A Kenyan-born female Disk Jockey (DJ) has landed a profitable job with an American professional basketball team, which competes in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Ivy Awino, commonly referred to as Poizon Ivy, becomes the first female DJ to be employed as Dallas Mavericks' resident DJ, a profession dominated by her male counterparts.
Mavericks (Mavs), the 2011 NBA champions, hired Ms Awino after the unfortunate death of the team's official DJ of eight years, Whiz T.
“DJ Whiz T was an amazing DJ, an amazing talent; such a staple for the Mavs and the city of Dallas,” Awino was quoted as saying by an American sports magazine.
The 26-year-old was born in Nairobi but moved to the US in 1999, where she developed love for the game as she lived in Farmers Branch, a city in Dallas Texas and the hometown of Mavericks.
When she was 12-years-old, an enthusiastic Awino joined the Mavs Hoop Camp youth programme with the goal of becoming a ball kid.
“My first career goal was to become the first female commissioner of the NBA. I had been around the game for so long. I was writing papers about the life of a female executive in the NBA," Awino said.
“With the school’s basketball team, I would be in charge of putting together their pre-game playlist. And growing up in an arena I was just subconsciously soaking everything in. Sports culture has lent itself immensely to the music industry and vice versa."
Awino is set to make her first appearance as Mav's DJ on October 3.