For the second year in a row, Detroit mixer eighfe will deejay at the Detroit Diaspora Day Party on May 26. With her free-flowing DJ style, eighfe is looking to take the listeners on a ride with good vibes via a selection of the music she plans to play. From her start as a sound selector to listening to her father’s music taste, eighfe has become one of Detroit’s most sought after DJs and will get to showcase her skills once again at the Detroit Diaspora.
eighfe spoke with rolling out about being a part of the Detroit Diaspora Day party and her career as a DJ.
How does it feel to be a DJ for the Detroit Diaspora Day Party?
I’m super excited. My first participation with it was last year, so this year, I feel like I’m stepping up to be more involved. I’m doing my thing as far as trying to push things on the street and taking it back to flyers and posters. I’m looking forward to it even being bigger than last year. Last year was pretty big, so we’re just growing. The experience is definitely on brand for me, as far as it being all arts and culture and music.
When did you start deejaying?
For me, it started being a sound selector. I’m someone with very diverse music tastes. That comes from my dad, he’ll listen to anything from country to electronics, to some hip hop, to some hardcore rap, old school, new school, it doesn’t matter. Just having that diversity in my tastes kind of made me the go-to person when it came to the aux cord, so I told myself I might as well just learn how to mix a little something. I’ve done music in the past and stopped around middle school, but it was something that I got good with quickly as far as playing the clarinet and a couple of brass instruments. It just kind of came naturally.
How special is it to be a part of the Detroit culture when it comes to music and arts?
I think it’s huge. Detroit is Motown and we all know the impact that Motown had on the world. With that being said, I feel like so much history comes from here. So much individuality comes from here, current, past, whatever the case, there’s so much talent when it comes to music. I feel like that’s the biggest thing. And then as far as dance genres, as far as electronic music, techno originated from here, shout out to that whole era in the 80s. It has a lot of history that’s been made and continues to be made, whether it’s on a larger scale or not, it’s here.
What do you think separates Detroit DJs from other cities?
Detroit is very much so supportive of Detroit people in a way. Detroit DJs are often playing their friends who are artists, their friends who are producers, and stuff like that. You’re going to hear something that you’ve never heard, or you’re going to hear a mix that you’ve never heard, typically depending on the sound selector, but that’s what I do like. Not to say gatekeeping is the way but when I hear something that I know I’m only going to hear from a few people or this DJ because it’s so exclusive, I like that. I would say the exclusivity overall.
