New Jersey Teen DJ Making Waves, Gets Props From Principal

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — There’s something special about a 16-year-old that loves Michael Jackson “Thriller.” But an honest appreciation for the classic music of the 1980s and 1990s is just a small facet of what puts “DJ Ameer” a cut above his peers.

Ameer, a sophomore at Columbia High School in Maplewood, was recently featured on JetMag.com. He is currently the official DJ for Inspirational Dance Company, has played at Newark’ 24 Hours of Peace, and is a resident on the WQFS 90.9 FM radio show “House Music Mondays” in North Carolina.

He’s also active in the community, having contributed his musical talents to benefits for Men against Rape and Domestic Violence against Women, Jet.com reported.

Ameer told a reporter that he takes his role as a student just as seriously as he does his music.

“It is very hard to balance work and school in the fact that the work that I get takes me a while to complete because I am in all honors classes… I DJ for about an hour every day after my homework. I would say that homework takes about four hours to do every day. So my routine is usually that I get home around 4, walk the dog, go do homework, then practice DJ’ing. So from 4 to about 5, I’m walking the dog, 5 to 8 I’m doing homework, and 8 to whenever I need to go to bed (around 10) I DJ.”

Read the full article here.

The Essex County teen’s efforts recently nabbed him some props from his high school principal, Elizabeth Aaron.

“Great to see Cougar @djameer get national press and bring awareness to important issues,” Aaron stated on Twitter.

Check out a YouTube promo video from DJ Ameer below.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo: YouTube screenshot, DJ Ameer