can also follow her DJ activities on her successful Instagram @dj__zel.

Jack Petchey FoundationNational Foundation For Youth MusicArts Council England
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