During family gatherings, Bahraini Leila Rustam used to take all the old music tapes to coordinate and play her favorite hits. Leila, known as Leila Sahrab or DJ-Leil, has had a great passion for music ever since she was a child, but choosing to work as a DJ didn’t come without a cost.
First, she was hit by the objection of her family and conservative community. She also recalls the challenges she faced with other musicians who worked in the same field."When I first started, it was really difficult dealing with my brothers in the field of the business, they usually give me higher prices than they would give each other, they would be reluctant to give you tips and information and you have to depend on yourself fully to learn," she told Reuters.
To please her parents, the Bahraini DJ had to work at a day job for several years. She recalls many sleepless nights at the time, because she had to finish her work in music at 3:00 am and go to her job a few hours later in the morning.
"I was a DJ in the evening and I had a day job for 17 years, I wanted to make my parents happy - that yes I'm going to have a day job, I'm still going to do what you want, but I'm going to also follow my passion."
Leila has finally achieved the success she always wanted by building a great career in music after 24 years of hard work. She has become one of the most sought after DJs for weddings and occasions that attract thousands of people.
"We are here to change views, I want to change views, I want to make people trust us and love us. I don't think that I'm there yet, I'm trying I'm striving every single day to beat myself to be a better person to do better, to give nice beats, to remix new tracks that have just come out, to make it presentable."
