Forget for a moment that Jessica Who is a woman. It would be easy to say that's why she deserves a mention — a woman succeeding in a male-dominated field. How cliché.
Instead let's hone in on why she really is worth talking about — a fucking awesome DJ.
At 25, she has a resumé that would be the envy of most DJs. The South Florida native is a resident at two of the hottest spots on either side of the causeway. Wednesday nights at LIV, she drops dance-pop and hip-hop for the bottle-service set; Saturdays she commandeers the decks at Grand Central with more underground, dance-rock music that will probably be popular on South Beach a year from now.
"What I find difficult is that I have to have my foot in so many different things and stay current," Jessica says about her opposing gigs. "I have to stay current on Crystal Castles and Pitbull."
When she's not working clubs in Miami, she's traveling to New York, Chicago, Vegas, and L.A., spinning at nightclubs and private events for the likes of Katy Perry and Queen Latifah. And amid all of those gigs, she's an ambassador for brands such as Dove and Alizé.
The former took her to this year's MTV Video Music Awards as part of the Dove Fresh Spin campaign, for which she did on-camera interviews with artists and creatives such as Jessie J and choreographer Laurieann Gibson. The cameras followed her around her midtown Miami apartment, at local gigs, and in the dressing room before the awards show, giving viewers a glimpse of her hectic life.
"You can make people feel a certain way by playing certain music," Jessica tells Dove's cameras. "People always need that release, and that's what I'm there for."
But while crowds are looking for a release, Jessica is looking for that high only a crowd can give.
"You don't understand what you are doing until you get that insane crowd reaction. It's a drug. You spend your entire career trying to replicate that."
Spinning other people's music might not sound gratifying to some people, but Jessica says it's her "first love," adding it's not yet the right time for her to attempt to produce her own music.
"There is so much shitty music out there. I don't want to add to it until I know what I'm doing."
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