“I was a bit nervous, but had to start somewhere.”
It all started when…
SOULDEGA: When and where was your first DJ gig? How did it feel?
JENNIFLY: A party called Art Erotica in New York, It felt great because I felt ready, it wasn’t a dance dance party, but a cool vibe and nice crowd and the music direction was right up my street. I was a bit nervous, but had to start somewhere. But I had been djing about 5 months prior in a fancy restaurant in Tribeca and a bar in the Meatpacking, but they were not dance parties.
SOULDEGA: What does your creative process look like when your curating music for an event?
JENNIFLY: I usually put my iTunes on shuffle for a few days to go through my music and add songs to new playlist. I also listen to DJ mixes, BBC 1xtra radio shows for my UK tunes and Soundcloud which is a great resource.
SOULDEGA: What are some of your favorite songs to play for a live set? And why?
JENNIFLY: WHY? Because I like these songs and they make me happy and they are great dancing songs. Thats a tough one. Depends on the party. My favorite genres are Dancehall, 80’s rnb, Deep House, Electronic and Disco. But I like to play the following tracks often:
Be Your Girl - Kaytranada, - Banger
You bring Me Joy - Mary J Blige - Old school fave
Pleasure Principle - Janet Jackson - Best song and dance routine ever
Rhythm of the Night - El Debarge - Everyones favorite and multi- generational
212 - Azaelia Banks - Wikked track, love the build up and heavy baseline
SOULDEGA: How did you get your DJ name?
JENNIFLY: I have had my nickname since I was 18 yrs. I went to my friend’s house one day and I was wearing suede flares with patches, looking a bit too funky for South London. My friend was like, ‘Look at you what do you have on? Looking like Superfly….Jennifly’. From then on she called me Fly and all her friends referred to me as Fly, and it just stuck as a nickname and I’ve kept it ever since.
SOULDEGA: What are some of the challenges and rewards that come with being in control of the music?
JENNIFLY: Rewards are that I play what I like and I have very very good taste in music. I like to make people dance and vibe out. And the best part are the compliments after my set. The challenges can be that I am a music snob and some of my tracks may over peoples heads, but it really depends on the crowd. For me it's a balance of not being too obvious or playing rinsed out tunes, but introducing new songs that sound familiar, go with the vibe and easy to dance to.
SOULDEGA: If you could take one album to the moon, which one would it be? And why? (no mix albums, lol)
JENNIFLY: 1 album? This is a hard question. What would my eternal mood be? It changes day to day. Its like when you go on holiday what songs to load up on your iPhone. But If I had to choose 1 album….The Love Below / Speakerboxxx. It’s a nice balance of rap and ballads.