A voice can be heard on one of the Mississippi Delta’s most popular radio stations saying, “Need a DJ? Call Bigg V.”
That station would be 97.9 FM and that DJ, who was recently named #1 DJ in the South by the Southern Entertainment Awards, would be none other than Vince “Bigg V” Roberts — host of the renowned Bigg V Radio Show.
The Leland native was selected from amongst a pool of roughly 16 counterparts to receive the honor during the annual SEA conference held in Biloxi, a three-day event that consists of panel discussions, artist performances, fashion show and an awards ceremony.
“It means a lot that anyone would even consider me. To even be in the same category as those types of people that have so many accolades and have done so many different things, for me to even be considered in that peer group is major for me,” said Roberts, reiterating the award isn’t an easy one to win. “The reason why it’s a difficult category to win is because there’s so many people with multiple talents, qualifications and connections — you’re stacked up against the best known and the most proven DJ entertainers in the South as a whole, so it’s not something where you can make a phone call and say “hey, I want to be number one on that.””
He said further, “Your peers and your fans have to be involved to help you win that category because it’s not something in which somebody can just put the name on the ballot and you’re automatically going to win. The competition is stiff.”
It takes being a proven leader in one’s market, an awesome social media presence, impactfulness in the community, great relationships and real life experiences in the entertainment industry as a whole to qualify for such consideration according to Roberts.
Like him, his counterparts do a myriad of things such as hosting, producing mixtapes, artist bookings and even college and professional sporting events.
The work is hard and plenty, but it is rewarding.
And, what Roberts enjoys the most when it comes to the rewards, is the opportunity to pay it forward.
Since his youth, he knew that being a DJ was what he was meant to do, but not a DJ in the typical sense.
The evolution of the DJ is evident in entertainers such as Roberts.
“Coming from doing parties as a teenager at what we called Lacey Hall in Leland to actually doing events in London and more, that’s a long stretch,” Roberts reflected. “There’s not a lot of people that have done that.”
Chief among the virtues he remains true to, and what he attributes his success to, is his “rare belief” that he could be one of the best to ever do it because he realized it is his God-given talent.
“I still had that belief when no one else did. Even if people doubt me now, my faith is I believe in what God gave me as a gift and I really believe that I can take that gift as far as humanly possible and even where it’s not humanly possible, spiritually, there is no limit,” Roberts said.
He added that in spite of whatever else is to come, he intends to spend the rest of his life making sure he creates opportunities for other DJ’s, artists and others, saying “That’s my life’s goal, that’s my life mantra.”
