The Louisville native tours with some of hip-hop music’s biggest stars.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — With Kentucky’s rich history in music, a Louisville man is setting his goals even higher. Like performing in front of sold-out arenas.
Louisville-native Jermaine Tandy, known in the entertainment world as DJ Fresh, is raising the bar every time he takes the stage.
“I’m here to entertain,” he said. “And I think, you know, that’s what sets me apart from other DJs, is because I’m not just giving you music, I’m giving you an entire show.”
Tandy has toured with some of hip hop’s top hit makers like the late Rich Homie Quan.
“I’ve been on tour with Little Baby twice,” he said. “Did two tours with Chris Brown. I just yesterday finished the tour with Sexxy Red. So, I’ve been just moving and grooving. It’s been a wild ride, but a blessed ride at that.”
He graduated from Western High School and went on to attend Kentucky State University. And like many freshmen, tried to re-invent himself.
“So, when I, you know, got on campus, someone asked me my name, and I just said the first thing that came to mind, and I was like, ‘Fresh,’ and then it just stuck, like everybody started calling me that,” he said.
While still in college, hip hop artist Rich Homie Quan attended an event at KSU where he officially endorsed DJ Fresh.
“That was just him, cosigning me like, look, you know, this is my guy,” Fresh said. “You know, we’ve been rocking. And, you know, he’s from here. And I think that was more like him wanting to represent me. So, you know, that was major. That was a major moment.”
They toured together for years and then in 2024, Rich Homie Quan died unexpectedly. It caused Tandy’s life to be turned upside down because he lost a friend who put him in front of thousands of fans and who also helped him expand his brand.
“The best way to I can explain it is, it’s not necessarily a better day, but it’s another day,” he said. “Each day is different. You know, some days I wake up and I’m at peace with it. Some days I wake up and be like, I can’t believe it.”
“Like, the energy, it was just crazy, he will be truly missed. Like, he was a real friend, not like, just artist to DJ, but, you know, we, like, lived together, we grew together. We kind of, you know, he was my friend. So, you know, I’m dealing with it. I’m dealing with it and then as time goes on, I’ll be able to deal with it a little bit more.”
He recently did a tribute video for Rich Homie Quan that ended up going viral.
“I reincarnated the viral moment that we had before,” Fresh said. “But the only difference is now they can see me like on the first original viral video that happened some time ago.”
DJ Fresh got his start singing RnB music and collaborating with DJ Carl here in Louisville.
As his career has progressed, he’s transformed his showmanship while making family proud every step of the way.
“At the end of the day, your family is going to have the utmost respect for what you do and how you do it,” Tandy said. “So family is super, super important. My friends as well.”
Now, entertainment legends from Louisville recognize and acknowledge that this is his time to shine.
“It’s a blessing,” Fresh said. “I had the pleasure of meeting Static Major. I do talk to Playa. I talked to DJ Kaos, good friend of mine, you know. And I gotta say, just having my name in that circle, in that realm is thanks enough. I’ll make sure that I’ll uphold my part of the deal and keep the city alive just as well as they do.”
DJ Fresh just returned from South Africa with Chris Brown and I understand some other big announcements are in the works. Plus, he plans to start his own business to help other entertainers navigate the music industry.
►Contact WHAS11’s Sherlene Shanklin at sshanklin@whas11.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
