Where are you from?
I'm from Atlanta, Georgia. Born and raised. Brooklyn is the only other place I've lived in my life.
When did you start djing and why?
I moved into a house on Avon Ave with some of my friends from my past life, in which 3 of the 5 of them were already DJing. I bought my first equipment from a coworker at Urban Outfitters, shortly before I got fired. I had quite a few incredible people to learn from, but no eyes on me seriously. This gave me the opportunity to grow and to make mistakes without anyone really checking for me. I think I was always expected to be the underdog from the day I started. I took all of the lessons and watching and practice I could soak up. I would go to parties and just stand there like a creep and watch. I watched my friends practice in the house. I opened for them for free for their shows. I did every single thing I could, paid or unpaid, cool or uncool, and I definitely don't regret any of it.
By being a Dj, sometimes people tend to forget that the music you play at your sets is not necessarily the "only" thing you listen to or that represent your path and background as a musician. Who are your biggest inspirations and what is your morning go-to track?
I find that some DJs take themselves and their taste in music way too seriously. Now, I don't believe that everyone can DJ. I believe that if you're a good DJ, you'll combine your taste, style and technical ability to make yourself stand out. My personal experience with combatting this issue is what gave me a style. Before I discovered flips, and making them, I was doing strictly mash-up mixes. If everybody wanted to hear Chief Keef, they were gonna get it over a Brittany Spears instrumental. I didn't care, and it was the only way it made it fun for me. I had no intentions on abandoning my music taste for what a club asked of me or what some lame ass dude requested. But, I think that making an effort to creatively combine every genre, with what I liked, with what "the people" wanted, is what allowed me to gain ears who appreciated that.
My closest friends are big inso, I hope they know that. I used to wake up and listen to DSavage, but my sister made me realize that the first thing you should listen to every morning is any Beyonce album in its entirety.
As a woman and an artist, what do you think is lacking in nowadays music industry and what positive progress have been made lately?
The industry still isn't a safe place for women; but recently, it's been a cool place for "the token woman in (insert male dominated profession)". The demand for women in these roles has increased, so the industry has done a good job of marketing/tokenizing women for their own profit and popularity. I still don't think the industry cares about women at all whatsoever. I'm super impressed by the comradery between women in this industry and fans who recognize the importance of them, who do an amazing job of supporting them relentlessly. I think that we've definitely allowed women, especially women of color, to no longer fall into stereotypes and monoliths in their careers. We have a range of inspiration for the next generation of women in music of all kinds. We have to start infiltrating the system, not just the frontline.
Listen to BabySp1der Mixtape here
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