Berklee Student to Compete in National College DJ Championship
Ran Yi
Image courtesy of Ran Yi
Berklee student Ran Yi, who performs under the artist name DJ Icruyn, is competing in the first National Collegiate Performing Arts (NCPA) College DJ Championship as one of the top 32 college DJs in the country. The virtual event, presented by UpStaged, is taking place November 16 to 21. Winning DJs will receive $10,000 in cash prizes split between themselves and their selected social justice or environmental charities, as well as $20,000 in premium DJ equipment.
A native of Shenzhen, China, Yi is majoring in electronic production and design at Berklee. “Thanks so much to Berklee, UpStaged, and all the judges," Yi said. "From selecting tracks and deciding transitions to shooting some practice and finally doing the video recording, I prepared the whole set in the Berklee CDJ lab. I mainly focus on deep house as well as EDM production as a DJ and producer. I appreciate all the support—vote for me to see the final set!”
As the northeast region’s number three seed, Yi will be representing Berklee as he battles the number two seed, DJ Dex of Northeastern University.
Winners of the competition will be determined by fan voting at upstagedu.com, along with input from a star-studded panel of DJs, including Disco Mix Club (DMC) U.S. champion DJ Immortal, Grammy-winning record producer DJ Babey Drew, and Power 106.1 radio personality DJ A&G.