We recently connected with Reva B. and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Reva, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

Oh, definitely sooner. I have loved music as far back as I can remember. My fondest childhood memories include singing, dancing, and fellowship with music right at the center. I knew I wanted to DJ in high school. At the height of music and entertainment and hip-hop journalism, I was obsessed with The Source and Vibe magazine. I felt I really stepped into adulthood when I mailed off my paper subscription form and payment. (Am I aging myself? Ha!) The Source had ads towards the back of the of the magazine, and I used to circle DJ equipment and tally up how much money I needed to allocate from my weekly Donatos pay check to buy equipment.
In true adolescent fashion, I chose to buy clothes and shoes instead.
Every now and again, I wonder where and how skilled I would be if invested in my dreams at that age.

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?

Well, I’m Reva. A Columbus, Ohio native that started DJing in 2018 under the alias DNTFRT, pronounced “DON’T FRET’. I like all caps, sue me. I previously mentioned that I knew that I wanted to DJ in high school, but in 2018 it started as a hobby. Life was life-ing, and I did not want to deal with reality at the time; I needed a distraction. I expressed my desire to learn the basics to DJ Bern and he offered to mentor me if I was serious. What an awesome distraction it was! I was completely consumed, and in a few short months Bern told me I was DJing a 30 minute set for The Ohio State University homecoming day party. Yes, told me. And, I was petrified. While I was completely engulfed mixing seamless transitions of my favorite records, I had not considered performing.. live. Certainly not a few months after learning which buttons to push. Fast forward, I did it. Scared. And, I’m grateful that I did. A proud moment for me. And, I’ve been at it ever since.

Don’t Fret means exactly what it sounds like- no need to worry, trust me, we’re going to have a good damn time. I like to play R&B, Hip-Hop, Dance, House, and BEYONCÉ. Yes, Beyoncé is a genre. I thrive in diverse crowds. I like to see who is moving and vibing to what, then challenge myself to get all the different people and personalities on one accord. I’m pretty good at reading the crowd, and pivoting when something isn’t working. What worked Thursday night, may not work Friday night, and it’s very important to be cognizant and agile in this profession. My preference? I love to play for the women in the room. Women show so much love, and their energy is infectious and inspiring while I’m DJing. We are literally the life of the party.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

100% customer satisfaction is a myth. I am not inherently a people pleaser, however, I do like to make good on a promise. The promise to curate a safe, fun, engaged atmosphere. The reality is, you can’t please everyone in the room, and you can’t force people to get up if they wish to remain seated. Even on your most memorable night, there is likely someone who didn’t enjoy your song choice. In the beginning, it drove me nuts trying to figure out how to make everyone in the room happy, but it’s not practical, or sensible.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Put action behind the words; behind the captions; behind the hashtags. No more performative, online personalities.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @DNTFRT

Image Credits
Kevin Rigby for Rigby Media