How DJ OHSO Shattered The Glass Ceiling After Being Told Girls Don't DJ

When she expresses her surprise at the amount of guys who showed up for the latest Thursday night soiree, I share her sentiment and tell her that based on the advertisements I assumed it was a Girls Only event. "And I'm okay with people seeing it as that and guys opting not to go because they think that," she says with a grin. "A lot of these guys aren't going to connect to the music, and I don't want you just standing around."

If it seems as if OHSO is taking sides between the battle of the sexes, you'd be absolutely correct, and rightfully so. Growing up, OHSO was sold the story that girls didn't get behind the turntables and rock crowds, so she considered pursuing real estate investment instead. In an effort to build up her credit in hopes of purchasing property to rent out to students, she took out multiple credit cards, only to rack up debt in lieu of a high credit score. "Irresponsible me was just racking up shit and buying stuff, and then I ended up owing all this money and I'm like fuck, I gotta pay all of this shit back."

At the time OHSO didn't have plans to attend college, so instead she held a series of 9 to 5s over the next few years while she paid off her debt, achieving her goal of financial freedom at the age of 25. "It was the biggest weight off of my shoulders. That's when I was like yo, I can just do anything I want right now!"

With the burden of debt in her rear-view mirror, she realized that she no longer had a specific goal to work towards. She wasn't sure what she wanted to do with her life, and the idea of stacking up student loans for a degree she'd possibly never use also didn't appeal to her, so she continued working her call center job until one day she connected with a co-worker who was moonlighting as a DJ.

Remembering her childhood dream that was sparked at a Talib Kweli concert, she expressed an interest in learning the craft, but wasn't sure if it was possible for a woman to get behind the mic.

After her co-worker ran down a list of her musical predecessors including DJs Beverly Bond, Lazy K and Jazzy Joyce, what once felt like an impossibility became a possible reality. "I went by his house and he showed me how to mix and understand counting beats and BPMs. He was like just go with what feels good. He left me and I was in there for like three or four hours, but it felt like 20 minutes. I was in there having a blast."

These days it's not uncommon to see women DJs repping OHSO's hometown of Toronto (queue DJ Lissa Monét). On any given night, you can spot a woman scratching records, and a number of all-female DJ collectives are sprouting up around the city. But while there's slow progress towards having representation of women in the industry, it was only six years ago when OHSO went through the struggle of getting some respect on her name. After six months of practicing her craft, she felt ready to hit the party scene and test out her new skills. Her peers in the industry, unfortunately, didn't feel the same.

"I had friends who were promoters and I was like maybe they'll put me on some gigs, but they all played me a little bit. They were like umm yeah nah. You have to pay your dues. You have to DJ for like three years before you start making money, and I'm like three years? I'll be 28 and just starting to make money? Fuck no."

There are two reactions that can occur whenever a person tells you no. One, the corners of your mouth turn down and the light in your eyes extinguishes. You slump your shoulders and hang your head low, turning around to walk away in defeat. Or two, you throw a middle finger to the doubters and prove them wrong. Despite the no's and rejections, OHSO chose to embrace the latter response and continued pushing towards her dream anyway.

With little support from family and friends and limited room for growth in her hometown, OHSO felt it was time to go. After listening to motivational interviews from Will Smith, she knew that her dream lived on the other side of her fears, and that having a Plan B wasn't an option. So she told her parents that she was going on a vacation and booked a one-way flight to Miami.

"I was just like I need to do this. It didn't matter what anybody said, I felt in my heart that this is what I want to do. I am good at it and I'm going to get better at it, and I'm going to make a name for myself."

In Miami, OHSO rented a room and hit the ground running. After two weeks of frequenting the clubs on South Beach and talking to promoters and club owners, she landed her first gig at a hole-in-the wall dive bar for their popular party Classic Sundays at a coveted early morning time slot. But there was one problem—she had never actually DJ'd a party before. "I'm like you want me to play in front of people? Today? I didn't even know what to do. I'm like, 'Fuck it, God would not take me this far to not be in this room'."

OHSO's first confirmation that taking a risk was worth the reward came from the very person who inspired her to pick up and move. "[The club owner]'s like, 'Oh yeah, by the way, Will Smith is here. Just don't be nervous or anything'. I'm looking at him like, do you even understand that I'm only here because of him? And I'm thinking to myself, wow. This is a direct message from God telling me this is what you're supposed to be doing. Any doubts that you've ever had, just get rid of them because I'm telling you right now this is confirmation."

After successfully rocking the party and getting Will to go to town to "Motown Philly" and her New Jack Swing set, the opportunities for OHSO started pouring in. Athletes and celebrities requested her to DJ at their brunches and parties, and she began building her buzz and her brand. But after two years in Miami, OHSO was once again pushed out of her comfort zone, requiring a move that would bring her to Atlanta where once again she'd have to network and build up her name.

Within three weeks of her transition, OHSO landed a job at Atlanta's Scratch DJ Academy as an instructor. The new position would not only expand her brand, but also help her become a better businesswoman. She began releasing mixes on SoundCloud, which landed her out-of-town gigs, radio play in London and Paris, and on tour as the official DJ for Oakland rapper Kamaiyah.

"I learned so much from my peers just paying attention and asking questions whenever they weren't too busy. I got to learn about marketing and producing events. I started to demand a certain rate. They helped me to know what's fair because no one has conversations about [money]; no one knows what they should be asking for. It was frustrating because people would be like this seems fair because this is a little bit more than what you'd get at a job, but I'm spending as many hours as someone who's in an office."

Learning how to demand her worth is one thing that she openly shares with those coming in the game behind her. "Someone gave me a quote once and it stuck with me: 'If you play for free today, who's going to pay to see you play tomorrow?' That was enough for me to be like, 'You're right.'"

Today, OHSO's gigs take her all around the country where she's DJing and hosting parties, including xoNecole's recent Pajamas & Lipstick event. With so much time on the road, it's important for her to have a healthy routine just as much as it is to build her brand. Wake up, avoid social media for the first hour, drink a glass of water, light a candle, and pray and meditate are just a few habits that she's developed to center herself before beginning the day as her own boss.

"God gave me a job that I couldn't call in sick to. Every single time I feel overwhelmed or like I don't want to do this or I'm too nervous, I can't. It's just too much riding on it."

As if that's not enough, OHSO also stays committed to putting other women in the position to win. She's in the process of building an all-women creative agency to put together projects for big brands, and is looking to start a nonprofit for young girls, introducing them to different industries where women aren't the norm.

"There's a large group of people that think that there are certain jobs that are only meant for men, and I really want to go into these communities and show them that it's possible because that's one thing that I was lacking at 13," says OHSO. "I didn't have the resources to know that it was possible, so now I can pass the baton to a girl who doesn't even know what she's interested in but can see somebody who does it right now and she can ask questions. If it's a photographer, put a camera in their hand. I think that would change the game."

One thing's for sure, the 31-year-old is determined to leave her mark and isn't going to let anybody get in her way. "It's the same thing as when white people are threatened by people of color being smarter or being faster, you always want to keep people right here because you know that they can fucking rule the world. I just want to show everybody that they have power, especially young girls."

If well-behaved women rarely make history, OHSO is definitely on the path to having her name written in the books.