Sound On
a mini documentary featuring
five diy Underground artists
shaping the DMV’s sound.
Words by DJ Tomiyeyo Video by Adam Hainsfurther
DJ Tomiyeyo is a creator of many talents. A STEM professional by day, she explores her passion for fostering the DMV’s underground scene on nights and weekends.
Along with hosting Occupying Space, a radio show featuring underground artists from across the DMV, DJ Tomiyeyo sat down with Summerhouse to share some of the local artists she listens to and loves.
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My name is DJ Tomiyeyo.
I am a DJ based in the DMV area. I have a love and a passion for music and science, and that ultimately inspires me to continue to create in the various spaces that I work in. Outside of DJing, I host various workshops and seminars around the DMV area that are based around the concept of STEM. That's where we get to explore the intersectionality between music and science—and that's ultimately the space that I always want to be in.
I'm a very intentional person, so when I search for artists, I want to find that similarity within them. I come from a musical background, so I like things to sound very full. I can tell the difference between the level of production and again, the intention that's put into the music. Those two aspects are the things that I really look for and the artists that I have on Occupying Space.
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Odd Mojo: “Sticky Notes”
I picked Odd Mojo’s song “Sticky Notes” for numerous reasons. One is that she actually put into practice putting up sticky notes around her room. We spent days writing on those sticky notes and putting encouraging words on the sticky notes—just reminders that it’s important to “be you, stay true, be different,” which is something that she says consistently throughout the song.
Through my interactions with her, I've learned how much it's influenced her and inspired her in those moments of sadness or insecurity. One of the sticky notes that stood out to me the most was to “take time to yourself.” Don't overwork yourself, concepts like that. There are those moments of doubt within what you're doing in your life.
I was a part of the making of this music video. It took us a very long time to put up the sticky notes, one, and then to write in every single sticky note that's on the wall. Going through that process of writing things, it helped me out with my mental stability and my self care because it forced me to think of ways to help inspire someone and to help get someone to a better place than they were.
I met Odd Mojo at this event called the Glow End Theory. I was doing the logistical work, and I was also the resident DJ in that space and for that event. She didn't have a DJ at the time, and we just clicked so well. We didn't have any time to rehearse. I told her I played for artists and perform with artists, so I'm familiar with the process of creating music or working with artists and playing their music on the fly. It was a very rough situation at the beginning because we both didn't know how it was going to work out. But I was like, you just need to be confident that this is gonna work out and you're going to be able to perform how you want to. It ended up turning out so well, she did such a good job. And from there, we fostered that relationship of [me being] the DJ for her.
Odd Mojo on Bandcamp | Video by Edwin Salazar
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NAPPYNAPPA:
“NU CROWN, NU WANGS”
I love NAPPYNAPPA, mainly because he's such an expressionist. You don't see that a lot. Some of the records that are being streamed are kind of mundane in the way that they operate. It’s kind of copy and paste, essentially. And he is just totally out of control. You never know what you're going to get with him.
He's been featured in spaces such as Adult Swim, where he had a performance. And it's just something that you would never expect out of him. Well, I guess, knowing that he just made this crazy character, you would expect something in that realm. But someone coming in and not knowing anything about him would just be so entertained, not only by his lyrics but by his performance.
And, again, it goes back to the fact that a lot of the lyrics he does are very intentional. That's one of the things that I love. It's like, you can listen to a song, but then if you listen to it again, you're like, “Oh, wait, I didn't know he had this hidden message in this statement or in this line.” There's just so much you can learn about him through his wordplay. Just going through his lyrics, I think you can just gain knowledge in general on just so many different topics and beliefs.
NAPPYNAPPA on Bandcamp | Video by GRVTY
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FootsXColes: “Creep”
I love FootsXColes. One band member’s name is Foots; he plays the drums, and he also sings. The other band member’s name is Coles, and he plays the keys, and he also raps.
I came to work with them through working with Odd Mojo. I really liked the fact that they like to bend music and the concept of music. Odd Mojo had a show called “One Very Odd Show” where we wanted it to be as odd as it could be. So instead of playing her tracks completely through, we brought in FootsXColes. They had backed her in her performance, and I DJed alongside of that.
It was a really cool concept where you had the DJ playing the actual track, and I had messed with the controls on the actual song. And then they came in and provided the bass as well as the keys and the highs and the lows, the mids, they kind of provided that aspect of the song, and they brought that out more.
It was really cool working with them, and through that experience, I got to learn so much about them. One of the things I learned is that they started from a church background. I feel like a lot of talented musicians come from a church background because they're so used to freestyling and kind of working on the fly in regards to sound and producing music. I think that ultimately brought them to that space of FootsXColes. You can see the influences that they've had from their church background and playing in the church band through their current music.
Through Occupying Space, I had interviewed them at one point, and I talked to them about how their music really stands out to me. They're pouring some vibrations into them, because I can hear the intention behind their music and making sure that certain frequencies are heard to make the body feel good. Whenever I hear their music, I can definitely feel that frequency and that intention put behind their music. That's one of the reasons why I love their music. It’s not just something they're creating—there's a lot of intention behind it. And there's a lot of meaningful sounds that come from the music that they produce and create.
FootsXColes on Bandcamp | Video by Daryl Vaca, Final Films
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Jenna Camille:
“3000 Roses”
I really respect Jenna Camille in regards to her ability to fuse and bend the notion of being an artist. She’s really good at blending sounds from pop, soul, R&B, funk, jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music. You can really hear that through her various forms of the keyboard and playing the piano. That’s something that I love about her.
She's actually classically trained, and she understands music theory. Artists who really understand music theory are able to bend things in regards to music and sound. She's really been able to formulate some formula in regards to a specific sound that whenever I hear music, I know, “That’s Jenna Camille.”
Going back to the keyboards, I've seen her play various different types of keyboards. She’ll have all these keyboards on stage, and she'll jump from one to the other, and you'll just become so fascinated by her ability to perform so well on whatever she touches. And then to be able to have a really good singing voice! I really enjoy her singing voice in accompaniment with those sounds. What she creates is so out of this world.
In her song “3000 Roses” she talks about, “Will you forgive me?/I have these 3,000 roses.” I'm interested to know why she chose that number — 3,000. I feel like there's probably some significance behind that number. But she essentially is talking about, “I have these 3,000 roses. Will you forgive me and have me as I am, and I will have you as you are.” So again, outside of this song just being so melodically well put-together, I respect her full-heartedly as an artist, just from her talent and her creativity.
Jenna Camille on Bandcamp | Video by Antonio Hernandez
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Kotic Couture:
“Missed Calls”
I first met Kotic Couture at this party in Baltimore called Versions that both he and DJ True Nature had put together. Outside of rap, he operates as a host and a DJ. A lot of people don't think about this, [but] it’s hard being a host, especially in queer spaces, because I feel like there's so many expectations from everybody in the audience. So many people are quick to judge you on certain things if you don't perform a certain way.
Seeing him in that space, ultimately—before I even heard his music—was really inspiring. Inspiring, in general, because his presence is something that, you can have, like, 100 people in a room, but this one person, this one body just exudes so much energy. It's very lively, and it's very intoxicating.
Once I met him through Versions in Baltimore, I dove deeply into his music. And I started listening to his music and how powerful it was. I know it's very hard to be a queer person in the industry because there's a lot of hate out there. A lot of times certain players don't want to give you opportunities just because of your beliefs or who you love.
Regardless of that, he still pushes through that barrier and he still produces really good music, and for that, outside of all the amazing things he does, he's such a great person to be around. Whenever I’m around him, he just brings joy out of me, just naturally, and that’s one of the things that I love about him.
Kotic Couture on Bandcamp | Video by Antonio Hernandez
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That's all from me. I hope you all got a chance to enjoy the artists that I love and hold dearly to my heart from the DMV area. If you would like to hear anything from me regarding my mixes or what I'm going to be DJing next, you catch me every other Sunday at the Eaton Hotel in D.C.
To find out more about that, you can check out my page, @Occupying_Space, to find out our next show. Also, any other times I’m DJing, you can find me @tomiyeyo on all social media platforms.
For Summerhouse, this was DJ Tomiyeyo.
