By Miguel Vieira FORCV Columnist

PAWTUCKET - The Lights Out DJs, a quartet of Cape Verdean DJs, won the 2007 Cape Verdean artists of the year award, having gotten 60 votes, 29 percent of the vote total. The young club bound Cape Verdeans who frequent Lights Out DJs sponsored events must not be surprised with this end result. Supporters of the quintet know of their impressive talent - their raw and exciting disk jockey style and their captivating fusionist repertoire.

The 29% of total votes that the Lights Out DJs got in the 2007 FORCV Cape Verdean Artist of Year poll gave them a slim but notable win over the second most voted nominated artists, the legendary Holland based band, Livity. The complete results of the poll can be seen here: Who’s the Cape Verdean Artist /Band of the Year? Even though the other nominated artists had a clear name recognition advantage over the Lights Out DJs, they still could not eclipse them in the number of votes.Mayra Andrade is a case in point. She had a very busy year in terms of performances and sales in 2007. She performed in virtually every corner of the world in 2007 and had laudable reviews about her written in many prestigious print media outlets. Some World music pundits even dubbed Mayra Andrade the “new Cesaria Evora” in 2007. Yet still, her popularity and performance success wasn’t enough for her to win the 2007 Artist of the Year award.

Up-start Quartet Beat Established Artists

The already mentioned legendary band, Livity, which finished second, is another case in point that illustrates the over-all depth of the Lights Out popularity and success.



From Left to Right: DJ Lefty, DJ Guelas, DJ Baby T, DJ Chris

Livity had a very good year in 2007 and also had a name recognition advantage over the lights Out DJs, but they could not topple them. Having once been a major Cape Verdean band up until the mid 1990’s, and then disbanded, Livity regrouped in 2007 and performed in several packed concerts in various communities of Cape Verdean in US, Europe and mainland Africa. With enthusiastic nostalgia, Livity fans welcomed their return to the concert scene. But still, like Mayra, they came in short in the 2007 Artist of the year poll. Lights Out DJs are the winners.

The remaining nominated artists, Nancy Vieira, Chachi, Tcheka, Quim Alves and Maria Ramos, all had unimpressive number of votes, in spite of their relative better name recognition vis-à-vis the lights Out DJs.

How it all started

First launched in 2005 as a collaborative effort by DJ Baby T, DJ Chris, DJ Guelas and DJ Lefty, the Lights Out concept was introduced for the sole purpose of releasing a CD that would give exposure to U.S. based Cape Verdean artists. This project would include, in addition to the DJs, Mark G, SC Pires, Sterling, and Holland-based artist, Betty Fonseca. Once the project was released in 2006, it instantly exploded in the international market. The Lights Out CD gained critical and positive reviews by the public, radio and club goers. The CD was played with much frequency on radio stations and clubs in France, Holland, Cape Verde, Portugal, and Italy, among other countries. Shortly thereafter, by popular demand, an official CD release party was held in Providence, RI in January 2006 featuring Zouk super star Ali Angel and the talented Cape Verdean Singer, Tó Semedo.

Presently, the Lights Out DJs have been very busy with concert, shows, and upcoming projects. They have played in different venues to promote their CD and future projects. Some of these venues include Sounds of Brazil (SOBs) in New York City, multiple shows at Club Therapy in Providence, RI, and a show in France.

In 2007, the quartet released Suzanna & Lights Out – In the Mix. This CD is a collaborative effort with world-renowned Cape Verdean singer, Suzanna Lubrano, under her label Mass Appeal Records. Also in the summer of 2007, the project Lights Out All Stars was released. It had the participation of artists such as DjeDje, Isidora, Mark G, and Timmy, just to name a few. The project had an immediate positive response, locally and internationally, selling in the first month alone 2000 copies. This project had the objective, again, of exposing artists residing in the U.S.A. Lights Out DJs are currently working on a plan to release their fourth project, the Lights Out All Stars 2, which will feature local talent as well as internationally acclaimed Cape Verdean artists.

Additionally, the group plans to, in the short term, produce and put into the market a documentary about the nightlife and Cape Verdean music in the United States having as a focal point their disk jockeying talent.

The total number of votes, the verbal Kudos, appraisals, and recognition accorded to the Lights Out crew lead to one final acknowledgment: They are the current rulers of the Cape Verdean DJ Club scene. Therefore, the Lights Out DJS are most deserving of the 2007 Artist of the year prize. On that final note, FORCV wishes the lights Out DJs the best of luck in their present and future musical prospects.