KYLE RHINE | Reporter

Video provided my Ahmad the Prophet

Ahmad Isaacs asks the bartender for one Bud Light to take the edge off. He downs the beer, and then it’s showtime.

When he’s at work, Isaacs goes by Ahmad the Prophet, a name he came up with his freshman year at Lindenwood University.

“I was thinking of names that sounded cool, and it just came into place,” Isaacs said. “Prophet was always big in the name; had to have it.”

Like many college students, Isaacs needed a way to pay for school. He decided to be a DJ. One of Isaacs’ teammates on Lindenwood’s rugby team showed him which board, computer and wires to buy.

After months of preparation, Isaacs got his shot at Bobby’s Place on Main Street in St. Charles. He was going to be filling in for someone and only had a week to prepare.

“I literally skipped my homework and downloaded music to practice so I could make it perfect,” Isaacs said.

That night the 5-foot-9, dark-skinned Chicago native had a pair of Beats By Dre on his neck and played a 300-song set in front of a capacity crowd.

“It was scary, but a fun scary,” he said.

DJing has been on Isaacs’ schedule almost every week since then. He played his biggest show in April 2017 at Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis.

At “The Rally on Clark,” Isaacs was surrounded by about 1,000 people, far more people than the crowd at Bobby’s Place.

Before Isaacs played the first song, he said his palms were sweating.

“Looking out at everybody, my name flashing on screens, it was really cool, so real,” Isaacs said.

Isaacs said despite his nerves initially, he’s comfortable being in front of a crowd now.

“I was a little nervous whether people would like it,” he said. “Now I am just at the point I don’t really care. As long as I am having fun and I see a few people having fun.”

Isaacs’ sister, Alena, 16, said whenever her brother is at home, he’s always working on his craft with the speakers in her room.

“He’s the reason my taste in genres of music expanded to EDM (electronic dance music) and other things,” she said.

Isaacs’ sister said she is not shocked by her brother’s success as a DJ.

“He’s always been a quick learner, so I wasn’t surprised when his ability to mix songs seemed to come with such ease,” she said.

Isaacs said he doesn’t plan to make a career of DJing. He’s studying paramedicine at Lindenwood and wants to be a paramedic.

In addition to DJing three nights a week, he works as an EMT three times a week.

“I always wanted to help people and liked the medical field,” Isaacs said. “My mom, Kim, is a nurse, so it felt like a cool fit.”

Rugby, like music, also has had a large role in Isaacs’ life. One of his best memories was last summer when he played on Guyana’s national team. Isaacs’ father, Mark, is a citizen of the country, which gave Isaacs the opportunity.

During his time with the South American team, Isaacs also played in Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica. Barbados was his favorite.

“Played a rugby game, soon as I walked off, took my jersey off and walked right into the ocean,” he said.

Isaacs has already lived a life doing things only a sliver of people get the opportunity doing; whether it’s rugby in Guyana or DJing in front of 1,000 people, Isaacs looks back with pride. Isaacs will graduate in December 2018 and hopes to get a firefighting or paramedic job as soon as possible while also continuing to work as a DJ and make music.