Milwaukee DJ honored for Juneteenth shows
Chavis took up showbiz during break from sports
The doctor asked if 14-year-old Randle Chavis and his mother wanted the good news or bad news first.
They chose the bad.
His back was broken.
The good news? The Milwaukee teen did not need surgery. Instead, his fractured back could heal with a brace and a yearlong rest from athletics.
The then-Messmer High School freshman had just made the varsity football team. He ran track and competed in high jump.
So he did what few 14-year-olds would: He found a new interest and started a DJ business, performing under the name DJ RC.
On Thursday, Chavis, now 19, was honored with this year’s Outstanding Contribution by a Business award at the 69th Annual Crime Prevention Awards at the Wisconsin Club.
LISC Milwaukee and Safe & Sound, two local nonprofits, organized the ceremony that recognizes civilians and law enforcement for efforts to improve safety in their neighborhoods.
He received the award for his work cohosting and performing at the Youth Voice Stage at the annual Juneteenth Day celebration. He also has used his platform to warn teens about the dangers of prescription drugs and lean, a mixture of cough syrup and soda.
“Most of the kids, they don’t even know what they’re doing,” Chavis said in an interview.
“They’re just doing something because they see somebody on TV doing it,” he said. “To give my voice to it, maybe it can stop them from dying or stop somebody they know from dying.”
His performances at Juneteenth have provided youth positive entertainment — and kept teens out of trouble, said Milwaukee Police Capt. Jeffrey Norman, a member of the awards selection committee.
“He’s his own business person and he has that type of drive as an entrepreneur,” Norman said, calling him a “great role model.”
“He has a good aura about himself,” Norman added.
Chavis got the idea for working as a DJ after he went to a party with one who played terrible music. He came home and told his mom, Andrea Chavis, he could do a better job and researched the cost of a starter kit.
She balked at the $700 price. Her son, undeterred, calculated the cost of his football cleats, track spikes and other sports gear, coming up with an estimate of $600.
“I’m going to get you this but you have to do something with it,” she remembers telling him.
Weeks later, a family in South Milwaukee saw his Craigslist ad and booked him for a Sweet Sixteen party.
Since then, he has performed as DJ RC at countless parties, high school dances and on college campuses. Last year, he traveled to Chicago where he hosted and performed at the Boys & Girls Club’s three-day national conference.
Safe & Sound first asked Chavis to host the youth stage at Juneteenth Day two years ago because of his large following, positive personality and his willingness to give back to his community. In the past four years, Chavis has collected about 700 pairs of gently used sneakers to donate to homeless shelters and started a coat drive this year.
And when he’s on stage, Chavis says he has one goal.
“I just hope people have fun,” he said.