Selector from Southside wants to be a role model

Sound system selector Jahmar 'DJ Maddawg' Dixon, who hails from the inner-city community of Southside in Kingston, wants to be a role model to the youth, especially those who have a mindset that crime and violence are the only way out.

"I want to highlight, motivate and encourage younger folks, especially from the inner city, that you don't have to do the wrong things in order to survive. I want to explain to them what I have been exposed to and the route that I took in order to live a better life as a sound selector," he told THE WEEKEND STAR passionately.

Dixon shared that he has come face-to-face with violence, but deliberately chose music as the path that he wanted to pursue. "Violence was not a part of the dream, but music was," he said.

Dixon has been working as a sound selector from 2015 "but started getting [his] highlight in 2016".

He got his start as a pouch carrier for a close friend who was a selector, and the baton was eventually passed to him.

"Eventually, he taught me how to operate the sound system and how to play the music. I then started lifting sound boxes and equipment until one day my close friend got an opportunity to play Stone Love sound system. So I therefore had to step up and fill the shoe that he left," Dixon recalled. He never looked back.

A former student of Donald Quarrie High school, Dixon honed his skills in carpentry, but that didn't have the fun and excitement which he craved.

"My parents loved to party, so, automatically I became a lover for parties and music at a tender age. I've been doing exceptionally well as it regards to my profession. I also have a close relationship with prominent individuals within the entertainment industry, from artistes to sound selectors," he stated.