Justin Yamamoto, also known as YAMi, an Ohio State alumnus, sticks to his roots as he works to make the DJing scene more inclusive for people of color.
YAMi, who graduated in 2019, said he uses advice from his former golf coach about navigating through predominantly white industries and applies it to his musical endeavors in the Columbus DJing scene.
“My swing coach was also Black, and he kind of instilled this fire in me, that no matter what you do, you have to try and try and be the best that you can at it, because no matter what state we’re in, no matter what people say, you are going to be looked at different in a white-dominated sport,” YAMi said.
The DJ said he explored music using different avenues throughout his childhood. After taking piano lessons during his adolescent years and playing trumpet in his middle school’s band, he found out that DJing and producing was the musical path he enjoyed the most.
“I also grew up being a wedding DJ, started when I was like 15, 16 years old,” YAMi said. “My Young Life leader actually, he was the real one that actually taught me how to spin and how to beatmatch.”
YAMi said these experiences were a turning point for him and he discovered that he really enjoyed DJing. He said it was his push to learn more about the production side of music.
YAMi said the versatility of DJing drew him to it more than the other avenues of music he dabbled in.
“It’s pretty cool you could do pretty much anything with DJing or producing, or I played the piano or something like that. That’s what I love about music, you can just be creative and be as open as you can be,” YAMi said.
When he started college, the artist said he took it upon himself to start honing his craft by performing at house and block parties.
“I started DJing at the frats and all the blocks and stuff, and then I was like, even a couple years ago I was like, ‘You know what? I want to take production more seriously,’” YAMi said.
YAMi said his DJing performances came to a temporary halt due to COVID-19, but that didn’t stop his creation of music. He instead used the time to dig deeper into learning more about his craft.
“Quarantine was when I started to like releasing more music that I had, and I started taking lessons from this guy named Carbon,” he said.
YAMi said he also took this time to branch out and introduce himself to the music industry.
YAMi said he took this advice and put it to good use, sending his work to a label called MMXVAC, which he now works for. He said the people there liked his music and that was how he got his first label release.
Through his work, the DJ said he is trying to help fix the disparity of Black artists and get them to a position where they are more well-known.
“They are getting the fame, but I think that if they were white, they’d be getting like a different sense of fame,” YAMi said. “I feel like that block is still there, but the walls are being broken down a little bit.”
