To her friends and family, she’s just plain Nisha. But to her army of dance music fans, she’s NSB – breaking down barriers as a female Sikh DJ.
Nisha Singh Bhaker, from Edinburgh, has been behind the decks for less than a year but is turning heads in the Scottish dance music scene.
The 16-year-old, who is one of the headline acts at the Scotland in Colour Youth Festival in the capital on Saturday, hopes her foray into the world of DJing will empower other Sikh girls to follow suit.
The teenager, who enjoys mixing Punjabi and Afrobeat tunes, is also an ambassador for equality and diversity and has spoken at the Scottish
Parliament about improving the lives of the nation’s ethnic minorities.
Nisha’s pioneering DJ breakthrough and her determination to change social attitudes within her own community has earned her a nomination in this year’s Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards.
Nisha, who is in her last year of high school, said: “I’ve always loved loud music and it is rare to catch me without a pair of headphones on as I listen to all the latest beats.
“But never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would one day be a DJ in front of crowds of people. It’s just not something that a young Sikh woman would do.
“In my culture, women are expected to stay at home and not do much. But I’m hoping by becoming Scotland’s first female Sikh DJ, I will inspire other young women in my community to follow their dreams and realise no hobby or career is out of reach.”
She added: “I’ve only been doing it for a few months but I have a set of decks in my house and I practise all the time.
“I just love getting Punjabi music out there and watching other young people enjoy it.”
Nisha is looking forward to performing at the festival in Edinburgh, which
is being run by the Intercultural Youth Scotland (IYS) charity as part of the city’s Black History Month celebrations.
She said: “It was through IYS that I got into DJing in the first place. It was set up to give young Scottish people from different cultural backgrounds a voice.
“The Scotland in Colour festival will be my biggest gig to date and I’m very excited. It will also showcase the talent of other young people from ethnic minorities through dance, urban spoken word music
and rap.
“It’s an all-day event at The Pitt venue and I will also be performing at the after-party.”
Nisha, who is now the co-chair of IYS, added: “I will do everything I can to help
other young Sikhs achieve their dreams.
“I’ve told my story at the Scottish Parliament and spoken in front of committees and national organisations in a bid to help improve social inclusion.
“Being nominated for a Young Scot award in the equality and diversity category is an honour.”
Khaleda Noon, who is the founder of IYS and nominated the S6 pupil for the award, said: “Nisha is breaking down barriers relating to race equality and social inclusion.
“She comes from a Sikh background and has showed everyone that girls from her community can do something different and be someone other than a wife and mother.
“She is totally committed to raising awareness on race inequality.
“We are very lucky to have her as co-chair of the charity.”
● Do you know someone as inspirational as Nisha? Go to www.youngscotawards.co.uk and nominate.
