In this reflective entry, I dive into what it really means to be a DJ—far beyond speakers and song queues. From reading rooms to navigating cultures, from building bridges to becoming a musical chameleon, this post explores the human side of DJing: connection, empathy, adaptability, and the karma you create every time you press play.
November 7, 2024
As a DJ, I have played a vast array of music to a wide variety of audiences. From urban cowboys to hip-hoppers, from metalheads to jazz aficionados, and everything in between. From grandmothers to babies in the womb, from sweet sixteens to senior executives, and everything in between. In basements that hold, maybe, a dozen people to stadiums that hold 3,000, on university campuses to passers-by on their way to classes to cozy bonfires deep in the woods with intimate close friends who refuse to call it a night, and everything in between. And across all races, faiths, and ethnicities.
As a DJ, you have to be malleable and adaptable. You have to learn how to converse with people who are not like you, sometimes with people who do not speak the same language. You have to be a supporter of everyone who walks through the door so as to not offend others with your choices. You have to read the room. You have to take a pulse of who and what stands before the DJ booth. You have to open yourself up to road trips to visit cities, towns, and villages with names you cannot pronounce. And you have to be an incredible networker who welcomes new friendships with those whose paths you would never otherwise cross. You also have to navigate a world where some people are there for the music, and some people are there for, well, other things: talking to one person high on the music is a different conversation than talking to another person who's just high.
When you've been a DJ for as long as I have, you are able to apply your experiences across generations to what you do in your career. You have far more to offer because you know how to work the room. You know how to traverse spaces and cultures. Being a DJ is not just about playing music, it's about connecting with others. It's about building bridges. It's about finding commonalities and celebrating them. It's about bringing people together for the common good. It's about expressions of joy, pain, and sadness because each song you play emits an explosion of feelings each person takes in, interprets, and hears the way they want or need to hear it. Sometimes, even the way they don't want to hear it.
A seasoned DJ is a chameleon who can channel that energy and find a place and time to express through music what most people cannot or will not say or do. A seasoned DJ make everyone feel comfortable, welcome, and safe. That, folks, is good karma.
Lastly, you ALWAYS have to show up. No one likes a no-show DJ.
Respect the DJ. Respect the art.