As players prepared themselves for practice and reporters made their way around the Patriots locker room Tuesday afternoon music blared. That's not always the case during media availability. Sure, there is always the general chatter between players and occasionally music plays quietly from a given player's locker, but on this day, the locker room was bumping. That could only mean one thing: Brandon Bolden is back.
"We've got the original version of the bump box," Bolden said as "This is How We Do It" by Montell Jordan blasted in the background. "We just got it reinstalled. James (White) took care of it while I was gone. It was a little dusty when I got back, so I know he wasn't using it. We're just blowing the dust off of it right now. We're not in midseason form just yet."
Bolden spent the 2018 season with the Miami Dolphins. While he was gone, his locker stayed vacant and the bump box remained in his locker. When the Patriots signed Bolden to return in 2019, the team didn't only add a veteran running back to the locker room. They brought back their official DJ.
"He's the best DJ without a doubt," James White said.
While White's friendship with Bolden could make his opinion slightly biased, being a well-liked DJ is difficult when you're catering to a locker room inhabited with 90 guys from different backgrounds and taste in music. However, for Bolden, variety isn't a problem.
"I have over 4,000 songs on my phone. Whatever you want to hear, we can take it as far back as you want," Bolden said as he changed the song to "Tequila Song" by The Champs. "Most of the time we do it by request. The linemen will come ask for some songs. Sometimes defensive guys will suggest something. We try to make everybody happy. It's our locker room so we'll play whatever the locker room wants to hear."
Though media members may have trouble hearing the sound bites from Patriots availability today due to the loud music, the energy coming out of the Patriots locker room was evident. As players joyfully bopped their heads along to the tunes, all was right. Their DJ is back.
