Following in the footsteps of his late father, reggae DJ Papa Ranger, Jahmar Anthony has an affinity for music and education.
His Detroit-bred father — known as Tucson’s first reggae DJ — also shared with him his Midwestern work ethic.
“Don’t stop” said Anthony, who spins and produces under DJ Jahmar. “That was the thing with my dad. He said, ‘Jahmar, if you’re going to do this, go harder than anyone else.’”
The plan worked. Anthony has reaped the rewards of his father’s advice, winning Tucson Weekly’s Best DJ and Best Reggae Artist prizes.
“It’s hard being a Jamaican DJ,” he said. “People want to put you in a box.”
Anthony has fought the stereotypes. Clubs have told him, “Your style isn’t going to work here.”
“I’m like, ‘Bro, I play hip-hop, rock, pop, EDM, R&B,’” Anthony recalled. “I have to break that down to them.”
Early years
Anthony was raised in a “real Jamaican household” with high expectations. When Anthony came home from school, his father told him to change his clothes, as it’s disrespectful to play in his school uniform. His father was strict and serious about education.
“That was the one thing he did not play about,” he said.
“We’re Rastafarian. In our culture, certain music, like X-rated hip-hop, wouldn’t play in our household. He really believed that words are powerful. When I was growing up, Cardi B would not have been played in my household, for sure.
“It was a real pro-Africa movement in our house. We learned about post-American slavery, the Black kings and queens, apartheid in South Africa.”
His father schooled him about Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. and others who fought similar struggles.
“I guess I was ahead of my peers,” he said. “I am teaching a lot of my peers about these people. For a person who didn’t finish high school, my father was very cultured. He would teach himself what he wanted to know about. He really pushed education.”
Anthony started DJing in clubs at age 15. He admitted the first year and a half was hard, with club owners doubting his diversity. He resorted to performing for free to prove his point.
“I play open format,” he said. “I don’t really have a genre of music that I play. I play to the crowd. It could be country. I just like music. I like music.”
Now 38, Anthony has tried other occupations, including short-lived stints as a bank teller and a call center operator. But music won.
“When I’m DJing, sometimes I don’t see the crowd there,” he said. “Everybody’s just gone, and it’s me in the music and I’m having a dance. Music makes me happy.”
Opening for acts like Sean Paul, Gregory Isaac, Snoop Dogg, Jon B., Beenie Man, J. Holiday, Mavado, Fetty Wap, Tory Lanez and Ziggy Marley, DJ Jahmar has become synonymous with Tucson nightlife. He once served as the DJ for Safaree, formerly of VH1’s “Love and Hip Hop.”
“What I do is not traditional with Tucson DJs. They’re into beat matching. They don’t engage the crowd. They just play music,” Anthony said.
Meanwhile, Anthony hypes up the crowd, engages them and shares stories.
“At the same time, they fell in love with me as a person and a DJ,” he said. “I’ll have events where I won’t DJ. I have other members of my team do it. But (fans) just want to talk to me, take pictures with me, tell me a story. They just want to be around me.”
He gives back, too. Anthony founded Deejays Against Hunger, which aims to help food deprived families who are homeless. The Tucson mayor dubbed Dec. 21 the official Deejays Against Hunger Day. Through the charity, he has helped more than 3,000 people.
In his spare time, he mentors children and travels to reservations to donate school supplies and speak about the music business. He has provided more than 1,000 backpacks to students on the Tohono O’odham Reservation.
“I’m nothing without my fans and supporters,” he said. “People who really believe in me, they believe in Jahmar not only as a DJ, but for my charity work.”
DJ Jahmar
WHEN: 10 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 31
WHERE: Mr. Head’s Art Gallery and Bar, 513 N. Fourth Avenue, Tucson
COST: Free admission
INFO: 520-792-2710
AZ Hip-Hop Showcase
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6
WHERE: 191 Toole, 191 E. Toole Avenue, Tucson
COST: $10 in advance
INFO: ticketmaster.com, facebook.com/jahmarinternational
