My Journey so far
This is my first time ever asking a question on here, and on Reddit in general. I wanted to finally reach out to a community for once, and I thought this might be a good way to start.
I understand this is a “question” sub but I thought it would be good to provide context too. About 7 months ago, I deeply fell in love with the many cultures of music and DJing. I started really listening to freestyle, funk, jazz, house, and many other genres that I grew up listening to. Soon, I decided I wanted to try DJing as a hobby. Before I even touched a deck, I was spending lots of time studying the greats and their messages and techniques. I look up to DJs like the great Frankie Knuckles, Paul Johnson, DJ Funk, Yousuke Yukimatsu, MAW, DJ Jazzy Jeff, Joe Cooley, Qbert, Richard “Humpty” Vission, BBB, and many others. I haven’t really had a proper mentor, except for these great DJs, but I still focused on the things they could teach me. The only times I’ve asked for someone to show me the ropes, I’ve been turned down (which I don’t mind because everyone has to maintain themselves). Still, I studied the best and worst parts of each track I was listening to, and focusing on the feeling it gave me. I began watching interviews, documentaries, live performances, anything that I could that involved the art. I also started developing my own tastes more than I ever had before. And through all of this, I realized one thing, that all of these great people I was discovering had the same message, and that was to share music and bring people together. That’s when I knew that this was an art and passion that definitely touched my heart.
I want to bring people together, to share tastes, and to kind of bring this barrier down, that I see in my generation mostly, of not enjoying or sharing music together. I understand people have their own thing going, but it can be really really sad to see that people are so disconnected when it comes to music. Maybe it’s the huge culture shift going on right now, but I want to at least be a part of something larger when it comes to DJing.
I’m going to be 18 soon, and I know for sure that I want to DJ in some way in the near future. I don’t network much, but I have considered going to local places that might offer some sort of gigs, or maybe even starting a YouTube channel.
So that leaves me with a few questions,
The biggest being, am I being too naive? I’ve heard a lot that we’re in a big recession, at least in the sense that the current goal in the industry is to maximize profit, rather than seek genuine talent. Don’t get me wrong I’ve heard a lot of amazing and talented DJs on the come-up, but overall, it seems like a harsh game being played. So again, is the goal of bringing people together too large? It feels like if I tried to make it up there, I’d be giving up my values, and that’s a big deal for me.
Second, what is being expected of me? Again, I’ve never had true experience with DJing for people, so I’d like to know what to prepare myself for. I don’t have much gear (I scratch on a FLX4 for crying out loud) and I’m not sure how much I should invest into gear.
And third, how did some of you start out? What are some pointers, some suggestions, anything that could be provided to someone like me? I’d really appreciate everything that others have to say.
This seems like a HUGE rant upon reading this, but again, this is genuinely what’s been on my mind. If there’s any other questions about the gear I have, what I play, how I play, or anything else, I’d be happy to answer.
Thank you for your time 🙌