We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rahmar Duffy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rahmar below.
Rahmar , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
To fully paint the picture, we have to go back in time. When I first began my journey as a DJ back in 2016, I was a month away from my 24th birthday. Skipping ahead—in a few months I’ll be 34. Needless to say, a lot has happened within those 10 years. Some truly amazing things, others not so much. Back then I was young, rambunctious, highly energetic, and a total party animal. The name HOOD BUNNNY was very fitting for the phase of life I was in. I also felt that it stood out amongst all the other DJ names you’d come across. It represented the juxtaposition of who I was.
As DJ HOOD BUNNNY I achieved things I never thought were even a possibility for me. I had the chance to perform at the St. Louis Art Museum twice. I’ve been booked for a beautiful destination wedding in Costa Rica. I was awarded “Best Hip Hop DJ” by S.L.U.M Fest in 2020. I’ve had mashups that I created go viral and be played across the country in places I haven’t even had the opportunity to visit yet. From St. Louis to Chicago and now in Dallas-Fort Worth, I’ve been able to seamlessly become a part of each respective music scene and still maintain a strong individual presence in doing so.
All the aforementioned things are some of the highlights of the journey thus far. Trigger Warning On the other end of the spectrum there have been a fair amount of hardships. Not even a full year after I became a DJ, my soulmate and one of my best friends (named Melissa Machen) tragically passed away in 2017. The worst thing that could’ve happened literally happened—life started to feel like a recurring nightmare after that. The most surreal feeling I’ve felt in life thus far has been sitting front row at the funeral of the person that knew me the most in the world. After her service I actually played a set that same night. At the time it felt like a way of honoring her life & belief in me (which it was), but in retrospect it began to be a way I would cope with trauma. My world was completely turned upside down, and I had hit lower than rock bottom. The healthiest way I learned to get through my depression was to put all I had left in me into my newfound passion for DJ’ing.
A couple years later, in June of 2019, a few months before I was set to move to Chicago, I was drugged while doing a gig. Something was slipped into a drink of mine (still not quite sure what it was because I never got the results of the toxicology report—an entirely different story), and I was hospitalized for days afterwards. I believe the person’s intent was to take advantage of me but ended up almost killing me, as stated by the hospital staff that was treating me. I was incoherent and experienced nonstop vomiting for hours before being convinced to go to the emergency room. Being drugged is a really odd experience because I was definitely feeling unusual but trying to convince myself that there couldn’t be anything wrong with me after only two drinks. As a person who likes to think of themself as vigilant, I was in complete disbelief that a situation like that happened to me. Upon being discharged from the hospital, I found myself having to heal from that mentally, as it wrecked my trust in people; spiritually, because I was fighting to stay alive in the same hospital my father passed away in; and physically, as I had painful ulcers throughout my esophagus from the excessive vomiting, throat pain, and difficulty swallowing for quite some time afterwards.
A few months later I relocated to Chicago on September 1st of 2019—extremely excited to start a new chapter. Quite literally the next day was my first DJ set with Party Noire! It went so well, and I couldn’t think of a better introduction to the city. I had begun meeting all the movers and shakers. Every single opportunity I got to DJ, I showed up and showed out. Things were really starting to take off, with so many things lined up… right until covid happened. By March of 2020 the world came to a screeching halt. Everything that was lined up was gone in the blink of an eye. Due to the circumstances around June of 2020, I was essentially forced to move states away to a city I had never even visited before—being Fort Worth, Texas.
Add in a fair amount of betrayal and backstabbing from “friends” and/or creative collaborators sprinkled throughout the decade—the name HOOD BUNNNY started to feel heavy and a reminder of dark times I was thankfully able to come out of. In totality I just began to feel disconnected from it. In 2025 I made up my mind that I wanted to commemorate my 10-year anniversary as a DJ with a gift to myself—that being a name change/rebrand. Going to the drawing board, I didn’t have a clue what a new name could potentially be. I started to think of all the things that have set me apart from everyone else since the very beginning. Whenever someone would ask what they could expect from me my response was always “expect the unexpected.” In general I never quite know what I’m going to do until I’m doing it. “LEFT FiELD” popped in my head because that’s literally how I’ve been coming from from the start. The term itself means “unusual and different from what is normally seen, said, or done. The way I mix, the diversity of my musical selections, the way I dress, the way I think, the way I traverse life—it’s all LEFT FiELD and always has been. I sat on the idea for a while and then mentioned it to my sister. She immediately laughed but in a nervous, excited way. The first words out of her mouth were “it’s perfect.” I knew then it was what I was going with. It’s all-encompassing of where I currently am and the direction I’m going in.
After that was finding someone that could execute the initial logo design I came up with. The idea was a thunderbolt outline of an incomplete star with an arrow pointing left with a completely solid star inside of it. I’ve always loved the night sky, stargazing, and the planets. My name is Rahmar and not many words rhyme with it—but “star” is one of them. A “star” is something I always wanted to be since I was a kid—but this process revealed to me that it’s actually what I’ve always been to begin with. We often search for things that are right in front of us. After unsuccessfully searching locally to find someone that could do a 2D and 3D version of the logo draft I made, a friend suggested I try Fiverr. There I found a designer named Etienne who literally nailed it down to every tiny detail I wanted to include (and I had some pretty specific requests). I couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out and how cohesive everything looks and feels. It’s a rebirth of sorts—a reclamation of myself. Not necessarily a blank slate—just taking the best of what was with me into this next chapter and leaving the rest behind.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I’m an open-format DJ hailing from St. Louis, USA. I like to think of myself as an artist full circle, as I’ve been a dancer, model, designer, rapper, etc. DJ’ing is the thing I’ve been the most passionate about, although something I love doing is giving myself the opportunity to dabble in previous endeavors. I’m the youngest of 3 siblings with an age gap of about 11-12 years between us. I was always a creative oddball kid looking for ways to express myself. I credit my father as the person to spark my interest musically, as he was a music lover who passed that directly to me. My older sister, brother, and cousin also helped a lot by exposing me to everything they were listening to from their teenage years to their early ’20s. I have to include my mother as well—it’s quite literally a family affair, as I’ve taken parts of my music taste from them all. To add even more context, I’m a quintessential 90’s baby, a gamer, a nerd, proudly bisexual, and unapologetically Black. I intersect so many walks of life, which has allowed me to relate to virtually anyone. Thanks to this, I have a little something for everybody.
Due to my extensive musical knowledge, I can and have done a bit of everything. From packed-out bars/clubs, corporate events, weddings, festivals, birthday parties, art shows, fashion shows, restaurants, and everything in between. I would say my range is my superpower. DJ’ing is so cool to me because this craft gives me the chance to showcase the different sides of myself depending on what the specific gig demands. Oftentimes I have gigs where I can do whatever I want, which allows me to showcase all of who I am, which is so fulfilling as a multifaceted person.
The thing that sets me apart is my “LEFT FiELD” approach. You never quite know what’s coming next at the end of a transition, but you’ll always enjoy the journey taken to get there. It brings me so much joy to play the music people didn’t know they needed or wanted to hear when they go out. I consider my sets an odyssey through genres, regions, and time. I like to think the people that enjoy me the most are music lovers and people who love to dance. I aim for my sets to feel like nothing you’ve ever experienced before. I think I do a great job of achieving that.
I’d say I’m most proud of two things. The first being that I’m self-taught. I don’t have a musical family, and I didn’t have any mentors—just persistence, an iPad, faith in my music taste, and the belief that I could make it happen. I started from scratch and built this from the ground up. Doing things completely wrong until I got it right is what got me here. I was not immediately good at this, but I wanted to be, and I worked my butt off until I was. The second being that I’ve been able to connect with people in the same way no matter where life takes me. That’s a high honor, to say the least.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
That’s a two-part answer.
The first is that it’s spiritually satisfying work. DJ’ing quite literally saved my life. I have so much love and respect for music. Sound is vibration, so we don’t just hear music, we feel it as well. When we all achieve the same feeling at the same time, we become one. That’s so beautiful to me. A night out where a person can let loose and dance the stress of the world away can restore their will to live. The healing power of music can never be disregarded. I want to always create an environment in which people feel free to express themselves in whatever way they see fit. I want everyone to feel love and communion. I want wherever I am to be a safe space for Black people, for people of all gender identities, for queer people, and for those most in need of protection.
When I’m performing is when I feel the strongest and most vulnerable at the same time. I often fight back tears as I’m playing songs that remind me of people that aren’t with me anymore physically. I also channel the energy of the loved ones I still have with me. I get to live through the moments I shared with them. I believe that music is the closest thing we have to time travel because hearing a song can transport you back to an exact moment in every way—where you were, who you were with, the smells, the feelings you felt. Continuing this journey is honoring two of the people that have meant the most to me in this life. My late father, who unknowingly made me a DJ by fine-tuning my ear with all the amazing, eclectic music he exposed me to as a child and throughout my upbringing. The second being my late best friend Melissa Machen who was the first to believe I could become a DJ and encouraged me to do so. They’re both the wind beneath my wings, and I know they’re with me every step of the way, as well as all of my other loved ones.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
In terms of being a DJ, I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of some truly special moments in people’s lives. From wedding ceremonies and receptions to celebrations of life. I don’t take any of that for granted at all. I never knew what could come from this journey, but the places it’s taken me and the amazing people I’ve met along the way have made it so worthwhile. I’m still a student of the game, and that’s something that has kept this experience exciting for me. I’m still learning new skills and growing. I haven’t “mastered” anything yet, and I’m always seeking to get better and outdo myself.
I’m someone’s favorite DJ—that’s so wild to me. I’m the reason why someone wanted or wants to become a DJ—that’s so wild to me. There are people that specifically come to see me spin wherever I’m going to be because they love what I do on the 1’s & 2’s—that’s so wild to me. Getting to connect with people, share music, pour into people, and be poured into gives me a feeling that’s difficult to put into words. Honestly, every aspect of being an artist/creative is rewarding. Even the late nights, early mornings, countless hours spent searching for new music (or music that’s new to me), the sacrifices, blood, sweat, and tears—all of it is rewarding at the end of the day because I get to do what I love to do, have meaningful connections with people, and even get compensated for it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.circo.me/DJLEFTFiELD515
- Instagram: @djleftfield515
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/djleftfield515
Image Credits
Photos taken myself.