Q-and-A: DJ Fishr Pryce steps out as winner of DJ contest in Dallas

"I just wanted to be a fresh DJ," he said. Mission accomplished.

Dallas is full of DJs trying to make a name for themselves in the club scene. Red Bull has caught on to the trend by sponsoring a nationwide competition dubbed “Thre3Style” in which DJs put their skills to the test by playing a 15 minute set that includes a music selection of at least three genres in order to impress the judges and demonstrate their skills and creativity, all the while getting the party started.

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DJ Fishr Pryce

Saturday night at the packed Granada Theater in Dallas, eight local DJs filled the venue with heavy beats and impressive sets, but only one Dallas DJ could be crowned the winner, earn $1,000, and go on to compete in the regional competition. That man was DJ Fishr Pryce (aka, Sam Leal), who got second place in last year's competition.

“I grew up listening to hip hop music and I always followed the DJs in the music videos,” he said. “I just wanted to pick it up because I just liked hip-hop music that much. I figured if I can’t dance, I can’t draw, and I can barely rhyme – that I would be the cool looking dude in the background.”

Here are some excerpts from an interview:

PegNews: Do you have a favorite DJ in particular?

DJ Fishr Pryce : I would say it is a three-way tie between Jazzy Jeff, Z-Trip and Mr.Dibbs.

Why those DJs?

I like Jazzy Jeff because he was one of the first old-school DJs. He was there in the early days of DJing and he has progressed further. As DJing progresses, he stays current with the trend, and he is still out there doing shows.

Z-Trip because before I ever saw him I just wanted to be a fresh DJ, and when I saw what he did to a party and how he controlled the floor, it just changed my whole idea of it. I wanted to keep the party going all night with my DJing.

Mr.Dibbs just has this crazy energy; he’s just in your face. He has this heavy metal attitude to Djing.

What do you think about the current DJ scene in Dallas?

There are a lot of talented DJs in Dallas. It is only going to get better. A lot more DJs are coming together, like at the Red Bull battle, and just helping our craft. [It's] helping DJs stand up and make themselves better.

How do you discover new and old music to use in your sets?

Blogs. I still go to old record stores and dig every once and a while and get my hands dusty while going through records. I find out about some music from other DJs. It is a lot easier to find music these days.

What do you think was the thing that made the judges choose you?

A lot of the DJs kind of went for more of a club set, and I went and put together what I thought was going to hit everybody. Instead of just doing popular genres, I went back and threw in a little bit of old soul; just a little bit of everything. I think it was mostly the creativity.

What do you plan to do with your winnings?

I would like to adopt a Chinese baby. [That's a joke.] I have a little logo that I want to get some stickers made for. I am going to put it back into my career. More marketing, more business cards, stickers, and maybe put out some CDs or something.