Dj Fully Focus – How I Started “Passport Experience”

Passport Experience. Here is the thing, for the longest time in Atlanta everything was segregated. Either you went to a hip-hop party, reggae party or African Party. It was a challenge for me, because I like everything and can’t listen to one thing for too long. At some point, I thought I have ADD or something! So, I was doing this weekly event, 5-6 years ago and it was the biggest international event in Atlanta. We used to call it African City. We had a lot of African-American and Caribbean folks, but we hit a ceiling. We couldn't tap into a larger audience because of the name.

In America, and in the world in general, some people when they hear the word “African” they already have a stigma! But in reality, we were playing a little bit of everything. So we had to rebrand. At that time, a lot of people were starting to use the word international for their events so we had to come up with a brand that says international but doesn't include the word international. And what do you need when you’re travelling internationally? A passport! And that’s how we came up with “Passport Experience” It was a unique name that nobody else was using at that moment.

Passport Experience

It started by being a weekly Passport Saturday, then monthly event then eventually it became a festival.  I had done my first world tour where I went to play in Dubai, London, Amsterdam, Belgium, Rwanda, Kenya… I wanted for my fans to travel the world with me. To see what I’m seeing out there. And since not all of them can travel the world with me, I decided to bring the world to them.

So, I created this event that makes them feel like they’re travelling to different parts of the world. Playing Soca music to make you feel like you’re in Trinidad with the visuals and the settings! Make you feel like you’re in Las Vegas with the ADM music, etc.

So “Passport Experience” is really about making you feel like you’re travelling the world. When you come to the event we actually have flight attendants, you have a boarding pass, a sort of passport with a stamp that we give you; so really give you that kind of experience. We would bring dancers from different cultures, Indian, Caribbean’s, Africans, etc. People just love it. I hope to see you all at a “Passport Experience” this year and in the future.