It’s not everyday that a piece of information completely catches me off-guard and utterly leaves me speechless and wondering whether I am an idiot or not…

Let’s start at the beginning to shed some light, shall we?

As you know (after a year yapping about it!) I am gearing up for a Big Journey unlike others: to drive around the world DJing in every country to fight child hunger worldwide.

Most people, including me it turns out, think that it’s only in developing countries that some children go to bed hungry at night because their parents or caretakers do not have enough to provide for them.

Wrong!

Robbie Pesut, the owner of Globe, one of the trendy spots I regularly DJ at, revealed to me — while I was sharing with him my world tour plans and the mission behind it — that his business ventures also support an agency that provides school meals to children whose parents cannot afford to properly feed them. And, these are not kids a few continents away but in Montreal!

That’s the piece of reality check that left me speechless in shock and embarrassment in perfect measures.

I was initially planning one $25 000 fundraiser DJ marathon in Montreal to benefit United Nations World Food Programme in their school meals projects that would be able to feed 100 000 children in developing nations (this was pushed to May 2011).

But I decided to support Montreal my hometown, first. I have lived and traveled in many cities and Montreal has been the best home for me, yes even with the brutal winters!

Just in case the message has not been heard loud and clear, here goes again: I believe that NO human being, especially a child, should go to bed hungry at night because she or he does not enough to eat. And that includes a child in Montreal, a city in a G8 country!

Silvana Pesut, a senior Globe exec put me in touch with Valérie Morquette, the communications coordinator at Le Garde-Manger Pour Tous which is a Montreal organisation that produces 3000 HOT & BALANCED meals per school day, which amounts to HALF A MILLION meals every year for children mostly from disadvantaged backgrounds in Montreal.

On a minus 30 degrees (Celsius) day (Yes, I never forget freezing cold days!), I met with Ms Morquette to expose her my plan to raise $25 000 in a single week month for her organisation and that’s how the JaBig’s $25 000 DJ Marathon Fundraiser for Montreal’s Hungry School Kids, on Monday 21st March until Sunday 28th March 2011** Sunday 27th March  until Wednesday 27th April came about.

Check it out on Facebook as details are still panned out. To show your support please RSVP “Attending”. This does not imply your physical presence but your seal of approval.

** The dates were shifted around due to scheduling conflicts related to professional engagements that I had to fulfill since they were booked a few months prior.

On Saturday 13th March 2010, Lady Oracle and J-Nice welcomed me on their live radio show, The Limelight on CJLO 1690 AM (Montreal, Canada) to talk about my upcoming World Tour and they were surprised when they handed me the turntables and I dropped a classic Hip-Hop DJ set.

Why?

I am a House Music DJ and their radio show is a 100%  Underground Hip Hop & R&B. They did not know that I had a few tricks up my sleeves and hence the pleasant surprise.

We joked around, took some pics and they offered me with a t-shirt that I will definitely wear on my Big Journey.

If you were not tuned in, listen to the show by pressing PLAY below and if you do not see the player, simply click here.

JaBig on The Limelight:

Download audio file (limelight-cjlo-032010.mp3)

JaBig’s Playlist on The Limelight CJLO 1690 AM:

JaBig’s CJLO 1690 Photo Slide Show

They used to say that God is a DJ but it turns out that Granny is too!

This heartwarming story reveals that it’s never too late to do anything. The lesson from 69-year old Ruth Flowers aka Granny DJ, is that all of us must chase our dreams and let nothing stand in our way.

Go Granny! And, shake it like a Polaroid Pictyaaa!

If you cannot view the video above, check it out at YouTube: Granny DJ Rocks Paris Clubs

On Saturday 20th Feb, I was honoured to be a guest on Les idées sont dans l’Air (@lisdla), a French-language radio show hosted by Khady Mbissine Beye on Montreal’s CHOQ.FM to talk about my upcoming round-the-word road trip and the One Billion it’s dedicated to. We also had a little party where I got to spin a few tunes live on air while the everybody was pulling the best of their dance moves.

To listen to the show’s archived recording (aka: podcast) click on the play button below:

Download audio file (128_156.mp3)

The ” impromptu party” was also captured and broadcast live on UStream. If you missed out, see the video after the jump and dance, baby!

Thanks to Ms Beye (@khadyb) and fellow fun purveyors Audrey Albicy (@Audrwey) Ansfrid Tchetchenigbo (@ansfrid) , Stekkino aka Black Romano (@stekkino) and Jonrama (@jonrama) for the warm welcome and good times. There’s talk for another visit an invitation that I intend to honour  sooner than later

On Dec 12th at Bassment, I was honoured to spin at The Gotsoul Sessions: The Volunteer Appreciation Edition feat. jojoflores, Mike Fresco & JaBig, which was my and my partners holiday party for our supporters, colleagues and fans but with some precious guests: the different volunteers of Montreal.

Here are some pictures of the party. Feel free to click on the slideshow to view photos individually. Big thanks to The Volunteer Bureau of Montreal who helped us in making it happen and we look forward to more events of this nature with them

See you at the next year’s holiday party!

View the entire The Gotsoul Sessions: The Volunteer Appreciation Edition feat. jojoflores, Mike Fresco & JaBig photo collection

From folks who help feed the poor, those who visit the sick in hospital, kind souls that act as big sisters or brothers to children without an authority figure to understanding people who help troubled teens, there so many self-effacing Montrealers who contribute their time and energy to diverse charitable causes in the city.

These kind souls do it just to make a difference in someone’s and do not do it for the glory or acclaim. It’s time that someone recognized them for their benevolent effort. While a verbal “thank-you” is good enough for them, gotsoul records is taking a more concrete stance by publicly honouring them.

The gotsoul Sessions: The Volunteer Appreciation Edition feat. jojoflores, Mike Fresco & JaBig is the first yearly party dedicated to various volunteers the charity sector in Montreal. Thanks to The Volunteer Bureau of Montreal (in French: Le Centre d’action bénévole de Montréal, whose mission is to promote volunteerism to the general public and to provide support services to community organizations using volunteers) for working with us to make this exciting event happen.

Every year, we throw a Christmas party thanking our fans, supporters and colleagues but this year, we have decided to give thanks to those who care about others. It’s our way to say that not only do we appreciate their commitment but we also respect and encourage it further.

They’re our guests of honour and shall be treated as such on Dec 12th at Bassment.

Journal Métro, the Montreal edition of the world’s largest daily newspaper according to the Guinness Book of Records, has named Terrasses Bonsecours, the # 1 Montreal Terrace.

“Avec une vue imprenable sur le fleuve, son grand choix de sangrias réinventées et son DJ live : c’est le nouvel endroit branché pour les 5 à 7″ says the most-read daily in Montreal. (Read more and see the complete list. It’s in French language)

It’s such a joy and an honour to be recognised as part of the element that makes Terrasses Bonsecours, the terrace of choice of Journal Métro. It should also be note that Suite 701, the third terrace on the Top 10 List is a place where I regularly make guest appearances.