By Our Reporter
For many DJs, the conversation around the craft often begins and ends with sound, what genre you play, how smooth your transitions are, how well you can read a room, or whether your set can keep people on the dancefloor until sunrise.
In a scene where many DJs are often boxed into a specific sound, it is easy to assume that what works for one DJ may not necessarily work for another. But the latest edition of the Guinness Smooth Creator Lab at Shisha Nyama in Bugolobi proved otherwise.
For the first time, the Creator Lab shifted its focus entirely to DJs, and instead of centering the conversation on technical skill alone, the session dug deeper into the trade itself, the discipline, the business, and perhaps most importantly, the money.
Presented by Elixir by El, the session was led by UK-based DJ Maintain, an English selector whose career has moved across hip hop, R&B, soulful house and broken beat. Rather than arriving with a polished lecture on beat matching and transitions, Maintain brought something more useful: honesty.
His own story began in the most familiar way possible, borrowing what wasn’t his. A self-taught DJ, Maintain started by secretly using his brother’s decks whenever his brother left the house. Eventually, he was caught, but instead of punishment, his brother offered him a few basics that would shape the rest of his career.
Today, Maintain has built a sound far wider than what first inspired him. While hip hop and R&B formed his early foundation, broken beat became a defining influence, eventually pushing him into production as well.
“Broken beats came from hip hop for me,” he explained. “That’s how I somehow started producing it.”
His understanding of music, he noted, is often tied to time and mood. Morning sets belong to a soulful house. Afternoons call for R&B. Different spaces demand different energies, and for a DJ, reading that rhythm is just as important as technical skill.
Even his name came from instinct rather than branding strategy. “I used to say the word ‘maintain’ so much when I was young,” he laughed. “I’d tell my guys, ‘you need to maintain this.’ So people started saying, ‘here comes Maintain,’ and I thought it was cool.”
Originally, he had wanted to call himself DJ Redds, inspired by American rapper Redman, but there was already a legendary DJ Redds in the scene. Maintain stayed. One of the most striking conversations of the night came when he spoke about vinyl, an increasingly romanticized but demanding format in today’s digital age.
“Unlike laptops, when I’m looking for a song with vinyl, I have to flip through them,” he said. “You have to live in the moment. But it’s the best way of playing music, it’s warm.”
Still, the loudest reaction from the room came when the conversation turned to money.
For young DJs, pricing remains one of the most uncomfortable parts of the job. Many are caught between wanting opportunities and not wanting to undersell themselves. Maintain did not sugarcoat it.
“DJ money is sweet and sour,” he said. “You have some promoters who will pay you on time and others who want to pay when the bar is filled.”
Then came the line that many in the room quietly wrote down.
“One thing I can tell DJs with prices, start high. There is always someone that wants you, but the price.”
It was a reminder that beyond playlists and transitions, DJs are also businesses. Branding matters. Positioning matters. Knowing your worth matters.
Speaking about the intention behind the platform, Guinness Smooth Brand Manager Denise Nazinda noted that the Creator Lab was designed to create spaces where creatives can learn from people who have already navigated the industry.
“The Guinness Smooth Creator Lab is about giving young creatives access,” she said. “We know talent exists everywhere, but sometimes what is missing is the guidance, the conversation and the opportunity to hear directly from those who have done it before. For DJs especially, understanding the business side of the craft is just as important as the talent itself.”
That is what made this edition of Guinness Smooth Creator Lab feel different. It wasn’t about showing off skill behind the decks; it was about understanding what happens before and after the set. Because sometimes, the real masterclass is not in how you play the music. It is in how you survive it.
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