Wednesday 18 September 19:00 - 21:30

The Ministry
79-81 Borough Road
London
SE1 1DN

Registration
  • πŸŽ‰
  • 🍻
  • 🍸

From vinyl to digital: The [forgotten] women DJ pioneers

Music

Pioneering women DJs, producers and music promoters of colour - spanning three decades - share their vinyl and digital journeys.

Women DJs, particularly of colour, are still invisible on the circuit, including as producers and promoters. Yet there is a rich hidden legacy of women DJs who were rocking the decks and fronting sound systems – pre-digital – who could inspire the next generation. This event features female DJs spanning the last 30 plus years: Junie Rankin and DJ Ade (Nzinga Soundz), Lady TT, DJ Chillz and DJ Adibah (Booty Bass, Bristol). They will reveal their music journeys with Joy Francis (Words of Colour Productions), accompanied by images, films and audio of them in action. Join us afterwards for a short set by DJ Chillz.

This event is a collaboration between Words of Colour x The Ministry, Ministry of Sound's members club.

The Line-up

DJ Chillz

DJ Chillz is a DJ/producer who is passionate about raising the profile of women DJs. Her weekly radio show Eclectic Sounds, features on both Croydon FM (UK) and Dash Radio (Los Angeles and New York) and her Afrobeats and Afrohouse mixes have attracted industry praise including support from Okayplayer. Chillz regularly features at major festivals, including Wireless, Outlook, & Boom Bap, and has also performed at huge streetwear fashion events such as New Balance X Heidi Klum. She has her own weekly Friday event, Riddim Nights, in Croydon. Chillz has been nominated three times for the Best Female DJ Award. Her first outing as producer was on her debut single Power, which tore through clubland in 2017 and she has consistently released music, receiving support from noteworthy radio platforms such as Kiss FM, BBC Radio 1Xtra, Capital Xtra and Reprezent, as well as online platforms including XLR8R, EARMILK and Complex.

DJ Ade and Junie Rankin (Nzinga Soundz)

Nzinga Soundz, established in the early β€˜80s by DJ Ade (Lynda Rosenior-Patten) and Junie Rankin (June Reid), is now one of the UK’s longest running, all women sound systems. Their music selection is wide-ranging, spanning Reggae, Soul/Rare Groove, Calypso/Soca and incorporating African, Latin and Jazz. The sound has played at various London venues, including Charing Cross (supporting The Mighty Diamonds) and Kentish Town Forum (supporting Burning Spear) as well as across the UK and internationally, in the Gambia, Barbados and Sierra Leone. From the late 1980s they launched and hosted a popular Sunday afternoon community radio show on SLR (Sophisticated London Radio) featuring interviews with Reggae artists such as Ziggy Marley, Augustus Pablo and Betty Wright. In 2019, festivals they have played at include the Paris-Londres Music Migrations and Radiate.

(Photo credit: Inky Grey Photography)

DJ Adibah

Booty bouncing, sweat drippin’ and good vibes is what DJ Adibah is all about. With a mix of Hip Hop, RnB, Dancehall, UK Garage and House guaranteed to get you living your best life on the dancefloor. A born and bred Bristolian, Adibah was inspired by the beats and rhymes that flooded through her streets while growing up. With the support and teachings of Mix Nights, a non-profit organisation working to tackle gender imbalance in the music industry, Adibah has gone onto play in venues across Bristol, including The Plough, Faraway Cocktail Bar, Trinity, Motion and Glastonbury. Voted one of Bristol’s 24 most influential young people by RIFE Magazine, she is part of the Booty Bass collective.

Lady TT

Lady TT is a DJ and promoter from West London. Her career started in 1997 while working for a music promotion magazine and alongside DJ friends, promoting their events. In 2004, she became a radio DJ before joining the club circuit as one of the very few women DJs at the time. In 2008, she was part of the team to launch what would become London’s number one urban club nights - Total Package, which is now making a comeback as the elevated sibling Absolute Package. TT has promoted events with the likes of Dru Hill, SWV, Ginuwine, Gregory Isaacs, Krept & Konan and Lady Leshurr. She is currently on pulse88radio.co.uk and is part of the Strings management team for the hot new artist 28 Luchi.

The MC

Joy Francis

Joy Francis is executive director of Words of Colour Productions, a creative communications agency that promotes, facilitates and develops writers of colour. Her career portfolio is diverse. The former journalist and journalism lecturer has interviewed artists such as Kelis, Tyson Beckford, Sonique, Forest Whitaker and Barry Jenkins. As a creative entrepreneur, she founded Digital Women UK, co-founded The Black Love Project and helped establish the world’s first Diversity and the Media MA (University of Westminster) with the Media Diversity Institute. Joy’s work on media and publishing inclusion has been recognised by the European Commission and Society of Editors. She has also been recognised by Eastside Community Heritage as a β€˜Woman of Colour Trailblazer 2019'. Joy is planning to fulfil a long-held desire to become a DJ.

Hide Comments Comments

You must login before you can post a comment.