MistaJam

In this day and age, true renaissance men in entertainment are rare. MistaJam aka Pete Dalton is one of these rare few and like all true renaissance men, he started early. He inherited a love of music from his parents who bought him a Fisher Price record deck aged two upon which he would spin a rather eclectic collection of 7” vinyl singles appropriated from various family members and the local corner shop. This love blossomed into a deejay hobby, a record collecting habit and a burgeoning deejay career: joining sound systems and paying his dues in his teens at various house parties and youth club jams in and around his home town of Nottingham. He ended up hooking up with a local HipHop crew (OutDaVille) in his early teens and hit the road as their deejay and hype man. With looks betraying his years DJ Jam (as he was then known) was able to spin in places such as Manchester’s legendary Hacienda, London’s Subterranea and the Radio 1 stage at the Notting Hill Carnival with the bouncers not giving him any trouble.

The newly re-christened MistaJam then managed to blag his way onto his local Uni’s radio station even though he was only studying for his GCSE’s at the time. By chance he hooked up with music producer and promoter Joe Buhdha and began writing for the now defunct Grandslam Magazine, adding the journalist string to MistaJam’s bow. After the success of various club nights, special events and DJ tours, Jam and Buhdha started the annual UK Takeover British HipHop event which grew to become the biggest one of its kind.

Through the relationship generated via UK Takeover, MistaJam was asked to pilot for a show on 1Xtra. Having always had the ambition to be on national radio, Jam jumped at the chance and was soon offered a contract with the network. MistaJam has been on the national airwaves via BBC Radio 1Xtra since 2005, initially with the HipHop M1X Show, which saw him cutting and mixing through 4 hours of non-stop upfront HipHop. However realising that he was much more than just a HipHop deejay, he later was asked to take control of a Friday night multi genre party show on the network. His broadcasting skill has meant he has enjoyed various stints covering for presenters on both Radio 1Xtra and BBC Radio 1. In August 2007, as part of a series of major changes at 1Xtra, Jam was asked to be at the helm of a brand new 3 hour weekday multi genre show intended to bridge the gap between the mainstream and specialist worlds and so the ‘Key To The Underground’ was born; now broadcasting every weeknight from 7 until 10pm.

October 2008 saw Jam add a 6th weekly show to his national radio output via a new slot on BBC Radio 1, a new addition to R1’s Saturday night Urban/Black music line up. Every week he brings the FM Dial in the UK (and Sirius Satellite Radio in the USA) MistaJam’s 1Xtra Mixtape: a two hour show mixing up the best in Black Music including the biggest tracks from his 1Xtra show along with very special guest mixes from some of the best Urban DJ’s from around the world which promises to do for Urban music what the Essential Selection has done for Dance. Catch the show live Saturday Nights from 3am or anytime via the BBC iPlayer. Jam also writes a regular blog for the BBC and is also the only deejay on the network who hosts 5 regular podcasts counting down the official 1Xtra Top Tens - all of which have become a regular fixture in the iTunes Top 100 Podcasts.

In the club, Jam’s skills, charisma and energy have meant that he has performed, hosted and deejayed at numerous events including London’s infamous Notting Hill Carnival; Kanye West, Chamillionaire and Jay-Z concerts; One Big Weekends and the inaugural annual 1Xtra Live event. Residencies and regular bookings at some of the UK’s biggest urban music nights and trips to spin around the world are regular occurrences. Audiences as far afield as Kenya, Norway, Mallorca, New York (alongside Mark Ronson and the legendary Rakim) and Ibiza (where Jam was resident at Es Paradis during the summer of 2007) have all had the MistaJam experience.

Not just a deejay and broadcaster, Pete has been an actor since the age of 7 when he successfully auditioned to join the Carlton Junior Television Workshop – also responsible for training noted actors such as Toby Kebbell and Samantha Morton. His acting CV includes roles in ‘Eastenders’, ‘A Thing Called Love’ and most notably ‘Crossroads’ playing the character of Minty the the deejaying chef at the Crossroads Hotel kitchen. He has also performed in London’s prestigious West End creating the role of Bish Bosh in ‘125th Street’ which ran at the Shaftesbury Theatre to rave reviews and nightly standing ovations.

Hear MistaJam on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra on Saturday from 11pm-1am with the Saturday Night Soundclash and on BBC Radio 1Xtra, Monday to Thursday between 7pm-10pm with Your Key to the Underground.

http://www.mistajam.com/