Meet the Women DJs who are Shaking Up The Central Valley

This piece is courtesy of one of our Fresno State Interns,
Jemimah Barba, who is in the anthropology department. We love working with Jemimah and we’re grateful for her view on what’s happening in the Fresno Valley.

Without further adieu, he’s Jemimah’s first article!

Dulce Upfront has started a project called Royal Jelly, which focuses on DJ networking and skill-sharing for women, girls, and gender non-conforming people. The members of Royal Jelly are professional DJs who have been serving Fresno events for the past year. This project, which was started by Omequetzal Lopez, easily attracts people of all ages. The group holds monthly meet-ups, which serve as a way to workshop DJ techniques, introduce hip-hop to the youth, and ultimately connect local folks to each other through music.

If you aren’t ready to spin your own tracks, you can also catch the electric group performing. Royal Jelly can be seen at Art Hop in front of Daily Market 1418 Fulton. DJ Kase, DJ LXS, DJ Native Earthian, and DJ LUVLETTER, mixing music and starting parties on Fulton Street giving life to the art community of Fresno. The collective continues to thrive by keeping themselves busy organizing events besides Art Hop and the monthly meet-ups. The organization opens the stage to the public for performances that range from dancing, fashion shows, and even to poetry readings. Each time, they focus on different artists to fill up their walls.

Sam Lazcano has been helping with art curation and sometimes even fills up the wall with her own art pieces. The evening is usually hosted by Dayana Sevilla, Ome’s partner, and makes sure everyone gets a chance to show their talents on stage. Outside vendors set up their booths in the street. They often have clothing, crafts, jewelry, prints, and sometimes even books and zines. There is definitely something for everyone during each event. Whether it’s Art Hop, Womxn to Womxn, or their monthly meet-ups, Royal Jelly brings the talent and energy with their own styles.

The collective helps different artists, entrepreneurs, and Fresno’s local youths create a space for themselves. They give amazing opportunities for young people to explore their talents. For example, they mentored, DJ E Money, who has been coming to the Royal Jelly Collective’s monthly meet-ups and even gets one-on-one sessions with DJ Kase. She has been DJing live at events and gets requests to DJ at kid’s parties. The collective has taught DJ E Money to think like an entrepreneur and treat her DJing as a business beyond her enjoyment. DJ Kase, a member of Royal Jelly, says that the DJ community is predominantly male-oriented, making it hard for women DJs to be recognized and get gigs. By creating an empowering collective, DJ Kase believes that Royal Jelly gives them the exposure and the opportunity to hone their talents.

Interested in joining the revolution?

Follow @RoyalJellyCollective on Instagram and catch them performing at 1418 Fulton. Their HQ is located at 617 E Olive where they host their Womxn to Womxn every third Thursday of the month.

See you all there!

-Jemimah

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FresYes Writing Team

We say “Yes and” to our community, which we love to work and live in. We always speak positively about our growing business, each other and the Fresno community. We are proud to support local businesses, engage in what’s happening in our community and lovingly participate in as many volunteer activities as we can as individuals and as a collective group. We are generous and we are proud to give back.

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