After school when some students are doing homework or studying for a test, freshman Neelan Shah, he is getting ready to mix beats for his 80,000 followers on TikTok.
Known online as “DJ Neel,” Shah has built a solid fanbase for his creative mix-ups, all produced from his bedroom that doubles as a mini studio equipped with a DJ controller, LED lights and a laptop.
“My goal is to start doing more gigs,” Shah said. “The feeling of a video going viral keeps me motivated to do even better work for my audience, and for myself.”
Shah’s videos typically feature a mix-up of two or three rap or pop songs.
With about 80,000 followers, he averages about 40,000 likes and 100,000 views per post. His most popular video, a mix up of three songs – “No Broke Boys” by Disco Lines and Tinashe, “Low” by Flo Rida, and “Last Friday Night” by Katy Perry – received 2.4 million views and almost 270,000 likes.
Inspired by other DJs on TikTok and his older brother’s interest in music, Shah started when he got a DJ controller for his birthday. Since then, he has posted more than 140 videos in a span of five months.
He credits his consistency as the key in growing his audience and having a steady stream of viral videos.
At school, Shah’s classmates are both supportive and shocked at the same time.
“It was sick that he improved his channel over a short period of time, in terms of video production and music quality,” freshman Alex Nasra said.
Another student showed a similar reaction.
“I was shocked because I didn’t think DJ-ing would get him so viral,” freshman Olivia Overman said.
Overall, they are proud of what he’s doing, putting himself out in a big crowd.
