Why do Putnam North, West have DJs at basketball games? 'Just making it a fun vibe'

Josh “DJ Hold Up Baby” Shaw sat courtside nodding as the Putnam City West boys basketball team grabbed a steal and made another basket.

PC West had gone on a run and it led to a timeout from their opponent. Shaw quickly moved to his mixer, brought up his fader and blasted one of today’s top hits over the speakers that sat next to him courtside.

Many of the fans and students were gleefully singing along and swaying to the music as they celebrated another inevitable Putnam City West victory.

About eight miles up the road, Truea “DJ T.A.” Adams sat in the highest section of the Putnam City North gymnasium with his own setup. He was jamming tunes and yelling into the microphone to a cheerful crowd that was gearing up to celebrate a win of their team on senior night.

“It’s a fun time and good atmosphere,” Shaw said.

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This season, Putnam City West and Putnam City North have made an effort to create the best atmosphere for their fans and players. The common goal has led each school to move away from the generic computerized playlists that most schools feature during a timeout and turn to crowd-controlling disc jockeys with microphone setups and the hottest songs of the year.

With each school featuring state champion hopefuls, fans have enjoyed the experience. Every timeout, halftime break and player introduction at both boys' and girls' games are accompanied by music, and the schools don’t plan on turning back.

“Just making it a fun vibe,” Shaw said of his goal when DJing for Putnam City West. “We got the kids, instead of being in the streets doing what they’re not supposed to be doing, they can come have a party in a good and safe atmosphere, rock out to some good music and watch some basketball. We just do it for the kids, that’s how it kind of all transpired.”

For five years, Shaw has run Hold Up Baby, which features an online radio show, holdupbaby.com, that gives Oklahoma independent artists and DJs a platform to perform at 6 p.m. Thursday. The show mixes independent artist with mainstream music.

Putnam City West assistant girls basketball coach Allen Russell had the idea for Shaw to perform at the high school games after Shaw performed at Russell’s Sick of Sickle Cell “S.O.S” foundation basketball tournament. The S.O.S foundation brings awareness to sickle cell, an inherited red blood cell disorder in which there aren’t enough healthy red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body.

Shaw began playing for PC West at the regional tournament last year and has since performed at nearly every Putnam City West home game this season.

“The school just picked it up from there and we just started rolling with that trend,” Shaw said. “We’ve only missed one game this year.”

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Shaw’s live performances didn’t go unnoticed.

“After our PC West game,” Putnam North boys basketball coach and athletic director Ryan Wagner said, “everyone was talking about how that DJ atmosphere just takes it up to a notch. And it’s already one of the best atmospheres in the state because of the rivalry. So, we decided to do the same thing."

Wagner found Adams, DJ T.A., through Putnam North booster club president Elray Erving. Erving employed Adams before and was familiar with his work. When Adams got the call to perform at Putnam North, he stepped up.

"I told them I've got them. I'll take care of them," Adams said.

Adams has been DJing since he was 16 years old. Now at 34, he’s made a conscious effort to play at more events than just the typical clubs and bars. He now considers himself a corporate DJ, where he plays for restaurants, casinos, Red Bull events and others.

The fans in attendance haven’t been the only ones noticing the DJ performances. Even though the players are oftentimes engulfed in battle, they’ve grown fond of their DJs.

“When they found out we were doing that at our home games, they were super excited,” Wagner said of his players. “Those are things that not everybody does or is willing to do. We have a tremendous booster club and so does West. So, financially we’re able to do those things, and it benefits our kids, and I think it’s really neat.”

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma high school basketball: Putnam schools add fun with DJs