DJ Springer (Fergie & Springer)

In Trinidad, Larnelle Haynes, aka DJ Springer, had little exposure to hip hop music.Things changed when at the age of 8 years old, his family left Trinidad and moved to
Brooklyn, New York, home to some of the most talented hip hop and reggae/dancehall deejays.The music he heard on local radio stations captured his interest. He often spent hours at his grandmother’s house listening to her radio and imagining himself as a deejay. Her radio had a built-in record player on the top. Trying to imitate what he heard on air,
Springer mixed records of artists such as Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross.
His main inspiration was DJ Red Alert on HOT 97 FM. Some of his other musical influences were the likes of Mr. Magic, Q. Bert, Stone Love, King Addies, and others.Soon after noticing his passion and drive, his mother bought a radio similar to the one his grandmother had. He practiced for hours. Music became an addition. To support his habit, he often saved his lunch money and even walked to school instead of using the transportation system so he could use buy records. He bought his first record at 11 years old.

His career as a deejay was only just beginning. One of his early mentors went by the name of Kush, taught him about 7-inch records, 10-inch records, 12-inch records, and
“riddims.” Springer was a sponge, soaking up everything he could in his young mind.
On December 25, 1996, he taught himself how to mix on a Gemini belt drive starter package he got for Christmas. After returning to school from the holidays, he was eager to show off his new craft. He started making mix tapes to pass out at his Junior High School (I.S.166 George Gershwin). Word spread so fast that he started making tapes for talent shows, and even got to spin at his Junior High Prom.

Slowly, he fell in love with the idea of becoming a deejay. He and his best friend Anthony Lescott, aka DJ Trixta, began to practice their skills together. They purchased more records to add to their collections. A mutual friend named Ricardo Wisdom, aka Troopa, joined them. They called themselves Young Hearts.

The summer of 2000 proved to be a busy one for the Young Hearts. They had bookings
for basement parties, backyard BBQ's, school events, and various celebrations. They
worked tirelessly promoting themselves, recording demos and mix tapes. Soon they
landed their first club event, “An all Libra affair,” at Club Fahrenheit in New York City. Springer’s first big break came when Flex Entertainment booked him for a party called
“Be proud of your heritage,” held at B.E.C. in Brooklyn. The promoters were awestruck at the abilities and talent he displayed. They immediately booked him as their main DJ
for all their events including major college events, major high school parties, and club nights throughout New York. With this kind of mass exposure at such a young age, DJ 2 Springer’s reputation grew rapidly. He played venues such as Elite Ark, Empire Skating Rink, D'Carib, C Pac, The Lab, Q-Club, Trinity Hall, and more.

Wisely taking advantage of his new success, he decided to throw his own event. In the
summer of 2004, he threw the biggest "end of school bash" at Elks Plaza. The place was
packed with partygoers from all five boroughs. This successful event solidified DJ
Springer’s reputation as one of the youngest, most talented deejays in New York City.
Promoters lined up to book him because they knew he would deliver large crowds,
energy, and musical skill.
In the winter of 2006, DJ Springer and his family relocated to South Florida. With his hitthe-
ground-running New York mentality, he quickly dove into the thriving reggae and
dancehall community. He quickly learned that the local music scene had lost its sense of
history by focusing more on current music. He was determined to revive Caribbean music
and return it to its roots.
He soon picked up weekly gigs on Wednesday nights called Energy Wednesdays and
Saturday nights called Player Saturdays at a nightclub called Trends. In addition to
deejaying and promoting himself, he constantly networked and met other music industry
professionals, promoters, and deejays.
In the summer of 2007, he was deejaying at Trends when he met a deejay by name of
Fergie. DJ Fergie challenged him to a friendly battle, “dub fi dub,” song for song. The
clash lasted until closing time. That night started an exciting chapter in both of their lives.
The following week, they joined forces for the first time at another event. The feedback
was so tremendous that the promoter asked them to be the main deejays. He changed the
name of the event to “Mad Mondays.” Soon the dynamic duo was deejaying for the
promoter’s weekly Saturday night college events.
Fergie and Springer constantly promoted themselves and their events at malls, schools,
parties, bowling alleys, concerts, restaurants, and online social networking sites. Later
that year, DJ Fergie attended a party called Madhouse at Yage Bay where he inv