How Mississippi State and DJ Kujho connected to help bring in Showtime Era at State
15 years since the day that changed Marcus Carr’s world, the details of his new journey still remain fresh in his mind.
It was June 25, 2009. ‘The King of Pop Michael Jackson’ passed away, and Carr made some mixes from Jackson’s catalogue to DJ an event. Even though the crowd was a part of a younger generation, it was a hit and DJ Kujho was born.
Since that fateful day, Kujho has been rocking parties across the country. He’s been a DJ for Kevin Hart and has worked in places like Washington D.C., New Orleans, Las Vegas and Miami.
One of his coolest experiences, however, is where the talented music maker is right now.
Carr became Mississippi State’s resident DJ in athletics last year during basketball season. He worked the games that meshed with his schedule and his presence was felt when he was in the building. It was happenstance that the Hattiesburg native landed in Starkville, but it’s perfectly aligned with a new era of Bulldog sports.
State finds fit it was looking for in Kujho
Spencer McAnally was a student at Mississippi State and interning with Marketing a decade ago before leaving for jobs at Houston and Clemson. He has since returned as the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan Engagement and had a list of several improvements he wanted to make within State’s gameday atmosphere.
First on the docket for McAnally was improving games at Humphrey Coliseum. The arena got a bit of a facelift last season and next on the agenda was a boost in the Hump’s atmosphere.
Having dealt with a DJ at games before at Clemson, McAnally pitched one for State. Athletic Director Zac Selmon was on board, so they went to work.
Carr was at a Beyonce concert with his wife in New Orleans when he got the call from McAnally and several other Bulldog staffers. The zoom interview answered questions for both sides, and he was on board.
“He immediately bought in to what we were trying to do and was a part of our team,” McAnally said.
Kujho helps Hump bump again
Right away, things felt different for State fans in the Hump. The play on the court worked hand-in-hand with Carr’s energy-boosting beats and he kept things vibrant inside the building.
Carr’s gift is feel. He recalls the night State hosted a top five Tennessee team, and he noticed Josh Hubbard and Cameron Matthews reacting to the artist NBA Youngboy during pregame warmups. When the time was right in the second half, he queued it up again and the bench began to get a lift.
The Bulldogs would spring a 77-72 upset that evening and it was thanks, in large part, to the raucous environment.
“I want to play the right song at the right time,” Carr said. “My first priority is making sure the players are hyped. My second is the fanbase, because if the players are playing well, the fans are going to be hyped as well. When you’re at 5%, how can I get you to 10%? That’s my goal.”
The buy-in that McAnally mentioned of Carr has helped State enter this new era of football with Jeff Lebby at the helm as well. On the morning that Lebby was hired, McAnally scrambled to put together a welcome party at the Bryan Airport in Starkville.
One of his first ideas was to have Kujho be a part of the event and create an atmosphere that brought excitement to both the fans and to Lebby. Carr had just finished an event and was on his way back to Hattiesburg when he got the call from McAnally, and he turned the car around and jetted straight to Starkville to perform.
That night, he spent time interacting with fans, taking pictures and getting to draw closer to the people that are now embracing him as one of their own.
“I just leaned into what I knew about the kids at State and was really just trial and error,” Carr said. “The fans always embraced me in Starkville. I’ve gotten to know people there and it has been amazing from the very beginning. I was born and raised in Hattiesburg, but I can honestly say that the love equates to that at MSU. I’m Hail State all day.”
New energy has arrived inside Davis Wade Stadium
With basketball season and Lebby’s arrival a massive hit for Kujho, McAnally pushed the idea of moving him to an even bigger stage.
It’s been nearly a year in the making, but DJ Kujho is now inside Davis Wade Stadium on Saturdays. Last week was the first of six home games that he will generate the energy inside the building with the Toledo game being the only one he cannot attend due to a scheduling conflict.
The logistics are in the middle of the learning phases. McAnally wanted him inside the student section this season where the fanbase’s heartbeat lies.
“We wanted him to be seen, not hidden,” McAnally said. “It couldn’t just be this little thing. It needed to be grandiose and make an impact.”
Weather had a mind of its own for Kujho’s first outing as one of his computers overheated early in the ball game and the rest had to be covered with garbage bags when the torrential downpour came through in the first half.
Despite that, the Good Vibes Ambassador never lost his swagger. It helped that his wife and his two daughters were just feet away from him giving him their full support – cowbells in hand.
“It was just a really special day. My girls have always supported me 100% and it was awesome to have my wife and my daughters there ringing cowbells,” Carr said. “We had some issues with the weather, but we were still able to rock the crowd and that didn’t stop the enthusiasm and joy that I had being there. It was a moment I’ve been waiting for years to experience.”
A husband, girl dad, fitness fanatic, graphic designer and a DJ – Carr wears many hats. His latest is helping bring Bulldog athletics into a new world of fan engagement and, for lack of a better word, showtime.
No one could have predicted that he would enter right on time with Lebby’s vision, but State people are excited he’s here.
“It’s really taken us to the next level,” McAnally said. “We knew that we had become stale. We had changed things here and there, but we haven’t always been given a green light on some stuff, but Zac Selmon has pretty much given us a green light on everything. Coach Lebby said that he wants to put on a show and that’s what we’re going to do.”
