It’s been a long journey for Matthew ‘MattCamps’ Campbell, from his early years growing up in Mandeville to recently performing on night one of I Love Soca’s ‘Soca Plus Festival Event’ last month (September 23).

MattCamps, who was raised in a single-father home with his older sister in Mandeville, is the son of a university lecturer. In addition to studying, he always had a passion for computers and music.

“I’m just a young guy, who fell in love with DJing and music, I grew up listening to music and it’s always been a big part of my life,” said Campbell.

He moved to Kingston to study Business Administration at university but eventually chose to invest his energy into music instead.

“I quickly figured out what was and wasn’t for me,” said the DJ.

One of Campbell’s earliest experiences comes from the Red Bull Cellie Clash, where he took first place and used the money to buy his first laptop.

“I think that was the moment when I really wanted to go all-in and build my brand as a DJ,” said MattCamps.

“It took me years until promoters started noticing what I could bring. I started out mixing CDs called Soca Camp in 2017 and handing them out to anyone that would take them; that started to pay off for me around 2019 when I started getting booked at more events,” he continued.

“I love all types of music but my favourite crowd is a soca crowd cause they bring the most vibes,” said Campbell.

When asked about his favourite moment or performance so far, Campbell said: “SocaForever 2019, was my favourite performance ever so far. Not necessarily because of my set, but seeing and feeling the energy of the crowd was next level and I feel like it set the bar for all the other SocaForever events to come.”

Noting that there remains a lot to come, the DJ said: “I’m definitely going to be at Trinidad Carnival next year, I’ve already booked my plane ticket. And I’ll be in Trinidad for about two weeks during the season and I’ll also be launching my upcoming event, Soca Camp.”

Mixing CDs has become something of a tradition for the DJ, who has continued to release a Soca Camp CD every year since 2017.

“Now the idea has grown into an upcoming party event and what I hope to be a further extension of my brand,” said Campbell.

“I don’t want to reveal too much just yet. I still have some things to work out. Just know that I want to make it something that all soca fans can enjoy.”

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