UNIIQU3 is a DJ/singer/dancer/producer/remixer/set designer/stylist from Newark, New Jersey. Her latest release, a collaboration with TT The Artist titled Club Queens Vol I, is out now on Club Queen Records.

Was dance, or dancing, a big part of your upbringing?

Well yeah, duh! [laughs] It should be for anybody making fucking dance music. I used to dance when I was a kid, like a teenager. Growing up on the east coast, dance music was something that we heard whether we thought of it as dance music or not. It was just music. I used to dance all the time professionally, Garden State Ballet and all that. Real dancer vibes.

Did that precede making music for you?

Yeah, because I used to dance at all the parties. Then eventually we was on some shit like "damn, how come there aren’t any girls DJing?" All we do is dance, you know what I mean? So I wanted to change that. I’ve always been in music, but that’s how I got into dance music specifically. The introduction of Jersey Club.

Was there a specific moment or experience that made you realize it was something that you could do, or that you needed to do?

Not really, because I feel like I didn’t have anybody to look up to for real. It was really just me taking it upon myself, like I need to start DJing. There need to be girls. Only girl DJs that were around were like… what’s the girl on Hot 97? Jazzy Joyce. And like, Cocoa Chanelle. But it was all radio DJs, it wasn’t like no party, rave, you know what I mean? I just didn’t see anybody on my party tip. But it’s not really too forced, which is kind of amazing. I never realized that what I’m doing would mean so much to other people.

Do you remember your first time in a club atmosphere?

Definitely a teenager. At 16, we were going to the club. We used to party. Any YMCA we could get our hands on, we would transform it. If you wanted to get real fancy, like on a three-day weekend we would go down to Club Abyss and Deko’s - that was like the first club atmosphere. They had foam and shit, they had a bar. You couldn’t buy drinks, but you could buy a Red Bull [laughs]. Shit like that, that was for teenagers and you could hear hip-hop and club music. I feel like I never realized how early we were clubbing… like we were dead clubbing, my mom used to drop me off [laughs]. "Ok, see you at whatever time!" Whenever the party’s over.

Do you see the club as an escape from anything outside it, or simply as a different way to channel those outside worries or realities?

It’s definitely an escape for me, it’s always a high. I love music. Everybody goes through stuff, it’s my way of expressing myself. I feel like the club’s always been an escape for anybody, but I also think it’s dope that what I’m doing is a political act all the time because I’m a black female, you know?. I didn’t mean for it to be that way, I didn’t wake up to be the first black girl to do this or that. But it’s dope that I can embody that and put on.

Is everyone in New Jersey pretty supportive of each other?

Yeah, absolutely. There are just certain things that Jersey embraces that nobody else might get. When people hear a Jersey Club song, they just know how they’re gonna dance to it, they know how to embrace it. Everybody from Jersey’s really proud to be from Jersey, and when somebody gets on people like to represent and shout them out and show love. I definitely feel like I have a big support system from my community, I’m happy to have them and feel the love. If I didn’t have that I don’t know where I’d be. I was kind of in a weak place, I was working at a liquor store and Blockbuster part-time. I was still DJing, I was on some local shit. So maybe I would still be lit and local. I will always be lit though - I was DJing since a teenager, so it’s something I’ve always did regardless.

Do you feel like Jersey Club connects with people elsewhere in the country or world?

Definitely. Club music in general, but Jersey Club specifically. I feel like we were just clever. We were really clever. It was just a movement that people wanted to be a part of - it was youth-driven, which hadn’t been happening for a minute when it first popped out. Techno and house were kind of made by an older generation, you know what I mean? So I feel like for Jersey Club to be so driven, that’s what drew people to it. And it keeps people off the street, you know? People go to a party instead of being out up to no good.

Almost like what you hear about roller rinks. That’s an interesting point though - dance music genres are kind of divided by their attitudes towards the radio.

This is kind of in the weeds, but I was watching the video for that Ciara song "Level Up" earlier and one of the comments was like "wow, we don’t even need a Jersey Club remix for this one." Do you ever worry that the sound can get pigeonholed or thought of as a lesser form for whatever reason?

That’s why I put out my project! I wanted to prove that I was a musician, not just a DJ, or just a producer, or a remixer, you know? I wanted to prove that I could really make music, make songs and that it would still be Jersey Club. And it could be progressive. My name is UNIIQU3, someone with that name can’t be pigeonholed! Being a pioneer of the genre, I definitely feel like I’m taking on the responsibility of letting people know what’s up.

A big feature of the sound is songs built up out of tiny vocal snippets - is it hard to distill what you want to do with a song into just a couple words?

It’s always hard, but you just have to pick the best ones that sync up with the dance floor. I learned a lot about that with my project - I’m really good at hooks, so I can build a song around that and then write in the verses. It’s always about those standout words, the highlight of the song. Giving the song a topic.

You have to take the words, and besides saying them repeatedly you have to be able to chop them up with a certain flair, a certain style, to make the song pop, you know? And that’s what’s so special about Jersey Club, people love the vocal chops. So you have to be able to take the vocal and make it sound even more next-level.

Do you ever have to run it by someone to see if they feel it, or do you know?

Nah, nah. I know my shit’s a bops. Got bops on bops. I’ll just play it out, but I dance so I feel like I already know what’s gonna hit or not. I’m definitely not just making music for shits and giggles.

Growing up, did you have musical interests that preceded club music?

Yeah, I used to always be really into doing theater. I used to do some of that, theater and ballet, so I was really well-rounded musically. I used to watch mad musicals as a kid, like Barbra Streisand Funny Girl and Gene Kelly, like American In Paris. I just loved how good he was, and how he would fuckin’ practice his ass off. I just adore musicals, that was my thing growing up. I would go see Les Miserables with my mom. So I adore theatrics. I’m happy I get to use the dancing within what I do. I get to use all my talents - I used to sing and now I can use that in my music, could use the dance aspect. I’m happy all my parents’ investments are paying off [laughs].

Do you still get that same thrill of performance?

Oh yeah, I definitely do. Going to new cities… it’s still a fairly new genre, so I’m happy that I can introduce people to it. And introduce them to it in levels, you know? Jersey Club’s very well-rounded right now, it’s just not your average Rihanna remix. We’re coming out with original tunes, and now there’s even sub-genres like Jersey Soca. There’s so many remixes of Brazilian songs and Spanish songs. You’ll hear that tonight - I kinda use my sets not only to promote my music and what I stand for as a woman in the dance world, but to show people that the genre is well-rounded and has a future beyond your average remix. It’s very progressive, and I feel like it’s the sound of… tomorrow [laughs].

Would you say that you’re the same person onstage, or is part of the enjoyment putting on a persona?

Nah, I’m definitely the same person… I’m still weird, and loud, and fun. I’m no different.

What’s your live set consist of currently?

I’m playing Phase 3, a lot of up-and-coming Jersey artists, some classic Jersey Club. Playing a lot of females I enjoy, a lot of just well-rounded club music that I hear on Soundcloud or in-person. Just trying to keep it real raw, real diverse, and keep the dance floor moving.

If the person is talented and good and they stand for something, it’s a reflection of myself. I want that type of person. And then it’s just like… I had a lot of people look out for me when I was up-and-coming that had nothing to do with me. Like Nina [Las Vegas] and Anna [Lunoe], they don’t really have shit to do with Jersey Club, people in Jersey, and they showed so much love. So I feel like that rubbed off on me in the best way, to just give opportunity to those that deserve it and those that are doing cool things for themselves and their friends. I’m really into the dance community aspect of things - of course there’s a music "industry," but I really like the dance community aspect. Because it’s so like family; I go everywhere around the world and I realize that it’s like a group of kids that booked me who do the same thing me and my friends do. They’re just my friends in Austria [laughs]. It’s pretty fucking dope, I never thought that dance music would take me here. It makes it more meaningful, I have friends that really look up to me.

It’s great that even as the sounds vary across the world, the act of dancing itself can exist as a common ground. Like that Principe Discos stuff from Lisbon can connect in a lot of the same ways that something stateside does.

I have yet to go there! I know the dance culture’s crazy, though. And all their moves is kinda similar, you know, so I feel like people can relate. [shimmying] Like they do that over there, or even like Afrobeats they do over there, and then [still dancing] Jersey Club be right here!

What kind of mark do you see yourself leaving on other dance cultures that you interact with?

I hope that I inspire more women to take risks. I just want to diversify things. Sometimes when you get higher up, it can be harder to get exposure. I just want people to feel like they’re represented by the people that represent them. Like I would love to see Qween Beat on the stage at a HARD Festival. They’d body that shit. Different, diverse styles. There’s so many collectives that I’m finding out about because they like my music. This collective of girls in Brazil were playing Jersey Club out down there, like what? And now they make music too. I would love to see more like that.

Does playing at one of those massive festivals still feel like entering a totally foreign scene?

Yeah! Because I’m stepping into festival community world, it’s so different. But it’s tight, I like it. It’s just new for me! I can’t even decipher it yet. I was at Holy Ship! and I was still giddy off the fact that I was on a fucking cruise [laughs]. Festival aside, like "I’m on a cruise right now, what is this?"

I like how much effort they put into making people escape. Like the decor, I fuck with that. It’s made me enhance the spaces I create for back home. That stuff always inspires me to take stuff back home, like "yo, y’all, we’re about to do this 360 livestream."

Are you touring fairly constantly, or do you have to take breaks?

It’s definitely constant, this is my second tour of the year. And then after that I go to Europe. I’m pretty on-the-go. City, city, city, city. Drive, fly, I’m gonna get there. Sometimes I’ll lamp, like I’m gonna stay in Berlin for a month next month. But even if I don’t really get a chance to stay, I always make sure that I experience some local shit.

What do you usually look for?

It’s either something in nature or something super-hypebeast. Like we’re either gonna go see some nature shit and be like "wooow" or something super-hypebeast and be like "yeaaah… we did that" [laughs]. I went to the little Harajuku alley in Tokyo, that was tight. Like the busiest street, or whatever? In Barcelona, I climbed to the top of that mountain and got to the highest point of the city. In Italy I went to go see the Duomo, like the super-Gothic castle. We saw everything in London. I’m about that touristy shit. Like when I go overseas, it’s like "oh shit, y’all got castles and shit!" They’re asking if I want to rest, but I just change and we’re out. We don’t have castles back home, I got buildings and subways and shit. I’m trying to get the most out of everything, I’m there with the selfie stick like "what’s up, y’all." I just take all that in, and then I can go back to Jersey and tell people what’s possible.

How would you describe the essence or the appeal of Jersey to somebody visiting?

At first, I think people saw the value in the music, but not the culture. I’m the culture, I’m from there, but instead you want to see value in the same fucking music that everybody else makes when they make Jersey Club? So I’m glad that people are starting to see that, and I think it’s important because we can relate to you more than a song can. We’re people. And I just think that dance music needs more black female leads. It’s been a minute. We used to have all the house divas - CeCe Peniston, Robin S, all that. We don’t have that no more like that, so I would love to see more black females have a voice. We need more distinctive voices from females on dance tracks, and I’m happy that I can supply that. People hear it and know it’s a UNIIQU3 song, and they fuck with what I stand for so they’re gonna dance aside from the song being good. Instead of a vocalist not getting credited because she’s just singing [breathily] "down on the floor, down on the floor." I’m pretty sure she has more to say than that.