It might be hard to wrap your brain around the thought of a nine-year-old DJ, but to Xavier Maurice Gonda Cooper, who is without a doubt the youngest deejay in Rwanda, now is as good a time as any to practice one’s passion.
Cooper, also known as The Professor, a Liberian, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Currently based in Rwanda, he is also a coder. His family moved to Rwanda when he was five years old. He is fluent in English and speaks French, Spanish, Kinyarwanda, and Vai (a Liberian language).
The young talented programmer acknowledged his love for coding at the age of five and has successfully created many programs, including the periodic table animation "The Art of The Periodic table”, which teaches and guides 8 to 10-year-old students through chemistry elements, and that is what made him scoop 1st place during the ‘Africa Code Week’ competition in 2020.
"I even won a laptop in the contest. It is my dream to become a programmer. Therefore, I want to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the future. I have dreamt of this since kindergarten,” he says with anticipation.
With his mother Chara.
Cooper is knowledgeable in two programming languages, Scratch and Python. He studies robotics at T2 Robotics, a weekly programme at the Kigali Public Library, to improve his skills. He dreams of developing software for young African scientists since Africa needs more of them now and soon. Cooper is also the Brand Ambassador of Zora-Bots Africa, a robotics company.
He says that he has other interests apart from programming and being a deejay.
"I want to be a zoologist/wildlife biologist. That means that I want to look for new species of animals and study them,” he says. He believes that he can change the world by discovering new species to increase animal life on the planet. He also wants everyone to have pets.
"I look up to my grandmother and grandfather, who are all great musicians and singers. I also look up to DJ Gilo, DJ Toxxyk, DJ Infinity, DJ Kiss, and Mike Kayihura,” he says.
Cooper plays music for big crowds. "I look up to my mom too because she inspires me in many ways,” he says.
"I make sure Xavier focuses on his studies and remains guided. I am always there with him to keep an eye on him when he plays music. I am his parent, but I’m also a fan," says Chara, the mother.
Cooper says he was inspired to be a DJ by the book ‘When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop’, the first hip-hop DJ in the U.S.
According to Xavier's mom, since he is a very young DJ, he only plays at family-friendly events and at church, which are safe spaces that wouldn't be dangerous for him as a child.
"I wouldn’t allow him to play in unsafe environments, and I always have to be there with him,” his mother says.
As a child deejay, he gets a lot of attention, and the disc-jockeying community in Rwanda is fond of him and supports him very much. Cooper also has an Instagram account run by his mother, which gets him more popular by the day.
Since being a deejay is a hobby, he doesn’t do it every day. He does it a few days a week. He’s good in school, which makes his hobby a non-issue. He creates playlists and uses them whenever he plays.
His mother is very supportive and always makes sure she allows him to experience but stay safe as well.
"One of my best moments was at Mamba when a team from DRC, the Fulu Muziki, performed, and I opened for them. It was a fantastic experience,” says Cooper.
His mother manages his schedule and does many things to support him. Sometimes she declines some invitations as he is young and has other goals in his life.
"I don’t listen to what people say, but instead, I have my own beliefs on how I raise my child,” Chara says. Cooper might be in 4th grade, but he is already chasing his dreams.