1) How long have you been a Ladies Lotto member and how has it benefited you?I've been in LL for a few years now and feel privileged to be apart of a network of women at the head of their industries. I love the company I keep when I get my daily digest and read what all the ladies are up to. I've partnered with several of the ladies in their events or in having them sponsor my events. Also, I love landing in a city and linking with a Ladies Lotto member that noticed my travels online. It's an instant comfort zone in new cities.
2) Being raised in LA, you were surrounded by other cultures and music. Did your parents take issue with your musical tastes, or did they embrace it?
My musical tastes were always my own... listened to in the privacy of my bedroom, headphones, or car (once I could drive). My parents left my taste in music alone. My dad listens to KCRW all day and my mom is a 80's & 90's pop lover.... I now love dropping some of the jams I'd hear on the radio stations they used to play.
3) Music is such a male dominated industry and it's hard for ladies to get props, particularly turntablists. What made you want to take that on?
I was always the girl that wanted to do the hobbies exclusive to boys. It began with guitar, then surfing, water polo, & finally DJ-ing. With DJ-ing, it satisfied my passion to pursue music while also being an immediate source of income. Ignoring the boys-club aura of it, I broke right into the professional DJ circuit after graduating from CAL. Ambition & hunger can make one circumnavigate any static.
4) How did you get your start DJ'ing?
I was a sophomore at Berkeley studying pre-med & anthropology while also taking on way too many extra-curriculars for my own good. My neighbor needed students to get funding for his DJ course on campus and begged me to enroll. I begrudgingly joined the course and within 2 weeks bought my own turntables & my path in life was drastically changed forever.
5) What DJ's (male or female) do you respect and who were you inspired by?
I have always been inspired by DJ Valida who holds the role of a female DJ down with such beautiful energy & warmth. Being a filmmaker, singer, model, & world traveler, she also reminds me it's possible to juggle many hats in life gracefully and never limit yourself. She was actually one of the first people that told me I should join Ladies Lotto.
DJ AM has been an inspiration to me not only in his talent as an incredible DJ, but as a human. At his memorial, one of his best friends said that AM used to advise his managers in business, "Be fair" and "Make sure our side of the street is clean." Additionally, many people had stories of how AM had helped them stay on their path of sobriety. As a DJ, he paved the way for people in our profession that play multi-genre sets to be able to someday make 20K a night & reach celebrity status unheard of before for a hip hop DJ. If I give my life's work the love, passion, dedication, and energy he gave to DJ-ing, I'll have succeeded.
6) You're the party-goer and not the DJ. What makes YOU want to move?
A DJ maintaining and building the energy of a night song to song without losing the dynamic of the beat in transitions. My favorite DJ's are ones that take me on a journey through memory lane, energetics, & vibe.
7) Which do you prefer? Spinning vinyl or digital?
Ideally, I love to spin digitally using serato with a vinyl interface on turntables. Best of both worlds.
8) The music industry has changed so vastly in the past 4 or 5 years. What do you think of the current trends in music and what do you miss?
I don't pay attention to current trends in music as much as I keep an ear out for innovative artists and those progressing the leading edge of their genres.
With music being as accessible as a simple & immediate download, there's been an increase in the amount of sounds I have to sift through to find gems, which is of course more time-consuming. I miss the feeling of buying a new album and listening to it over and over again while I pore over the cd's album art & insert.
9) To add to that, what artists are you absolutely feeling?
I could be here until next week answering that question because of the hundreds of mp3's I go through weekly. There's a fresh movement in LA's underground featuring earth shaking artists such as Rob Roy, Flying Lotus, & The Gaslamp Killer. Even if I don't fell an artist's entire repertoire, I always have a few songs every week that I cannot get enough of. This week, it happens to be Jay-Z's "Venus vs. Mars" off the new Blueprint 3 album.
10) You were already successful as a DJ, so what made you want to go a step further and start LionessLA? What do you hope to do with this venture?
LionessLA is a special events and marketing firm I founded with my business partner Aneesah Williams so that we could have the institution in place to create events we can call our own from their conception to their presentation. Instead of DJ-ing other people's events & fitting into their concept of nightlife, LionessLA is a way for us to produce events that combine our passions for quality music, live art displays, fine dining, fashion, & philanthropy. We began in 2006 with a mission to innovate Los Angeles nightlife with the LionessLA signature. With Los Angeles underway seasonally, we can now focus on collaborating with other cities around the world in addition to expanding Lioness Entertainment to take on other aspects in the music industry beyond event PR.
11) And lastly, we all know DJ's who don't seem to care about people sitting DOWN. What are your top five make-them-move, rump-shaking, no-parking-on-the-dance-floor jams of all time?
1. Get Your Freak On - Missy Elliot
2. Shorty Swing My Way - Kp & Envy
3. Shake it to the Ground - Rye Rye
4. Bucky Dun Gone - M.I.A.
5. Do My Ladies Run This Mutha - Memphis Bleek ft. Jay-Z
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