UNIIQU3

I would describe this year as being limitless. This year opened my eyes to the endless opportunities out there. A lot of dreams came true. Not in the ways I imagined but even better. I’m blessed, happy but now hungrier than ever.

My earliest memory of Jersey Club is hearing one of my friends in school bang that Jersey Club Beat Pattern on the school table at lunch and having everyone chime in on adding vocals and then seeing people do a dance along to the improv track.

When I first started my journey as UNIIQU3 I was one of the few girls making room for us in the scene, so all my male peers addressed me as Queen. The title stuck and it’s something I do take seriously to an extent. As a person I always try to treat others how I want to be treated and I practice that within the community. Whether it’s booking my friends and actually paying them, sharing resources with my fellow producers, I’m always giving advice. I just find that to be normal human behaviour to be honest. I’m always doing something, like throwing PBNJ is just something I’m passionate about, I like festivals and parties. Radio, just me sharing good music as a tastemaker. I guess you can say I’m being a good role model but I’m just truly being myself.

My experience has been a rollercoaster. When I first started touring, I was one of the few Black Women in the Club let alone being the DJ. At the time it was really hard for me to believe that my dreams would come into fruition because there were few examples of Successful Black Women who DJ on big stages and don’t get fucked over in the industry or Women who make it out of Newark as a successful DJ to be specific. When I traveled to different cities, I always made it my business to connect with the women, and BIPOC communities. I’d reach out to them, and they’d reach out to me. I formed sisterhoods, friendships and learned about everyone’s scene and their experiences of triumph and hardship. It broadened my horizons seeing that, on an international level, I was not alone. Fast forward to 2023 it seems like the DJ booths and dance floors are being diversified and decolonised on a massive scale. There’s always more work to be done but I do want to acknowledge the progress that has been made and I’m just happy to be a part of that movement.

Thank you. Thank you! This is actually my second time DJing for Muva Yoncé. I DJed the Club Renaissance Release party in LA December 2022 which was a beautiful experience. I was thankful for that opportunity so to be tapped to open for her World Tour really just had me shook. It was really dope to see the empty stadium of workers pre-show and see it evolve into Renaissance. That stage was huge and I got a lot of love from my fans who came early to see me and new fans who rocked with me. It was such an interactive show sonically, and visually. I’m honoured she let me add my magic and set the tone for the Beyhive. She is so dope for tapping into a culture that she finds to be liberating and give everyone their flowers and educate the masses in the process. She got her tens.

Yeah I think it’s an honorable stamp of approval. I’m happy it’s been giving opportunities to my peers to produce for prestigious artists now that they are inspired by our dance music culture. I also think it gives opportunities for artists who’ve been pioneering and evolving the genre to gain mainstream appeal. TikTok definitely amplified the culture as a whole with the production and dances going viral but it’s reminiscent of what YouTube and Vine did for club music in the years prior. I think it says a lot that we have a sound that consistently has a moment in music.

So, here’s a cute story time. I was shooting the Shake The Room video earlier in the day and decided to get some b roll footage of Dos Flako’s DJ Set in New York City at a Club called Defluxx. So I’m on stage we’re running the original and the crowd is going crazy ! Then Chris decided to spin Austin’s remix without me and Rich knowing. It completely took us and the club by surprise when the beat dropped into Jersey Club. It was a hands up, get down, situation. I knew from that moment we had to officially release it.

I think what makes my sound unique is my voice. Nobody owns the floor like me on these club songs man. Whether I’m singing or rapping or even just saying two words. I’m happy I have something that can’t be imitated.

Well, I’m always making music. Yes, it’s my career but it’s something I genuinely enjoy doing. It’s not forced. I usually create a melody and drums and start there. Then lyrics will come in, I’ll freestyle and record different reference tracks with light lyrics and heavy mumbles. Sometimes it takes me days, sometimes it takes me hours, it all depends.  When I complete a song, I often sit and think of the whole vision. After feeling it and hearing it I need to see it and visualise it. So, I’ll just tap into the mindset of finding inspiration in everything. The flowers on my afternoon walks, the feeling I get when I listen to it in the gym, etc.  Then I share it with my manager to see what he thinks about dropping it and he helps me with the backend of scheduling the release date. Then I’ll reach out to trusted creatives within my scene to get whatever promo things I need done, photoshoots, lyric videos, cover art etc. It’s still very DIY for me but I move like a business.

I’m so happy I got a track in with those guys.  It was dope to blend both our styles. Dos Flakos are amazing at what they do. I’m a fan, aside from being a friend. I love how they stay true to their roots during this dance evolution. Their DJ sets are chef’s kiss. I can't wait until they tour Europe.

Yeah, I feel like it’s my way of giving my audience a visual taste of what the song sonically embodies. You get to hear it, feel it, see it, see the faces of who you might see at the club, feel the energy through the screen. I like creating things, so I just try to make them come to life.

Yes Aqua gang (laughs)! I think it’s natural for me when I’m in a safe space. Like I could be really coy in public settings, a little aloof and in my own world but on stage I bring everyone in UNIIQU3’s world. It’s also one of the things I learned being a DJ in Newark, NJ. The east coast in general has DJ’s that are MC’s in their own right. It’s obnoxious, it’s energetic, interactive and raw.

One of my favourite performances was Main Stage Afropunk 2019. It was the Last Festival at the infamous Commodore Barry Park. What made it my favourite was just the energy. My dancers and I practiced for weeks. We had that park in a chokehold. A sea of people dancing in unison to Jersey Club and smaller dance pits forming letting everyone get a go!
I think my favourite show this year has been when I performed in the Sonic Sphere at the Shed in NYC. It was just artistically something I’ve never done and opened my eyes to including production into my shows. It was me, my dancers, and my fans dancing in a sphere suspended 65 feet in the air with over 100 surround sound speakers that got triggered by the frequencies in my music for me! In all I’ve brought Jersey Club into some unique spaces, pun very much intended.

Hmm well yes, I do. Feels good to say that! I have an EP coming out with my homies Black Caviar in the Spring. It’s definitely a different vibe from what my club heads will expect but it’s a more elevated and amplified UNIIQU3. I had so much fun making it!  I’ve also been working on a live show as well something beyond my hybrid DJ sets that will just define who I am as a club Queen. I’m kicking things off in January and I will be making noise every month of 2024.

UNIIQU3’s that bitch!