Justin Lehmann is the DJ with the X’s on his hand because he can’t drink. But even though he’s only 18, the kid’s got pro credentials.
The charity concert he organized in high school opened up a world of opportunity, which he has since parlayed into a gig writing for the music blog Hot Biscuits, an informal apprenticeship with Chicago artist Mike Perry of Black Holes, and a resident spot at Fly By Night, the event for which he opens every month at Debonair Social Club.
Fresh-faced, tall, and able to clearly and energetically articulate himself for an hour straight, Lehmann is looking to establish himself in his hometown’s scene. He goes by Brookah, but he says names don’t matter half as much as the music.
So, what does matter is that Justin Lehmann is a DJ who plays loud, crazy, people-have-to-dance music. And that he’s usually the youngest person in the club.
Nelson Fitch
Philip Jacobson
Ben Millstein
Taylor Soppe
// INTERVIEW
Justin Lehman (as told by Philip Jacobson): It’s funny to me how people think DJing is such an easy thing to do. It’s like anything else. The people who are really really good at it make it look really really easy and that’s why they’re so good.
I got into DJing when I started writing for Hot Biscuits. All the other writers on staff were DJs, so it was a natural thing. You collect music and eventually you want to do something with it. Since everyone else DJed, I figured I’d try as well.
I didn’t want to cheap out from the get-go, so I saved up and spent a huge amount of money on the equipment I would need to start out. Since it was second semester senior year, I was able to devote a consistent two-and-a-half hours a day to DJing for about nine months. Practicing, practicing, practicing. Just keep on getting it wrong. I would make one mix every month. That way I could chart my progress, see where my mistakes were, what I was doing better and worse. Practicing transitions, getting the timing right, aligning tracks. Mike was my mentor through and through, the one to tell me, no you’re not good enough to be DJing right now, you have to wait up a little bit, it’s way too soon. He would teach me what songs you play when, what you don’t play, who you play to, the politics of it all. The unwritten rules, he was the one to really articulate them to me.
The other day I listened to the first mix I made, and it was so bad. But the only way to be a good DJ is to keep doing it and doing it. Only when you’re much farther down the line can you get to a point where you don’t have to do it every day anymore, you can do it once every two weeks or something like that. But even then you’ll notice that you’re off. 
At one point I stopped doing it for three weeks because I was out of town, and then I came back and I was significantly worse. A lot worse.
My first real gig was opening for Fly By Night. This was about 10 months after I started DJing. Mike sent along one of my mixes to Willy Joy, who had played the charity show and who I’d been communicating with on and off. He said Mike had given me some good praise and asked me if I wanted to open for the next Fly By Night. Now I’m a resident for Fly By Night. It means I play it every month. Only now am I just starting to get stuff outside of that.
In the summer there are so many gigs because there’s constantly stuff going on. It’s not as much money because it’s mostly house parties, but it’s larger crowds that are more intense. Chicago is known for having house parties, and loft parties where someone will rent an apartment for the weekend. Friday night there will be a big party, sometimes Saturday night as well, and they clean up all day Sunday. Then they’re gone, and the place is spotless.
That’s how a lot of people got launched. I remember one time I saw Flosstradamus and Kid Sister in the attic of a dentist’s office. On a Thursday night, for two bucks. The Cool Kids would play those for nothing at all. That’s where everyone starts, because you have to get that street cred and respect from the young kids to actually be able to do something.
Right now the scene doesn’t really know what it is, where it’s at. 05 to 07 era, that was the peak. You had Flosstradamus named Rolling Stone DJ of the Year in 2008. You had Kid Sister, she was big, and Kanye was on “Pro Nails” in the video with her. Lupe had really blown up, which was cool for everyone, because even though he wasn’t part of that scene, he was still a Chicago kid. 
And the Cool Kids were the buzz hip-hop group. Everyone wanted to be with the Cool Kids. Lil’ Wayne did a track with them. All of a sudden everyone’s here, everyone wants to be here, and the mainstream is finally somewhat recognizing what we’ve had for so long.
That happened for about two or three years. Then all of a sudden, it was like Kid Sister’s album came out but was way too delayed and just an OK reception. Flosstradamus still hasn’t hit its pitch, they do OK shows but they still haven’t come out with an album. The Cool Kids, every single song is the same. Even though I love it, it’s extremely formulaic. All of a sudden it was like who’s next, and there wasn’t anything next.
That’s I think where it is right now. It’s pretty unbelievable to me how difficult it is to assemble a crowd in the city nowadays when it used to be so easy. Nowadays, even if you have a great DJ, you can’t assume you’ll have a great crowd. Other than Rehab, which is Mondays at Debonair, there’s no show that consistently brings out a lot of people anymore.
I have absolutely no idea where it’s going. It’s cool to know that I’ll be here within the scene for at least the next three or four years and be able to watch it grow, if that happens. At the same time, if it goes to shit and I have to watch it slowly close in on itself, that would suck. We’ll see. Because I’m young and in college, I can afford to DJ for three or four more years without worries other than academics, whereas other people have to DJ to live. The difficulty is getting gigs. If you don’t produce, or if you haven’t been in the scene for four or five years, it’s tough to get gigs consistently. I’m hoping it happens for me this summer.