Exactly six months ago, I made the biggest announcement of my life ever by revealing that I was about to embark on a round-the-world tour by… car! It goes without saying that this is a huge project especially given the fact that no other DJ in history, or artist/entertainer for that matter, has ever undertaken such an adventure.

What have I been up to in the last six months?

Well, it turns out that planning an adventure around the world that is half a trip and half a DJ tour is as complex as staging a project as big as a huge festival!

Let’s use the most popular festival in Canada as an example. Over 2 million people attend the Montreal International Jazz Fest yearly and attendance to some shows is over 100,000 and sometimes over 200,000 according to official figures.

While I don’t think that any of my shows will attract as many people overall my Big Journey (the project name of my world tour), I believe that it will have the same reach if not ten times more overall.

Wishful thinking on my part?

Not if you consider this:

- Four to five years performing in nightclubs, at festivals and at other various music events in hundreds of countries on six continents, will certainly put the total live audience to over 150 000.

- The Big Journey will also include a round-the-world radio tour where I will be guest DJing live on the air. Personally, I don’t listen to the radio but it turns out that millions around the world still do which make sense given the fact that when stuck in a traffic jam there are no other methods of entertainment.

- Blogs: my personal Big Journey blog/official website (JaBig.com) does not get a significant amount of traffic, yet. However, I will be a contributing editor and columnist for a number of blogs that make the Technorati Top 100 Blogs list. To put numbers into perspective, they each attract over 2 million monthly unique visitors.

- I cannot predict the reach of television and newspaper publicity efforts because it’s like trying to predict the lotto. I can score small or score big but will hopefully score big

Before I get carried away with numbers (I am semi-obsessed with “the reach” because the more people are aware of the Big Journey, the better I can champion my cause), let me get back to the original point of explaining why this is a complex project that requires meticulous planning as so many variables will be at play once I hit the road and one off little element can have semi-disastrous consequences.

When I made the big announcement six months ago, I just wanted to get in a car and drive around the world without too much fanfare. As time went by, the project grew more than I had anticipated. From there, my team and I decided to go all out and make it as big as possible if we really want to impact the world.

Thus, we’ve been planning and slaving over details to make sure that the Big Journey and its related projects such as Beats for Life, DEX 101, the radio tour, the speaking engagements and more (without forgetting sightseeing and having fun of course!)  are a success in all the countries and cities around the world that they will tour.

This is getting too long so I will stop here

In a future post, I will be detailing exactly what I will be doing when I am travelling and touring. In the meantime, I’d like to thank you for your support and kind words and I look forward to seeing you in your country, city or community

How do JaBig and Gotsoul Records welcome the summer season and the 2010 Canadian Formula 1 Grand Prix back to Montreal after a year hiatus? With a big, beautiful brash bash of course!

The Love Sundays afternoon party coincided with a crazy weekend in the unofficially official Canadian culture capital city in which the famed Montreal festival kicked-off with the Francofolies Festival and the Fireworks Festivals in full effect without forgetting the 2010 South Africa World Cup of course.

How many more excuses to party did fun-loving Montrealers need, if they ever needed one in the first place?

Sunday afternoon + great weather + a slick terrace + dope music + up-for-it party people + JaBig & gotsoul DJs and guests = Love Sundays, the supreme sexy summer starter. Not even Jamie Oliver himself would have come with such a perfect recipe.

Click on the pic below for the complete photo album set courtesy of Steve Bishop, the Love Sundays curator.

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

A few “FYI” facts on this International Women’s Day:

- Who produces 60 to 80 percent of food in developing nations?
Women.

- When food is scarce, who is the last to eat?
Women.

- Who ensures that children have food to eat, even before themselves?
Women.

Women have the power to break the cycle of hunger and poverty, and you and I can help reach this goal. (Source: WFP)

I have sent a message of solidarity to women across the globe who fight everyday to make hunger history in their own households and around the world.

(If you cannot view the video above, click here: International Women’s Day 2010 – Women: the Front line Against Hunger)

Last night amidst the Canadian Men’s hockey team winning the Winter Olympic gold medal over the US, music lovers worldwide were saddened and shocked to hear that the legendary underground rapper Guru suffered a cardiac arrest, went in a coma and this Monday was in hospital fighting for his life.

If all Hip-Hop was like Guru’s music, I would still be spinning urban music. I actually was blessed enough to discover Rap and Hip-Hop via some conscious music such as the Jazzmatazz albums.

I pray for Guru and wish him a speedy recovery.

Status update: He fought good and he made it:  ”I am doing fine and I am recovering! I’m weak though.” Read more: Guru Issues Official Statement About Health Status

Update II: Really bad news: Gang Starr rapper Guru dies at 43

More about Guru at Wikipedia or at MySpace.

Below is my favourite number by Guru. What’s yours? Share in the comments section below…

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

One my three-month stay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007, this song was like an anthem as I heard it played live in every bar and club I went to.

See photos of my Rio de Janeiro three-month holiday.

It’s one of the songs that make me miss Rio so much and I cannot wait to spend quite a while there on my world tour.

For the fun of it, I added some vids of various songs that were inspired from: “Canto De Ossanha”

Enjoy!

Vinícius de Moraes with Friends

Astrud Gilberto

Vinícius de Moraes, Jobim, Toquinho & Miúcha

Baden Powell

Jurassic 5

Black Eyed Peas ft. De La Soul – Cali to New York (Sampled)

Today’s Music Monday tune is a 2000 house music classic by San Francisco deep don DJ RaSoul featuring Star on vocals.