From mops to mixes: A 22-year-old’s rise to the DJ booth

At just 22 years old, Nicholas Mariga, better known by his stage name as, DJ Fatty, is living proof that dreams backed by determination, grit, and a mother’s love can come true.

From scrubbing floors and washing glasses at Platinum 7D Dj Fatty is now commanding the decks at the very same club. His journey is a powerful tale of rising against the odds.

With no formal training, limited resources, and a burning passion for music, he curved out his path through hard work, mentorship, and relentless self-belief.

Today, he is not just playing music he is playing out the soundtrack of his class six dream, that he refused to give up on.

In an interview with Mtaa Wangu, DJ Fatty narrates how in 2023, he was just a steward at 7D. He landed the job through a friend.

At the time, his work ranged from cleaning glasses in the kitchen to scrubbing washrooms and general club maintenance. But even while working behind the scenes, the stage was calling.

“While washing glasses in the kitchen, I would MC to myself,” he recalls with a smile. “My colleagues noticed my passion and kept telling me to try it out on the main podium. That encouragement kept me going.”

He says, 7D became more than just a job. It became the stage for his transformation. Fatty took a leap of faith and decided to learn the craft of deejaying, by watching and noting down the songs on a piece of paper.

“How I learnt mixing music was through DJ Lito. He held my hand through the whole process. I learnt how to use a laptop, how to mix, and how to understand music flow from him. He would also allow me to play an opening set for about 30 minutes on the days he was playing,” he shares.

But his journey wasn’t just about talent, it required serious sacrifice.

He notes that there are days he would not go home, “I remember days I would do my cleaning job by the day and later take my shower in the gent’s washroom. Drop my overall for a nice outfit and wait for the guest DJ so I could learn one or two from him,” he notes, saying there're weeks he would stay at the club four days in a row without leaving.

“With all this, I could not have made it without my mother,” I remember how we had to open a small hotel together to raise funds so I could buy my first laptop and continue learning deejaying from home,” he reminisces.

Dj Fatty notes that from his steward job, he had managed to save sh 30,000 which he used sh 17,000 of it to buy a hard drive for storing music, but that left him short of the sh 50,000 needed for the laptop.

“That’s when my mum and I agreed to open the hotel. I would work and save the proceeds until we had enough for the laptop. In addition, I would save sh 5,000 from my steward job,” he recalls.

He did all this, working two jobs, learning to DJ, and never letting go of his dream.

Today, his dream is that one day he will trade cleaning glasses and fully jump onto the headphones and deck and eventually get to the heights of DJs he looks up to, including DJ Joe Mfalme.

Currently DJ Fatty plays regular sets at 7D on Mondays, where he juggles between mopping floors and entertaining revellers.

“For me, 7D is more than an entertainment joint. It’s the place where I found myself,” he says.