Gatekeeper sees the lonely, lost ...' Was alone when one of so-called hype DJs'

In the Indeep song Last Night a DJ Saved my Life, it is the person playing the music who plucks a woman in the throes of heartache from sadness, causing her to rejoice "last night a DJ saved my life with a song". In real life, DJ Marlon 'The Gatekeeper' Young can attest to having saved at least one life without playing a tune.

Young, who has an extensive career as a DJ, before and after becoming a Christian, told The Gleaner that since accepting Christ on August 4, 2007, he has been placed in a setting where God has directed him to speak to one particular young woman. "After talking to her, it turned out she was at the point of committing suicide." Without their conversation, Young said, "that young lady would be dead today. We have to be cognisant of what we have to do", emphasising that he was placed in a specific dance at a particular time. Although it was not a Christian event, Young is not affected by the music at parties, although some of it is not what he would play. "I am at a place where if I stop at one of those places it is nothing to me," he said.

It is there that, many times, deep distress is masked. "A lot of people struggling. A lot of people go into these situations not because they truly want to enjoy themselves. They just move with the crowd. If they do not go out on a Friday night and have to stay home, they drive themselves nuts," Young said. "A lot of people think their happiness depends on something happening. And that changes from second to second."

The 'Gatekeeper' knows that lonely feeling from his pre-Christianity days, when he was playing on FAME FM and the party circuit including carnival, as "one of the so-called hype DJs, I was alone. After the event you're tired. Everybody else entertained. Sometimes God do something to stop you, like shut down your system for a couple days with fever, flu. It is the only way you get rest."

He now plays on Mello FM on Friday nights into early Saturday morning, returning to the airwaves at 6 a.m. on Saturday for a four-hour stint, half of which is gospel. He does gospel parties, and when veering away from those, it is with the understanding that he will not compromise his standards while drawing from a vast pool of music. "People can be entertained, and have a good time without going down into the nastiness. Not everybody wants to hear it," Young said.

Literally slowing down has had unexpected benefits, Young saying that before becoming a Christian, he used to constantly be on the go from venue to venue. "You go here go play, you go there go play and things pass you by. Is from me slow down I start to enjoy things," he said.

entertainment@gleanerjm.com