DJ iBreeze’s latest video has left him wondering why he didn’t take his music outdoors sooner.

Shot at Astwood Park, with ocean views, dramatic cliffs, and sunlight spilling across the frame, the mix features “inspirational tracks” from some of dancehall’s biggest names including Popcaan, Chronic Law, Teejay, and Kranium.

On YouTube, Uplifting Dancehall Mix: Outdoor Vibes at Astwood Park, Bermuda pulled in close to 1,000 views in its first week.

“People have been asking me to do it for a while, to actually go outside,” said the DJ, known offstage as Bakari Smith. “Obviously I have a home studio where I do most of my music but I know it’s been a trend for a while — a lot of guys shooting videos like that, outside where they come from. So I just up and decided one day to finally do it.”

In his professional life, he plays with King Jyrus Sound and is on Irie 98.3FM twice a week, mixing tracks for Monday Night Hype and the Friday Lunchtime Reggae Show.

“I play music full time,” he said. “My nine-to-five, basically, is my music. I'm not a host DJ anywhere, but I do a lot of private sets, weekend events — you name it, I do it: brunches, weddings …”

He filmed Uplifting Dancehall Mix himself on March 24, using two ring lights and a mobile phone.

“I have a background in graphic design so I'm always staying up on the current type of technology and stuff like that. Basically I just like to try things out until I figure it out. Like I said, I’d seen it done before.

“People always send me clips of other DJs [mixing music outside] — other guys from other countries — and one of the comments on my Instagram was, ‘Finally somebody from Bermuda’s starting to do stuff like this’,” he said.

“My trainer at the gym I go to, he was a major influence as well. He’s not Bermudian and is always telling me that Bermuda's beautiful. He feels like we really take Bermuda for granted — the amount of views and sights and scenery that we have. And so it’s also a ploy to get different eyes on our country as well.”

Although dancehall can be loud and fast-paced, for his mix DJ iBreeze chose songs that “uplift, motivate and inspire”.

“I think it just worked out with the scenery. I chose a lot of inspirational songs. There's a few songs about God and just trying to improve your life; live a better life. I felt it just went hand in hand with the scenery and the background that we chose. It was just really nice to see.”

The DJ posts his mixes often on Instagram and TikTok. His followers were excited to see something different.

“The scenery and the backdrop of Bermuda, it’s there to be showcased so I just went ahead and did it,” he said. “I put out the first teaser — it was a shot of me, and then it was an aerial view of Astwood Park — and the initial response was it was great. People were looking forward to it. And it's going well. It got almost 1,000 views on YouTube in that first week.”

Only later did he realise the shoot had fallen on the anniversary of his lockdown-era Instagram party — a virtual event featured in The Royal Gazette.

“It was kind of ironic that it just happened. It was, like, literally five years after that. It was a perfect day for it. The sun was shining, it wasn't too hot. I scoped out the location, I think, a couple of days before, and then I just decided to go do it.”

Already, he has a new location in mind for his next mix.

“I was very excited to see the response. But of course, it's not just up to me, it's up to the weather and stuff like that. You have to get the perfect time. The next one is probably going to be either a sunrise or a sunset because it is getting hot,” he said.

• Follow DJ iBreeze on social media: @djibreeze or e-mail kingjyrus@gmail.com