By Raven Jordan
The past two years have been booked and busy for DJ HoneyLuv [also known as Taylor Character], who’s performing at the annual Lights All Night festival at Dallas Market Hall.
HoneyLuv, who lives in Los Angeles California, performs sets at venues across the country and has even opened for some of the biggest names in the DJ scene, including Diplo and Calvin Harris.
After her days playing NCAA basketball in college were over due to an injury, she thought of other ways to fund the rest of her education, which led her to join the Navy.
“A majority of my family had went [into the military] and they’re doing well in their lives, so I went and joined the Navy, “she said. “It wasn’t really for me. I didn’t like that there were no challenges. I found different outlets so I wouldn’t go crazy.”
During her time in the Navy, she also began her DJ journey by teaching herself the process after being nudged on by her friends.
“My friends started forcing me to DJ because, I’m really good at picking songs on the aux cord,” she said. “I bought my first ever DJ tables, it was a controller, and taught myself just the basics until I got comfortable enough to be like, “Hey, let me come DJ your party.” So that’s kind of how it all started.”
Even as a child, house music had an influence on her life when her mom would play the music all the time. She got her start as a hip hop DJ before doing house music, but she says hip hop prepared her for what she’s doing now.
“It was easier for me to get into hip hop. DJing hip hop is 10 times harder than DJing dance music. There’s a lot that goes into it. So, in a way, it kind of prepared me for what my life is now and how to DJ house music.”
As for the style of music HoneyLuv shares at parties and events, she describes it as “sexy, deep and funky”. Some of those songs include her debut, “Thr33 6ix 5ive” and her latest single, “Sway” featuring Dope Earth Alien.
Earlier in the pandemic in 2020, she went all in on pursuing DJing. Though live in-person shows weren’t an option, livestreams, particularly on the app Twitch, helped build an audience.
People who didn’t know her before were discovering her for the first time online, she says, and it helped boost her career.
“I felt like that was a way for me to get my name out there with people knowing me for DJing house. So, it definitely helped in a way, it definitely gave me a boost to start up my career for sure.”
As the year closes, HoneyLuv was recently tapped by Lizzo’s team [via email] to remix “Everybody’s Gay” from her album Special sometime in 2023. Aside from that, her other highlights of the year include being able to play music in different countries, traveling and seeing people enjoy her music.
Lights All Night will be a two-day electronic and dance music event on Dec. 29-30 at Dallas Market Hall featuring artists like ATLiens, Gordo, Molokai and more.