While Aneesah handles most of the business, DJ Lady Sha not only commands the turntables but she also commands the crowd to groove to her eclectic blend of hip-hop, reggae, soul, and anything else that keeps the masses intrigued. When asked to describe her style, Lady Sha simply stated, "My style is creative, nostalgic but so fresh."
But please don't misconstrue the word, fresh, to mean new or novice; Ms. Sha is no rookie to the game. While she was in college trying to learn the curriculum she was simultaneously learning the art of turntablism. Since her days at UC Berkeley, she has rocked crowds from South Africa to South Central. "While studying abroad in South Africa she honed her skills a DJ and returned to Cali to prey on any and all who dared to enter her lioness den. As she explains, "... I came back to California after 6 months in South Africa a polished DJ. I knew my path was musical for sure after that experience... I was hooked on the high of creating incredible blends live, beat-matching genres, making people remember a time in their lives through a song, getting dance floors excited enough to dance, jump, and scream."
While she may have left crowds screaming, the real world was screaming at her, trying to convince her to follow a path that led toward med school. Although she did get her undergrad degree at UC Berkeley, the only prescription she would be filling is one that would satisfy the appetites of music addicts across the globe. Throughout those travels she would come to realize that being a lioness in a lion dominated industry could be quite challenging. The challenge of trying to eat and avoid being eaten alive can create an awful amount of pressure on even the strongest of the pride. When asked about that pressure, Sha candidly stated, "Every time I get on the decks I feel like people are assuming I'm not the headlining DJ and I'm opening for someone else, or I'm just up there because I'm a female. I rarely think of the pressure... but I notice that people are surprised once I start rocking the crowd and I get a lot more props than a male DJ would.... I feel like women may get more compliments on a good job spinning than male DJs because perhaps it's expected that female DJ's won't be able to move a room like a male DJ would skill-wise/selection-wise."
For those of you that choose to pass off the female DJ as nothing but a sex object that lacks skill, musical knowledge, or crowd-rocking ability understand that the woman known as Shaden Tavakoli is an avid pianist, guitarist, and songwriter as well. Her sex appeal is only the perfect accent to her musical prowess and relentless preparation. As she put it, "I'm preparing everyday, researching new and good music. I read up on the histories of soul, hip-hop, reggae, world music, and all music. I look up the original samples to new songs always trying to make the connections in an effort to connect with my audience."
Connecting with audiences with a diverse blend of musical tastes has been DJ Lady Sha's strength. From the jazz purists that frequent The Mint, the audacious velvet rope regulars at club Area, to the underground urbanites that mellow out at Little Temple, she covers the full spectrum of the urban jungle. She has become a premiere predator amongst her male and female counterparts as she masters the art of the harmonious hunt. Some may say DJ Lady Sha is a ferocious feline with an uncanny ability to prepare, seduce, then pounce on her unsuspecting prey with cuts, scratches, and intricate blends; she would simply say she is a Lady Lioness.
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