It's an emotional week for Joy “Mama Bear Stephs” Stephens, as June 26 marks the eighth anniversary of the death of her son, Dylan.
When we lose a loved one, many of us grieve for the rest of our lives. Even years after the loss of a loved one, ruminating about their life seems to reopen the wounds of loss.
DJ Joy “Mama Bear Stephs” Steffens, 64, is dealing with those feelings this week, marking eight years since her son Dylan died on June 26.
“Eight years have passed, and not a day goes by that I don't explain myself to someone who wants to hold me, tell me I love your story and that I'm thinking of you,” Mama Bear Stephs said. Citizen.
Following the death of her son Dylan, who was an aspiring DJ and producer, Mama Bear Stephs decided to take up DJing as a way to honour his musical passion and ambition in her own way.
Dylan was diagnosed with an extremely rare form of liver cancer and passed away in 2016 at the age of 22 before he could achieve his dreams in the music industry.
“When I go to Sandton City, someone says to me, 'Your story is Carte Blanche “Can I give your son a hug?”
“When I go to festivals, it's so moving because so many people recognise me and have so much love for me for continuing Dylan's journey, as he wanted to be a DJ and producer,” the popular DJ said.
Also read: Mama Bear Stephs: 64-year-old DJ keeps late son's memory alive with every performance
Remembering Dylan
On Sunday, mama Bear Stephs opened up to her Instagram followers about her anxiety leading up to the week following her son's death.
Dylan coined the nickname DJ Stephs, which is where Mama Bear Stephs came from: “So I call myself Mama Bear Stephs. I was Mama Bear and he was Stephs.”
“I want to do a mix in his honour but I need time to think about it. I have a suitable mix on Mixcloud but ideally my dream is to one day stand on a hill somewhere and play an Afro House set and be touched by this. That's how I feel right now. I can feel the connection to him,” MamabearStephs declared.
She said she plans to pay tribute to Dylan on social media on the day he died.
“I'll probably post pictures of him in memory of him and post a TikTok about my healing and how DJing and chasing his dreams has helped me heal as a mother who lost a son.”
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