We recently connected with Destiny Carter and have shared our conversation below.
Destiny , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, let’s start with a hypothetical – what would you change about the educational system?
From being an active participant in the educational system for most of my life, I would change literally everything.
I would completely eradicate standardized testing and 9-hour school days, and lean toward subjects and courses that actually aid in a greater understanding of how society operates. I would bring back Home Economics, Shop, and Financial Literacy, but also courses that teach us about Social-Emotional learning, conflict resolution, and our incredible mind and body connection. We currently force students to sit all-day learning subjects that won’t benefit most of them. Pre-Calculus is great for students who want to be engineers but the vast majority of students won’t need this in their daily lives; so why not offer math courses that still incorporate aspects of the subject that can actually be utilized for every student, like learning how to file your taxes, building credit and money management. As a creative, I will always say we need more creative subjects that expand the mind and form a greater appreciation for art in everyday life. Knitting 101, Intro to Ceramics, Foraging Workshops, and Breathwork courses; if we broaden our scope around education and community our possibilities are really endless. We are dynamic individuals from an elementary level, higher education, and beyond. I think our educational system should reflect that.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Destiny Carter, also known as DJ DNasti. I am a multi-faceted, creative entrepreneur living and working in Louisville, Kentucky. My passions range from producing music, DJing, radio hosting, community artivism, flow arts, teaching, and event curation– the list really goes on. I am very passionate about everything I do, and I believe my main objective through all my trades is to bring people together through music, art, and movement. Growing up, I was privileged enough to see both of my parents run their own businesses and navigate entrepreneurship in their own way, it really inspired me to go after my passions for a living. I feel very blessed to work in my community with my artistry. There were many people who inspired me when I was younger, and it feels very humbling to return that energy in my own way. Through my DJ platform, I really want to create euphoric atmospheres not only through merging music but the people who get to enjoy it. Providing intimate spaces for everyone in the community to come together to dance, laugh, release, and love one another with music that moves us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. One thing I learned through my lifelong journey in the music industry, is that music, at its core, is healing. There is a reason music makes us want to move. The vibrations from soundwaves mimic similar vibrations in our body, music can’t help but radiate through us. This is why we respond through dance and movement. My goal as a DJ is to simply be a catalyst for that movement and facilitate spaces where all folks can let go and move comfortably.
I think the biggest thing I enjoy about DJing is the opportunities it has provided for me and my community. I really see DJing as a tool for community work and networking with folks who share a similar mission surrounding community. Some of my recent projects have been working as a Creative Director for the wellness initiative Nurture the West (NTW). NTW is a traveling wellness-based initiative highlighting peace and tranquility in the Westend of Louisville, KY, through programs that incorporate movement meditation, immediate wellness resources, creative art therapies, and counseling. For the past year, I have helped facilitate alongside DJ Bombshell, another DJ and creative in the community, 13 pop-up yoga sessions in black-owned businesses and local community hubs, provide immediate community resources free and low-cost for participants, and connect black yoga practitioners with other black yogis, new and familiar to their practice. Through NTW, we want to inspire the folks in our neighborhood who don’t normally have access and resources to wellness practices; ways to nurture themselves in the comfort of their own neighborhood. Providing programs designed for Westend residents curated by Westend residents.
Besides being a disk jockey, I am also a radio host for Louisville Public Media’s WFPK. I host a radio show called In the Pocket. In the Pocket first made its debut in 2016 on the University of Kentucky’s student-run radio station Radio Free Lexington, WRFL, as a way to educate listeners of all generations about the metamorphosis of jazz music and its influences from Black culture and beyond. Now airing every Thursday on 91.9 WFPK from 10-11 pm, I deep-dive into a world of improvisation, harmony, soul, and rhythm for a new generation of jazz listeners and enthusiasts.
Lastly, I am a self-taught flow and fire artist. I picked up hooping 6 years ago and it was something that really stuck with me. Flow arts has taught me patience, and finding balance in movement. It is something that has become so intimate and dear to me and has been one of the many ways I learned to connect to my body. I love performing and am excited for more opportunities to flow this year.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
I get to wake up every day and share pieces of myself and my journey through the things that I love and that… in my opinion, makes life worth living. All of my projects are so vastly different, and on the outside, it may seem like my creative pursuits don’t intersect, but everything I share is a part of me. I’m the intersection, and I’m not only sharing parts of my current life and reality but I’m sharing everything that has guided me up until this point. Every creative knows all too well how much energy, love, and soul we put into the things we create. It’s very scary, and uncomfortable sometimes, but ultimately, creating is this freeing, ritual we get to be a part of every single day. I pour myself into something new, bring it to life, and share it with everyone around me. And in return, those around me get to ingest something that took every fragment of my being to bring into existence and it can affect them in an infinite number of ways, that I have absolutely no control over. That’s the most healing and vulnerable act of love that I can do in this lifetime, and I’ve somehow made it a part of my daily life. I think being a creative is truly a blessing and I’m so honored to be able to say that, grow within my crafts, and create art that adds more love to the world.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
I think the biggest lesson I had to learn in this digital age of social media is to work on a timeline that feels right for me. Social media really makes you think you have to projectile post content just to stay afloat and relevant, and the more that I navigate through these spaces, the more I want a sense of quality or quantity, and to be more intentional about what I’m sharing, and why. There was just a point where I was listening to other content creators say you need a consistent schedule and timesheet of the best times to post in order to beat the algorithm and I really started to stress myself out. Posting became more of a chore and responsibility which created a type of fear that I didn’t want to bring into my life. I realized, at the end of the day, I’m not a computer, my purpose isn’t to beat the algorithm, it’s to connect my community through music and art. Social media is just one of the tools I use to do that. So my concern is less about posting content for the sake of it and making time to fully bring my ideas to life without feeling the need to rush them or carry weight around sharing them. It doesn’t matter how long something takes, and I have the liberty to share it at any phase that it’s in and know it’s still worthy of love.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.djdnasti.com
- Instagram: @djdnasti
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/DNasti/100064026675876/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/destinyscarter/
- Twitter: @djdnasti
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChSV2oUqnAgczNfxGN6qzAA
Image Credits
Bearykah Shaw Mesa Pisa Demi Gardner Leydi