BILFPOD - Breaking Beats & Barriers: DJ Samantha Michelle on Thriving in a Male-Dominated Industry

Episode Date: November 6, 2025

BILFPod x Samantha MichelleSamantha Michelle is more than a DJ—she’s a creative force, entrepreneur, and boundary breaker redefining what it means to rise in a male-dominated industry. From late-night sets to global stages, Samantha is proof that authenticity and artistry can outshine any stereotype.Her journey is about courage, creation, and carving your own lane—even when only 2% of the industry looks like you. She opens up about the power of resilience, staying grounded in a competitive world, and leading with confidence and kindness. In this episode:• Thriving as a woman in a male-dominated music industry• Turning passion into purpose (and profit)• Building confidence through creativity• Why “fear kills art”—and how to create fearlessly• The balance between hustle, heart, and self-expressionThis episode is a reminder that success isn’t about competing—it’s about creating, believing, and owning your story, beat by beat.🎧 Catch the full episode now—streaming on all platforms.Get Connected:Follow Samantha Michelle → @samanthamusicFollow Mara Dorne → @maradorneFollow the Podcast → @bilfpod#BILFPod #MaraDorne #SamanthaMichelle #WomenInMusic #FemaleDJ #BreakingBarriers #CreativityUnleashed #EntrepreneurMindset #BossIdLikeToFollow #Musicpreneur #UnfilteredSuccess #BILFCommunity #PurposeToProfit #FearlessCreativity #BeatsAndBusiness #DJLife #WomenWhoLead #CreateDontCompete #OnStageEnergy #AuthenticSuccess

I don't want to see a sweet potato fry in sight. Like, I want to connect with the people who are there for, like, a real dance, music-driven experience. And in that space, I think, like, female producers make up, like, 2% of the industry. Like, it's tiny. And not just are you competing with all these other men, but the people who are making the decisions about the opportunities that get bestowed are also men. Yes.

Welcome back to the BiltPod. We're Authenticity Trump's Authority. Now, today's guest lives between sound systems and. spotlights she's broken beats broken barriers I mean she is a DJ an actress a storyteller a woman who has really paved the way from across London to New York to even California and now is sitting here with me in New York City welcome to the bill of pod miss Samantha Michelle who get a girl get a girl I always love I love bad bitches I love them and you as soon as you walked in like you

exude bad bitch that's like it yeah I mean a beautiful a beautiful bitch beautiful it's like in a good way so welcome to the build pod thank you thank you so much for having me it's really great to be here yeah thanks for coming I heard you canceled your trip just to hang out with me all day basically yeah you didn't know no so you so you're here at the Belf on the Belf pod right now do you know what Bilt stands for boss I'd like to follow yes it is it's definitely and you you really are a boss and it's super impressive like I love women that are in fields that are like male dominated fields because I and I'll tell you about myself after, but it's not about me. It's all about you today. But I love to connect with women

that are really in predominantly male fields. So tell me what that's been like for you. I mean, it's definitely, it's definitely a thing, you know, most DJs are men. And the further that you move in sort of dance music specific spaces, because like I really built a lot of my career in members clubs and working with like luxury brands and doing sort of in-store events and sort of more corporate things. At this time, I'm really like, let's do festivals, let's do clubs. Like, I don't want to see a sweet potato fry in sight. Like, I want to connect with the people who are there

for, like, a real dance, music-driven experience. And in that space, I think, like, female producers make up, like, 2% of the industry. Like, it's tiny. And not just are you competing with all these other men, but the people who are making the decisions about the opportunities that get bestowed are also men. Yes. And I've been doing this for, like, 10 years now.

And it's really interesting because like orienting around that reality as a 25 year old girl is super different from orienting around that reality as a 36 year old woman. You know? I get it. Yes. I'm just smiling because I totally get it. Yes. I definitely understand that. Yeah.

I think like youth and naivete and like a sort of wide-eyed softness has always been my sort of go-to as to how to like navigate in male spaces. Right. But as a grown woman, I just can't do that anymore. Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, it's absolutely funny because I grew up too in the space that I was in. I come from a male-dominated industry. I was 25 also when I started. And the little girl that I started out as around these male, you know, predominantly male-dominating figures,

is definitely not the woman that I am. And it's kind of, tell me it's not funny, like, because I know there's like some girl DGs that are coming up that are younger. So, like, how do you navigate that being like, because now? Now for me, like I'm the oldest bitch in the room. I used to be the youngest and hottest. I just want to throw that in there. I think you're still doing pretty good.

Love you. But how do you navigate around that being like an older, not older, but more seasoned DJ and then these little girls are coming in? Mentorship is the only answer. Yeah. You know, I think even like competing with women who were my age, like there was a couple years ago where I really just, I felt it starting to get to me. Like my, you know, my business was so focused in the, you know, my business was so focused in the

kind of corporate spaces and the volume of opportunity isn't there because like for example if you're Dolce Gibana maybe you're going to do an event once every three months if you're a club you're going to book seven DJs over the weekend right right so like getting these opportunities like can sometimes feel so like and I started to really just feel like I was being compared to like my colleagues and like these people were just sort of sat in rooms making decisions and and without knowing me or and it was really hard to deal with. So what I decided to do was like, listen, I can't change the reality of this industry and the reality of the competition that's a part of it.

But I can show up differently to the situation. So I started producing these female forward, like nightlife experiences and partnership with Soulhouse. And I went and I hired all of the girls that I had to be in my bonnet about. So like each night that we did each party had like me and three others. And I would hire somebody who was really young, really green. really excited to get into a solo house to play. I would hire someone who was really experienced five or ten years older than me who could like kind of provide like the kind of queen bee

mentorship to the situation and then I would hire somebody who was at my level usually somebody who had lost a job to that month just because like that's the only way I can show up to make this dynamic different. Yeah. And it's not about whether or not they're going to do something for me in return. Like it's not about creating some sort of like transactional lane. It's just like I don't want to be in competition with you, I can't change that. But if I hire you, all of a sudden, and guess what? I have changed that. Yeah. And you get to collab. And then you get to meet other women and kind of just, you know, for the one that's green, you can kind of, like you said, mentor them. And for somebody that's at your caliber, you have a lot in common. And then for,

you know, always a student. I always like to say that. Like if you're the smartest one in the room, you got to get out. You got to get out and start, you know, meeting other people. But I love what you're doing and making the space available for women because I'm sure it's a hard industry to navigate through. I'm sure about that. But I have a question. Did you grow up wanting to be a DJ? No. No. So it's funny. I really didn't know what I wanted to be growing up. Like I always loved music and dance and I had danced from the time I was like, you know, a three-year-old in ballet class. And then when I was like a preteen, I took dance pretty seriously and started doing competitions and stuff. And movement and movement to music was like my outlet as a kid.

But I had a pretty tough childhood. I was dealing with a lot of pretty dark things. And so I didn't have the same, like, oh, you could be whatever you want thing that like some kids have, you know, where they look back on their childhood and they had that clarity of like, oh, I'm going to go be that thing. I mean, I really just wanted to be okay, to be honest with you. Right. You were just surviving. Yeah, I was surviving. And then when I got out of that situation and landed in New York at 17 years,

years old, a freshman in college. My roommate, she grew up in the city, she was this gorgeous girl, and she was like, come on, let's go to the clubs. And it's like Freshers Week at NYU. And I'm running around to like Marquis and 10 June and Pink Elephant. This is, you know, 2007, like the glory days of, you know, the meatpacking club scene. And I just kind of fell into nightlife from there. And then it wasn't until seven or eight years later, I'm like living in London and I plugged in my iPod. This is like 2014, 2015, at a part of the day. at the Groucho Club and just like played nostalgic bangers like Aqua and Hey Jude and whatever and people went insane like there was this one moment to Hey Jude where like everybody was like standing on

the furniture standing on the bar like arms in the air singing nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah I love that and I just was like oh wow there's something here but again it took years before I really kind of like gave it a chance and nail in a hindsight with all of the sort of adventures that I've had behind me and hopefully all the adventures that are ahead in front it feels really clear that like Dging chose me as opposed to the other way around it always ends up it's so crazy that's how life is it's funny that it's funny that you even say that like all your little things and everything you're saying I can I can totally resonate with it just because I always laugh I you know I was telling you before we were

talking that my real job is I'm a senior regional sales leader and I'm like this is never what I never this is not what I went to school to do but I always say like you you know, insurance chose me. I didn't choose it. So it's kind of funny the way that life works out. So I can only imagine you're in this club, right, just viving out. And then you were just dipping and dabbing in there. Like, and I'm sure everybody wanted to come see this hot, gorgeous chick that can really throw down. So this, and then eventually it just evolved into like your full-time deal. Yeah. So basically what had happened? After that night, everyone was like, oh my God, you made the party. You made the party. Thank you so much.

Okay, I'm on DJ for whatever. And then somebody asked me who was there to like, DJ her birthday party and I think I was like a bit drunk at the time. I was like yeah yeah sure I'll be there. I turn up to the birthday party with nothing and she introduces me to like the guy at the venue she's like this is Samantha she's her DJ here the bottle of champagne for you and I'm like what I don't have any I don't so I like call like the guy I'm dating at the time I'm like you need to go to my house get like my laptop my iPod and like come here to full him and I'm going to have to figure this out so he does and I sort of am like literally just like playing songs from my computer like I have no idea how to mix and the DJ is figuring

until you're making it. Completely. And the DJ who was booked to open for me, hilariously, was like an actual DJ. And she was like, girl, you have like amazing taste in tracks. Like, why don't you come play back to back with me at the King's Head in East London? And I was like, I don't actually know how to play. And she's like, just burn some CDs and I'll teach you. So I was like, all right, sure, why not? And yeah, so she taught me. And then like a couple years, maybe about a year and a half on, I had done little bits of DJing here and there. But again, there was so much resistance. Like, I didn't want to do it. And then. And then, And on a whim, a girlfriend and I decided to start a DJ duo called The Smoking Guns.

This was in 2016. So it was a really exciting moment in like culture and zeitgeist for female empowerment. We both had this love of like 60s and 70s, Northern Seoul, Rare Rhythm and Blues, funk, ska. So we were like, all right, let's make that our sound. Let's be these kind of like nostalgic revivalists. And in the UK, there's really an amazing industry and like demand for that kind of sound. in a ton of different spaces. So we had a lot of success really quickly because there was no women.

Right. You know, all the DJs in these sort of mod clubs, they were like old guys who were like, they were at the time. And we were like, we weren't there because we're 25. But, you know, and then I did that for like two and a half years, three years. And then I felt like I just really wanted to evolve creatively. And the difficulty of working in a duo is like, you know, there's like your creative identity and your partner's creative identity.

and then the duo, which is like a bit of both of you and also sort of neither of you. And I just like needed to evolve. I wanted to play more electronic music. I wanted to like up my game technically. I was like, all right, if I'm going to do this, you better believe I'm going to be the best. Yeah. Not like worse, you're not going to go half-asset. Exactly.

And I felt like in order to really fulfill my potential, I needed total creative autonomy. So I left partnership. I left London. I moved to New York, 2018. like so you're moving back to New York like basically 10 years later no one here knew who I was like Samantha Michelle is like a name in music didn't have any anything because I was like working under the smoking guns I started all over again wow okay so let me just piece the story so you go to NYU right so in my daughter's

goes she's applying to pace which is so funny but so you go to NYU you go to these clubs then all of a sudden like you start like it's kind of like overnight success right not Even like I was just a club girl like I just went to the clubs because I like to dance and like wear fun outfits and put on high heels and like for me like and also it was a different era for nightlife like in 2007 2008 like this was before Instagram right before social media like I remember being at Marquis and like Beyonce is over at the next table and she's just chilling and no one's trying to rush her because they don't have a phone that they're trying to right

Right. And that's also not the culture. Like, it would be the least cool thing you could possibly do to take out your little digital camera and take a picture of her. Right. Like, it was a completely different culture. So nightlife was where the most interesting people came out. Wow. So now, then you go to the UK. Okay.

So at that point, you go to the UK. You're really making a name for yourself. Well, so what happened was I took a leave of absence from NYU in my junior year and I went to Oxford because I had this fantasy about Oxford in my mind. And I couldn't believe that I even, like, got in. So when I got in, I was like, we need to do this. And then at Oxford, I really fell in love with Shakespeare and theater. And I was like, oh, I'm going to be a theater actress. Okay.

And I did, like, three different plays in my year there. And then stayed for the summer after and went to drama school in a Shakespeare intensive at Lama. Then I came back to New York to, like, finish my degree. But by that point, I was like, oh, no, I'm going to be an actress, like in Shakespeare, in London or whatever. I didn't have a way to stay in America after school because I'm Canadian. Right. So I was like, I didn't want to go back to Canada. So I said, okay, I'll move to London.

And then in London, I was really focused on, you know, trying to be a theater actress. Right. And, like, trying to be and build an acting career is impossibly difficult to begin with. But trying to do it as a foreigner in a different country is misguided. Yeah, for sure. I'm sure. No one's going to hire a Canadian girl to play a British person. And you'd be hard pressed to discover there's not a lot of Canadian roles in, like, British productions.

So here you are. So now you're there. And then you finally come back to the US. Yeah. And then you decide at this point that you're going to, what? That you're going to just, you said, make a name for yourself, kind of differentiate. And now it's, what is it, 2018? 2018.

And I'm like, so I managed to get, like, my artist visa to come and move back here based on the success that I had achieved in the UK. But something not a lot of people know is that, like, the U.S. government doesn't believe in multi-hyphenance or, like, cross-disciplinary creative expression. So whatever your, quote, an extraordinary. alien in is the only thing that you can do and if you do something beyond that like you're in breach of your visa oh okay so the possible risks of that are you know pretty grave so when I moved back in 2018 the only thing I was legally allowed to do was DJ and I knew at the time that I wanted

to express myself in so many more ways but I was like if I do this and I do this hard enough and I do this well enough, I can get my extraordinary alien green card. And if I get my extraordinary alien green card, then there are no limitations. And I can do whatever I want. So I got here in 2018, and I was like, we are going to floor it. I was like, I'm going to get my name on every single flyer. I'm going to work with every major brand. Like, I looked at what the categories were that I needed to, like, satisfy in order to get this green card.

And I worked for five years and got it. So when was this? So everybody has, like, in their career, a defining moment, like a breakthrough moment that you're like, I've arrived. I'm here. And this is, because now, like, you're just, this is going to be your lifelong. I don't know. Did you know what the time it was going to be? But when was that defining moment where you're like, this is like my life, it's fun, but this is going to be my life's work.

Or my career for now, I should say. It's funny because I still don't even have that. Like, this isn't even my life's work, don't have. You know, like, it's, I have so. much more. So this is just a part of where you're going. Yeah, this is like the tip of the iceberg. And because of the limitations I've had around visas and whatever, which also is just hilarious because I grew up literally like a 90-minute drive from the American border. It's funny. I was born in Malesan Hospital in Toronto, you know. But no, I'm here to like

change collective energy through storytelling and experiences and performance. Like that's what I'm here to do and DJing chose me and I'm now really beginning to understand why and also like how special that is like I was talking to my mom about this recently like you know my mom's generation or even 10 20 years ago even like let's go back to 2008 like the meatpacking clubs like you never knew who the DJs were like you went not by name not by name not by name like there wasn't DJ culture didn't exist the way that it exists now like no not like you I mean you knew a few a few a few I just knew a few big names, but not like how it's erupting everywhere in Vegas. There's a lot.

There's a few women that are very good because when I would go to the marquee there. And there's like a big club, daytime club. There's a few women that play there. But no, nothing like now, how DJs are coming up. Totally. So it's really interesting now, like reflecting on this all, I'm able to see that, like, actually by being in this industry and in this space, I'm in a totally unique, completely culturally unprecedented position to really shape culture, to tell people what's cool,

to show people that being kind, loving, sweet, not taking themselves too seriously, holding space for the past, expressing warmth. Like, I'm able to show all of that. And then, like, from that place, who knows what else I can achieve, you know? Yeah, I love how you incorporate because you have a lot of different. genres in there, right? You like, you kind of mix it all up. So how does that work when you're like creating, let's just say you're in a club? How are you able to like kind of mix it all together and bring it to like modern day? So it usually it really depends on like what the format of the

space is. Like these days, I might say on who's super evolved, right? Like it started with like 60s 70s like rare soul covers like original format and then went into like remixes of nostalgic stuff. And then from there went into like disco house, funky house. And then about two and a half years ago, I fell into an Afro house rabbit hole and started playing more like Afro house remixes and tribal house edits and like music that had a more worldly ethnic feel to it. But I'm still like, I'm a remix girl. I'm like a sing-along girl.

So like finding these fun versions of songs that have like a lyric that you know, but you've not necessarily ever heard it this way. and I can mix it together with like really cool, like maybe it's like a Moroccan percussive instrumental track or something that has more of like an Arabian, Middle Eastern kind of flare. And then in the set, I'll skate between instrumental versions and music with lyrics, but like I only ever play edits. I almost never really play like original versions of things.

I sit there and I dig. Do you ever dip and dab and do any of your original stuff? I mean, so I produce my own music. and so I'll play my original stuff for sure but when it comes to like playing other people's music I'll normally try and find unique versions that are like less obvious because I just think it keeps the whole thing so much fresher and if it's not broken why fix it I love that I love how you combine that so as like looking we talked about you like evolved in the last 10 years what would you say

would be one big mistake you've made along the way some maybe something that I'm sure there's you know plenty there's a couple we all have a little we all have a little Lots of, but what would you say, like, is one big mistake that you, that you can think of? Or a redefining moment? I think, I think, okay, so I was just a burning man. I had the most amazing experience. I ended up playing, like, six sets around the playa. And one of the things that I really kind of realized in my time there

and something I felt like kind of put to rest, really when the man burned, was like, I just moved through my life with so much incredible fear and anxiety, centered around my not being enough or too much. Yeah. Both, like, Goldilocks. Do you know what I mean? I totally get it, especially as a woman, I get it. You're like, you know, you have these, like, defining roles, right?

Are you supposed to be, like, can you be too sexy, or is that like, now you're a ho? You know, or, like, if you're too confident, is that cocky, I think there's a lot of that that goes on for sure. Totally, and I spent just the most insane amount of time. like in my mind just doubting myself and just worrying that I was too pushy, too confident, or too insecure, or, you know, just that I somehow didn't deserve, you know. And there were two guys in my camp who were both DJs, who were both hetero, tall, pretty hot, white. Like, and I just watched how they, literally how they walked, how they walked around camp in the morning.

Their legs turned out, taking up space, something swinging around in the middle. When I talked to them about their music, they didn't have any surface, right? Very surface. Yeah, but there was not a hint of, like, insecurity. Yeah. These guys were like, this is who I am. I am the shit. I am God's gift.

You're lucky to be in my presence and that I'm paying attention to you right now. And I was like, you need to be more like that, Samantha. And then when I watched the man burn, I was like, oh, I see what's happening now. there was like a part of me that came into existence to protect myself right that's what anxiety is really rooted in like and thought that I could protect myself by always just being really careful and second-guessing everything and reading every email 17 times out loud before I sent it and the biggest mistake I realized it's like that energy that you put out isn't going to get anything your way right like you need to you need to have that swinging feet

turned out energy in how you talk to people and how you send emails. And it's not about being cocky or full of yourself. It's just you don't need anyone else to like give you some sticker that you're looking for here, girl. Yeah. I think there is a moment. You know, it's been, I'll tell you, I hate getting older. It's like the war for me because I'm so vain and I, and you know, I'm like very open about

it. I think there is a moment in your life as you get more season where you kind of just look at things and you're like, this is who I am and you get to this place where you're finally comfortable with who you are and it starts with like the inside and like I say it all the time I'm like I might not be everybody's cup of tea and that's okay but what you see is what you get and when you finally like embrace your inner soul then your outer soul really shines because you stop giving a shit what other people think totally and I'm very much strapped in on that journey and I try and just like have grace

with myself because it's like recovery is non-linear you know, it's like three steps forward, two steps back. Always. I'll have a day where I'm like, I've got this. I love myself. It's great. And then I'll have a moment where something negative will happen. And it's like, next thing you know, I'm right back there, you know.

Like, this heinous thing happened on Thursday. It was playing at this club. I've never played out before. I would never play out again. Like, the Booker really put me through the ringer for a year and a half to even get this slot and, like, paid me way less than I would ever normally try. It was just a lot. And in the middle of the set, and by this point, I've had no.

feedback from anyone at the venue and like everyone around me seems to be having a great time and it's telling me that I'm killing in there's all these like 25-year-old girls behind me like I'm obsessed with her I'm not because it's all going great this going great and then I'm stood next to the lighting off and I see his phone and the manager has texted him saying I heavily dislike her I'm in the middle of the show and just did you ever have a conversation with this oh yeah no prior no no I never met her oh it was a woman too at that there was a woman too at that there's a woman in too. How ick. She was late for setup. So normally she's supposed to be there to brief the staff and the junior person did it because she was late for work. And she didn't introduce

herself to me and she obviously I was at the DJ because she could have come over to me at any point and asked me to change things if she wasn't happy with it. I didn't, I had no communications with her. She just like crap talk me personally to her colleague who happened to be stood next to me in a dark illuminated space. Lovely. That's really nice, especially another woman doing that. I just love those women that won't uplift other women. Yeah. The best it's jealousy usually. Yeah. The best part is and I met her at the very end of the night because I was talking to the doorman about it who was so sweet and he could see I was very upset because like nothing like this has ever happened. Like this is hugely unkind and really

unprofessional and he was like do you want to talk to her? I was like yeah of course I do. So I went and I met her and I said this and that really hurt my feelings. Like if you had an issue why don't you just come talk to me and she was like oh well I'm sorry you hurt I hurt your feelings but you weren't meant to see that. I'm sorry that you saw that. You're not sorry that you said it. It'd be one thing if there was like constructive criticism in it, you know, I'm here for that. But you've just said that you don't like me.

Yeah. He heavily. And someone that you've never really met or anything. Just past judgment. Never worked with. Straight past judgment. Not even trying to help me. Like you could tell me what it is that you don't like about what I'm doing and I could

pivot for you. Yeah. But you wouldn't even give me the opportunity. So how'd that end? She just walked away. And that was it? You didn't say you weren't. No, then I spoke to the Booker the next day and he echoed the ickiness, the same, I'm sorry that you read it, but it was intended for a worker.

I was like, okay, cool. So you think it's okay that your staff is going to crap talk to DGs that you bring in to perform for you? Okay. But I think your response was like a lady. Sometimes I don't always act like a lady. I think I'm very reactive sometimes and I probably would have gotten nasty. But sometimes silence is golden and it really makes a louder statement than being obnoxious and trying to one up because then it totally loses the value of what you're trying to prove. But I think you handled that a lot better than I probably would have. I probably would have been really nasty.

Thank you. Yeah, I'm very, I don't struggle with temper. When I get upset, I get very, like, I get small, I get contained. I get meticulous in my choice of words. So you don't get emotionally unraveled or razzled by other people. It's good. That's really, that's a great thing. I wish I could say that all the time about me.

I mean, typically in business, I mean, you won't see me unravel or, come unglued in front of people, but I would say in that situation, I probably would have gotten nasty for sure. Yeah. Yeah. It was mean and it sucked that she was a woman too, you know, because there's not very many women in positions of power in night life. Yeah, you've said some really endearing terms that I love that you say because I say these two. You said grace, allow for grace. And I think as women, we don't allow ourselves for grace a lot of the time. Yeah. You know, be kind. I think women, we especially should be super conscious about being kind to one another, especially. because of the stigma and the different gender roles that we're supposed to assume.

So your verbiage and just being in this male space really just speaks volumes about what you're doing and who you are, especially because it's still a male-dominated space. Yeah. So what you're doing is definitely part of the women empowerment. I love it. I mean, that's totally my whole vibe. I love what you're doing. Thank you.

It's really interesting because I think because clubs and parties and all of that kind of feels like this space that people enter to like get in touch with what's cool so to speak. You know, that's where they get their content for the weekend to show their friends what they did on Friday night or whatever. That like when you're the person on the stage under the lights, they're literally all looking up at you like this. And whatever you represent, you're encoding to them and telling them what's cool. Yeah.

So if you turn up and you're like in a hoodie with a beanie and sunglasses and you play music that no one's ever heard of and can't connect to and you don't look up at the audience. Like, you're sending a very particular message to everyone there about what is quote unquote cool. Now, if you compare that to like, let's say the set that I did at Webster Hall on Saturday night. Let's talk about that. I knew you're super excited about it. So you're a Webster Hall Saturday night.

Go ahead. Let's hear about it. It was crazy. Like out of the blue, my manager says to me, oh, by the way, like, I think you're going to open for a Cascata at Webster Hall. I'm like, oh, no shit. That would be amazing. Like, I grew up on her, you know, like that.

song because every time we touch I can't see you get it I mean like that is like anybody who like makes me high exactly I was like it's all clicking now 20 years I mean that song has like stood the test of time in a way that few dance music ballads have plus it's fronted by a woman I mean she's incredible so the chance to share the stage with her the chance to perform in a venue as iconic and storied as Webster Hall I mean I was a hard yes across the board however I was always always booked to play a birthday party. So an hour later when the offer came through I said to my manager, hold on like I got this we will make it work and this is actually such a beautiful kind of like full circle thing because what did I do? I went and I called all my DJ homies. I was like

who's free on this night who can do the second half? Yeah. And I called the client whose birthday party it was and I said this and I'm in a pickle. I'm going to have to leave your party halfway through. But you still showed up. Well silence on the other line and I'm like but I have four fabulous DJs who are all available, who are part of like my camp that I would, you know, vouch for a wholeheartedly who will close up the night for you. And she's like, oh, okay, like great. I was like, here they are. I'm sending you their Instagram.

Like, take your pick, whoever you want. The next morning she gets in touch with me saying, oh, okay, this one girl, her name is DJ Tokyo Rose. She's amazing. Shout out to Tokyo Rose. I owe her big time. And they really wanted like hip hop DJ and she does that really well. So kind of all worked out for the best. And then she came and like did the second half of the set.

So I went, I did the birthday party, played for the first hour and a half, I booked it from Midtown to Webster Hall. They held the doors for like five minutes so I could do a really quick sound check. My manager was there up ahead so he could like test the equipment in advance. Jumped on stage, plugged four tracks in, went to be, came back. I was like, good, door, let's go. Like didn't even have a minute to like process any nerves around it. And then what was so cool about the set was like, you know, I knew they wanted something very commercial, obviously, to support Cascada.

But I still worked in, like, my Afra House flair. I still worked in a couple of, like, Middle Eastern tracks, like, Habibi and Pappy to, like, give the whole thing this very, like, worldly feel. And I sort of went back and forth between, like, you know, Prague House and instrumental house bangers, like, tin liquor and stuff like that with, like, really fun edits of, like, sing-alongs. Like, I played The Spice Girls. I played Wannaby at Webster Hall.

And there was one moment where I was just like, we have to do this, fully dropped out the level. So I'm talking like no music's happening for like four seconds just so everyone together can sing along. Friendship never ends. And then brought the music back up into if you want to be. And like that moment, I mean, holy smokes, right? And it's a risky thing to do because you have to really be in touch with the time because if you pull it up mid-word, like it doesn't have the impact, you know. But like standing on stage, watching all of these people. saying a cappella together, friendship never ends.

Like, that creates something. Yeah, energy. Energy. Yeah. And it says, it says a message or even like when my manager came over to like bring me my tequila soda and I'm like, yep, we're going to need a sip of this. But I'm already on stage and obviously everyone's staring at me. I'm like, okay.

Like, so I hold up the drink to everyone. They loved it, huh? And they're like, oh, and I start blowing kisses at them. And they're all blowing kisses back at me and everyone's holding up their drink. And I'm like, cool, guys, let's do this. And so now from the start, like I've said to them without ever getting on a mic or using a single word of English that I'm here to connect with you. I'm here for you.

This is for you, not for me. And we're going to go on an adventure together, which is super, super different from a dude getting up on stage and his hoodie and being like, you never heard this track, but I think it's sick. You know what I mean? Women just bring a different vibe, I think, all together, you know, and we have a different way of connecting as a whole. So when you, and you definitely can have language without speaking. And that says a lot because I've been to a lot of concerts and the best ones are the ones that connect with the audience. Completely.

I think actually we can communicate way more powerfully without speaking. Yeah. Especially in those ways. Yeah. Well, and also you have sound pumping through sub-wifers in every corner and you have a light show and you have like a whole video wall. I'm like envisioning this as you're going through it. I'm like totally envisioning this whole thing. It was amazing.

And then you're like, I'm watching this all happen around me and it's a fully three-dimensional experience. with sound and lighting and visuals and the way that I'm performing, the way that I'm moving, the way that I'm dancing. And like, it's sending a whole series of messages that can't even really be fully encoded in the mind. But you leave feeling like, gosh, she was sweet. That was nice. I had a good time.

Yeah. Life is cool. Not what you want for your audience. That's the end of the day. Exactly. That's what you want. You know, that's what you want. And it, because, like, we need more love.

We need more sweeten. Yeah, so not to take yourself so seriously. Yeah. So this is a great segue. So I have a little game that I want to play, okay? So it's called factor cap. Are you ready? Factor cap.

Yeah, so basically you're just gonna, it's either truth, you know, if it's fact and then cap if it's a lie. Okay. So question one, the DJ booth is always chaotic behind the scenes. Factor cap. Cap. Yeah. Really?

I would think it is chaotic. I mean, it depends. Like, no, I, for me, I really hold my space. I don't even really like, like, like, I don't know what's going on beyond me. Like even at the Webster Hall show, I had three photographers and videographers circling me on stage.

So you're just kind of in the zone. There's like an energetic force feel that I create around me that no one can touch. I love that. Okay. Next question. Creativity dies when you fear being judged. Fact.

Yeah. I would say fact. Fact, for sure. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I would say that. Yeah, I think if you... I think that's all part of it.

Yeah, I think you have to make. from a place of generosity, but from a place of like your truth, if it's about what somebody else is going to say or how somebody else is going to judge it, it's really hard to actually lock into it. Yeah. Love it. All right.

There's no male or female DJ just good or bad. Cap. There's a lot of really good DJs and a lot of really bad DJs. Yeah. Yeah. So you would say that's true. there's really like when it that question is like there's it's either good or bad it shouldn't be defined by male or female oh oh okay okay oh yeah that's true true yeah just good or bad because

i feel like you can have i mean i've seen some people DJ I personally love polly do don't lie but I'm a jersey short fan so don't laugh no I really love him he's so but I've seen some bad DJs I've seen people like before they'll get on to perform for whoever's coming out and they if they're not warming the crowd they didn't do their job is that is that like a correct yes statement yes Because the crowd should be, I mean, I feel like the person that comes on before, typically, like, if it's not like the opening act, but a DJ that's like getting them up, hype, hype. But if it's like shit music, nobody's vibing, I feel like what, it's not really, it's probably bad.

There's a lot of shit DJs out there. Yeah. There's, you know, there's no shortage of shit DJs out there. Male and female. Yeah. You know, I do think, and obviously I'm a little bit biased, but I'm something, you know, I've worked with a ton of DJs, I've booked a ton of DJs. I do think that.

There's something about being female that sets you up to do this job in a unique way, which is that to be a woman in the world means to constantly be knowing when you need to duck, run for cover. Like it's knowing how to maneuver yourself around situations because this world wasn't built to empower us. Look at the history of humankind. Yeah. So it requires a lot of creativity, paying attention to details and knowing how to mold yourself around what's going on. I also think just because of the history of the patriarchy, we as women are like particularly conditioned to just like make sure that people like like like us or make sure that we're doing it right or make sure that we're like showing up in the way that we need to show up.

And all of that attention and generosity of spirit, which is what it really is I think is like invaluable as a DJ. Yeah, agreed. Agreed. Agreed. All right. Last question. Social media has helped more than it's harmed you. Factor cap. Cap.

Yeah, I could go back to the world before Instagram. Yeah, I mean, I think it does both. I think social media is helpful. I think it is helpful and hinders. It just depends. It allows us less grace because people are always watching you. So, yeah, I would be kind of mixed on that one. I don't know how I feel, but it doesn't matter how I feel.

It's how you feel. Listen, it's out there. Like, I, it's tricky for me because I just, as a person, I'm very kind of like in another time. I like to read books and walk in nature and not stare on screens and like classical music. I don't know. I like things that make me feel connected with like our history. So, yeah, social media has been like a beast that I've had to kind of tame for myself.

And just remember it's social media. Like they give unsolicited. Yeah, I call it fake book because it's not real. So it's like unsolicited advice. And honestly, like if they don't like you, then scroll. Who cares? Yeah. I wouldn't take it at face value.

People are going to talk shit. But I do have, I have two controversy questions. Controversial questions. All right. People say female DJs need to act a certain way to be taken seriously, which we kind of talked a little bit about. What's a stereotype you've pushed back against? Which I think you've talked about it.

But if you can like just name it, like say something in one sentence, what would it be? I think that people think that if you look a certain way, that you don't have a certain, like a male, of technical talent. There's a perceived mutual exclusivity between being hot and good at something involving computers. Yes. And so the more that like I lean into my hotness or whatever, like dress up, whatever, I think

people think, oh, she's not really going to know how to like lay it down. Don't take you seriously. Yeah. Or like the number one feedback I get on my demos are these are actually really good. You're like, thanks. Right. Thanks. Yeah.

So glad you're surprised. Yeah, no, no, I've struggled. I've battled this my entire career where people say stuff to me. They're like, she actually does know how to speak. Thanks. Or for a woman, you had a great idea. I'm like, wait, what? So it's always been a battle, right?

Trying to like, trying to command presence, be pretty and also be authoritative. Totally. And it's hard when all of the like people who were there to bestow the opportunities are men and the few women that there are in that space, like, aren't really helping the other women. You know what I mean? Yeah, I totally agree. Here's another question out for you. Pressure to maintain image or trend, when has that most broken you?

Or maybe it hasn't, where you're trying to keep up with the times or be trendy, has that ever broken? Or maybe not maybe. I feel like you stayed authentic to who you are. Yeah, authenticity for me is pretty big. I've never really been into like what's trending. I think that's a good answer. I think it's a perfect answer. So it really doesn't, I mean, and that'll trump everything because people can sniff authenticity.

Like if you're fake, they can feel it. But if you're authentic and you stay true to who you are, then it really doesn't mean. It really just stays. I think it just stays out there and it resonates more. People can smell it. Totally. Well, I'll tell you this. I've had such a blast with you.

I love your authenticity. And the words that you, it just reminds me of me and my journey. So I can only imagine what's up next for you. I know that it's going to be incredible. So I thank you so much for allowing me grace and coming on. But, you know, more importantly, what you're doing is you're absolutely right. It's not just about DJing. It's giving women a space in a male-dominated industry and being able to embrace their femininity,

which I think is super important. You know, it's always hard trying to be hot and be a professional and be, you know, a woman and be confident. I feel like we struggle that so much. So I just want to thank you for really embracing that and taking that on and just doing one hell of a job in allowing other women to be in the space while you mentor them and just take on an incredible role. Thank you so much. I really, really appreciate it. And this whole conversation has been so lovely.

It's like, because again, so much of this stuff is like, it's not in words, you know, you just sort of feel it. But then the experience is like sitting down and like telling you about Saturday night and trying to like use words to communicate, like, not just that feeling of like power, but like, oh, like this is putting out into the world what I really want to put out into the world. And then that helps me, you know, find and feel rooted in. the meaningfulness of what I do. Because I think if there's no meaning, there's no point.

Yeah, then what are you doing? And I think in a world filled with so much controversy right now and we're in such a detrimental time. You're bringing out people's love and laughter. And those are the elements that we are so missing into society today. So what you're doing is absolutely special. And I hope that you know that. Thank you.

You are. You really. I mean, just listening to you and everything that you're doing is super incredible. So keep doing what you're doing. Thanks, babe. You too. Thank you. So we're wrapping up and I want to know, I'm sure all the audience members want to know,

number one, so two part question, what's next for you? And then also tell us where we can find you. So next, what's happening, really exciting, is I'm really focused right now on getting my music out. So I have a release coming out soon. You can't say too much footage yet. Oh, can you send me? Maybe I can promote it again. And maybe I can, you know what, maybe I can have the beat for like the Bilt pod.

That would be really cool. That would be really cool. I'll send you myself for sure. Make me a, will you do it for real? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm going to hold you to it. Janae, you heard that. She's going to do it.

And, yeah, then this week, next week I go to London. I'm playing some sets there. I'm also producing one of my Shabbats with Soa House, which is going to be really nice. It's like this sort of inclusive, music-driven, vibey, spiritual experience. I've started doing after October 7th, 2023. And then I go to ADE, then I go to L.A., back in the studio. Then it's Halloween. Then, oh, this is exciting.

I'm opening for Mo Black on November 8th. Very exciting. Very exciting. I'm doing it. Get a girl. Get a girl. And where could everybody find you? Samantha Music on Instagram.

And I'm getting active on TikTok. It's a bit of slow journey. I know, me too. But we're getting in there. I know. I am Samantha Michelle. I'll put it in. Don't worry.

I don't even know my hashtags all the time. Or my handle. I never know. But we'll put it in there so everybody has it. Great. Thanks for coming on. Thank you so much for having me. Girl Power, babe. Yes.