As Quality Trust celebrates Black Music Month, we sat down with community member and self-advocate DJ Joshua “Showout” Blassingame, a high school senior who has spent years building a career behind the turntables, one gig at a time.
It started with a bored night during COVID
“It started during COVID,” Josh said. “I was home, bored, and my family threw a party. I told them, let me play some music for you guys. That was it.” What began as one night entertaining relatives at home turned into something much bigger. Josh started small, DJing family gatherings to “get his feet wet,” before branching out to friends’ events and, eventually, paid bookings. “You start small, with the people who already know you, before you go out and work other crowds,” he said. “Then you’ve got the experience and the mindset to say, I’ve done this before, I can do this for you too.”
For Josh, the best part of the job is not playing his own favorites. It is reading a room and giving people exactly what they came for. “It’s not about what I want to hear,” he said. “It’s about what the crowd wants to hear. At the end of the day, I’m there to provide a service, and I’m going to do my best to feed everybody what they came for.”
DJing and self-advocacy, working together
That same care for other people is what connects DJing to Josh’s work as a self-advocate. He describes the two as almost therapeutic for each other, each one reinforcing the same message: a disability does not get to decide what you are capable of. “Just because you have a disability, or you do things a little differently than other people, you do not have to give up your dreams,” Josh said. “You can become anything you want to become in this world. Don’t let anyone stop you. All you have to do is put your best foot forward and put in the effort.”
Celebrating Black Music Month
Ask Josh what is in his Black Music Month rotation, and the answer spans genres and eras. On the gospel side, he points to Kirk Franklin and Anthony Brown & group therAPy. On the current charts, Beyoncé, Cardi B, and Megan Thee Stallion stay in heavy rotation. “I listen to all genres of music,” he said, “because it’s not only good for your mental health, it’s good for your body and your soul. As a DJ, I have to know it all, so when I get in front of a crowd, I can say I’ve got experience with whatever they want to hear.”
Building a business one booking at a time
The memory that sticks with Josh most is from his early days, when word started getting around his school that he was a DJ, and he landed one of his first real bookings. He had to learn the business side fast, including how to price his services, something he credits to mentors who showed him the ropes early on. “Nothing in this world is free,” he said. “There is a cost to everything, and you have to respect people’s time and effort. If you do that, they will book you again.” When the paid gigs started coming in, Josh said it felt like a dream come true. “It felt like a brand new world. People believed in me, and they believed I could turn what I love into a career. Now look where I am.”
His advice to other self-advocates
Josh’s advice for other people with disabilities chasing a passion is simple and direct. “Never, ever, ever give up,” he said. “When things look hard, when things might not seem easy, always put forth your best effort. Try, because you never know what you are capable of until you do. Believe in yourself. Believe you can do whatever you want, as long as you try.”
Today, Josh sees himself as a role model for the people coming up behind him. “It is truly a blessing and an honor,” he said. “I want to see people pursuing their dreams, whatever that looks like, whether it’s music, the workforce, or something else entirely. I don’t want anyone to think their disability should stop them from doing what they love.”
This Black Music Month, Quality Trust is proud to celebrate Josh and every self-advocate writing their own story, one beat at a time.
For booking inquiries please contact DJ Showout via email or Instagtam.