Go DJ! – School is in session at Promix DJ Academy

Some know Cliff Melerine as DJ Hurricane, the New Orleans-native and Renaissance man in the entertainment industry. He’s an “everywhere man” in recording booths, and throughout his career, he’s rapped, produced, engineered and mixed tracks.

As a teen, he was a b-boy and break-dancer. His talents were seen by the likes of Quincy Jones at the WYLD talent show, where Melerine showed off his skills for thousands and won.

“I was probably the first white kid to win the WYLD talent show,” he says, laughing. “That was interesting. It was the 10th year anniversary. I was rapping, dancing, and singing. I get a standing ovation from 10,000 people at the Lakefront Arena.”

If it weren’t for a bit of bad timing, Melerine probably would have been the next big thing in New Jack Swing, alongside the likes of Jodeci and Tevin Campbell.

However, one might suspect the career and fanfare that comes with being a young ’80s heartbreaker doesn’t match Melerine’s current status as an around-the-town DJ and instructor at Promix DJ Academy, his own DJ school and academy located on Little John Drive.

The original idea of scratch academy came from Jam Master Jay and went nationwide. While living and working in Miami, Melerine was offered a chance to teach at the South Beach’s academy. The idea of teaching DJ skills and scratching records wasn’t something he fathomed.

“I knew I enjoyed teaching,” he says. “I had taught martial arts, and I’m still active with that. I hadn’t thought about teaching music though. I never knew much about teaching DJ’ing, or that there was a way or specific curriculum. I was one of these old-school cats who would get a tip from this guy or watch this guy. We didn’t have YouTube back then, so a lot of what I learned was from trial and error.”

Once he started teaching at the Miami academy, Melerine saw something that wasn’t available in his home state. At a fork in the road, he and his then-pregnant wife had to decide to settle down in Florida or come back to family and pursue other options.

“I just started getting the idea that there’s nothing like a scratch academy in the Gulf Coast,” he says. “The closest one was the one in Miami. Why not take the concept and rewrite my own curriculum and build the school the way I want to do it? I started the ball rolling right then and there two years ago.”

After searching for a prime location and settling down in Denham Springs, Melerine opened Promix DJ Academy this January, teaching everything from DJ 101 (an introductory course designed for someone who has never touched a turntable before) to Turntablism (using turntables as an instrument) to learning how to mix songs.

“I had a pretty good turnout the first semester,” he says. “It’s been a roller coaster already.”

In a couple of months, Melerine has certified a few DJs and has a roster of talent who work gigs in and around Baton Rouge and New Orleans, three-to-four nights a week. There’s Lamar Thompson, a.k.a. DJ Greenlight, who is a student and instructor; Nate Taylor, a.k.a. DJ Ndoe, who has been a DJ for 23 years and came to Promix to sharpen his skills; there’s Corey Migliore, a.k.a. DJ Mig, who has DJ’ed since he was a child and graduated Melerine’s program last semester; then there’s another list of students who are coming up in the program.

Witnessing a jam session with his students, one can see Melerine’s vision — developing the talent to provide the nightclub sounds. He’s not arrogant about what tools DJs use and knows about how some will roll their eyes at the notion of DJs who use controllers; he’s more interested in the person’s work ethic.

“It’s about the outcome,” he says. “I tell my students, ‘Look, I got some friends that build a good crowd banging on plastic buckets in New Orleans.’ It’s about being good at what you’re using and how to properly use those tools.”

Check our video of a jam session at Promix Academy below: