We recently connected with Vanity Roux and have shared our conversation below.
Vanity, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
The first thing i actually did was search for mentors, schools, OG’s that were legendary in the craft. I stumbled upon The Dj School in Dallas and gained the best mentors i could ever ask for. Knowing what i know now i would’ve jumped in a lot sooner with finding a mentor first and trying to YouTube things later. The most essential skills for me were learning my digital workstation in and out and learning the difference in music theory and dj theory and how they work together. The obstacles that stood in the way of learning more at that time, Covid. It’s hard to have in person lessons when you can’t be in person.
Vanity, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Music wise I’ve been singing before i could talk good. Started in church choir. High school choir and band. Went to college to study music. Travelled the country and abroad. During my abroad studies. I learned about the goodness of techno. I came back to the US and fell in love with house music and out of love with opera almost instantaneously.i felt lost for a really long time because deep down i always wanted to have my hands in music in a certain way. And i low key always wanted to dj. It just wasn’t a supported dream at the time so when i felt i was ready for a new challenge in life i took the plunge. I used my classical training and merged it with my training to become a dj playing the music i love. My first show was live streamed on twitch. I began doing twitch shows and making mixes on SoundCloud. My friends who were already dj’s also helped put me in a place to be successful. Especially in the industry where only 12% of dj’s are women and out of that 12% only 3% are black. At this time i use my platform to elevate and set up other black and particularly femme artists to have a space to play and learn. For companies i help bring awareness to their brands through music, setting up playlists and curating sounds needed for events to really get people in the mood to be happy, social, and bubbly. Currently I’m most proud of my monthly residency affectionately called Sprit Of House, a monthly event that showcases black house dj’s. It creates an organic atmosphere that’s not only a safe space for dj’s to really grow and glow but also a family friendly fun time with wonderful food and energy. The main thing i want known about me other than the obvious…which is I’m very fabulous… is I’m prone to adapt to what’s needed from me. I’m very authentic and high spirited. Resilient and a problem solver.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Show up to events. If you can’t afford to show up. That’s okay! Like. Share. Comment. Help the algorithm do its thing across social media for platforms of artists to be uplifted. To create brand visibility. Take a listen to someone’s new song or their mix. Those things are free and require little effort.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Along with music my favorite thing is fashion. Particularly rave fashion. My dj outfits for certain events tend to get more extra when the budget calls for it. I started posting my style. My outfits garnered the bulk of my following. Then i sprinkled the music on top. Just being really authentic to who i am and consistently doing it, and not daily but bare minimum biweekly. It got more eyes on me
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Instagram.com/ladyvanityroux
- Facebook: Facebook.com/ladyvanityroux
- Twitter: Twitter.com/ladyvanityroux
- Other: SoundCloud.com/ladyvanityroux