Barri Taffe became a disc jockey by chance. This 30-year-old father of two from Mandeville, Manchester, found himself having to provide entertainment for his sister's birthday party. He improvised using two portable CD players. The rest, as they say, is history.

Taffe, or DJ47, as he is known, is one of the remaining contenders for this year's finals of the Heineken Green Synergy Competition set for the National Indoor Sports Centre on October 29. The winner will take home $500,000 in cash and an additional $500,000 towards equipment, a one-month internship at FAME and a mobile phone from Claro. The second-place disc jock will take home $200,000, DJ equipment and a Claro Blackberry. Third and fourth will each take home $50,000 each.

I practise day and night

Back then, DJ47 didn't have money to buy equipment and only started using turntables two years ago. However, in that time, he has become quite skilled at using them. "I practise day and night. That's my therapy," he said. DJ47 explained that as the father of two kids - a nine-year-old daughter and a six-month-old son - there are many times when he needs to 'escape'. "Whenever bad things happen, I go round the turntable and practise," he said.

This is especially so after his girlfriend of five years banned him from playing football, said the former Manchester High School daCosta Cup player. He couldn't argue, especially after a ball hit him in the eye, rendering him blind in that eye for three days.

Currently working on an online degree in graphics and motion science, DJ47 is a man of many talents. He is also a promoter and hosts parties in Mandeville each year. One of them comes up on October 30, the day after the winner of the HGS contest is announced. If he wins, it would become a celebration of sorts.

Winning for him would mean more than the cash prizes and DJ equipment. DJ47 believes winning would give him the means to bring about a change in the culture among local disc jockeys, who, he said, have become boring.

variety of music

"Young people don't appreciate variety," he says. "Most disc jockeys play the same thing - dancehall and hip hop - and it has become very boring. I played at a party (recently) and not one song was repeated. In the morning, people were literally falling because they were tired. DJs need to think outside the box. I want to spread the culture of playing a wide variety of music."

He added that in the music industry, many DJs are going in the wrong direction because they don't know where they are coming from.

The other thing he said he wants to do is show that not all good disc jockeys are from Kingston. This year's contest has been an example of that fact. DJ47, DJ Blush, DJ Don Hype. DJ Marvin and he are all from Mandeville. If he wins, he said, it would go some way to disproving the myth.

The final will feature turntable legend, Grandmaster Flash, DJ Enuff and scratching master, Qbert. There will also be appearances by Richie D, Delano, Kurt Riley, Pink Panther, 2009 HGS champion, DJ Jagga, and the Heineken Green Synergy Six-Pack, (DJ Naz, DJ Jerry, DJ Banka, Ricky Eminence, DJ 47 and DJ Narrity.)