7 Filipina-American DJs You Should Be Following

Music is life! It’s a part of Filipino culture. We’re natural party people –  music can be heard blasting in our cars, family parties, singing karaoke, or dancing 24/7! If you’re lucky enough to have grown up in California, you had the opportunity to hear Filipino-Americans bless the airwaves, like DJ Icy Ice, E-man, and Turbulence. It’s more common to find a list of Filipino-American male DJs, which include turntablist pioneers such as Qbert, Shortkut, Apollo, Rhettmatic, and Babu to name a few. The music industry, especially DJing, still has far and few women. Though, it seems that tables have turned. Literally! More females are taking space and headlining for major artists and rocking crowds around the world. Here’s a list of Filipina-American DJs that are breaking barriers.  

1. Amira & Kayla 

Seventeen year old twin sisters, Amira and Kayla Wells, grew up in New Jersey. They were exposed to DJing by their dad, Elijah, a Grammy-nominated music producer and founder of Little Club Heads family dance parties in New York City. He taught them how to DJ, starting off with a DJ controller then traditional turntables where you see them scratching and doing tricks. Their first gig was at their school, and in 2017 their career took off when they did an Instagram video to Biggie that went viral. 

They’ve since appeared on much larger stages including New York’s Madison Square Gardens, Blue Ivy’s (Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter) birthday party, and the White House. They have also been a part of national campaigns for Target and Reebok. They’ve appeared on national television: The Real, The Tonight Show, Steve Harvey, Wendy Williams, ESPN, and The Today Show. In their interview with Al Roker, the twins shared that they hope to inspire all ages, no matter how young or old, to “follow your dreams. Never give up on your dreams no matter how hard it is for you. Just keep going”. 

2. Noodles aka Noodz 

Micah Mahinay was born in San Francisco and raised in Hayward, California. At just 16 years old she was exposed to nightlife and immediately became obsessed with how DJs control the vibe of the room. Since her dad DJs, she asked him to teach her how to properly mix, scratch, and beat-count on vinyl records, starting with Tina Turner and Earth, Wind, and Fire. She started putting out mixes on SoundCloud and Tumblr. In 2014, R&B singer, Kehlani, approached her to join her on tour. She gave up her full time job to be the resident DJ for Kehlani, and they’ve been performing together ever since. 

Noodz plays a range of genres including hip hop, rock, R&B, and EDM. She has played festivals, including Bumbershoot, Fvded in the Park, Camp Flog Gnaw, Sol Blue, and many more. She’s also had residencies at 1OAK and Jewel Nightclub on the Las Vegas strip. She plays whatever she wants! Her advice to aspiring DJs is to “be yourself”.   

3. SoSuperSam 

Samantha Dueñas is a performing artist from Los Angeles. She spent her youth surrounded by all things music: piano lessons, dance classes, musical theater, and choir. After graduating from the University of California, San Diego, she broke out into the entertainment industry as a professional dancer appearing in music videos and national tour with Vanessa Hudgens and The Cheetah Girls. In 2008, she was very unfulfilled at her 9-5 office job and was looking for a new musical outlet so she purchased her first set of DJ equipment. It wasn’t until 2011 that she launched her DJing career when she went on tour with Childish Gambino. 

In 2013, she co-founded 143, a monthly R&B party that she hosts and DJs in Los Angeles, where she was able to share the stage with music legends such as Questlove, Ashanti, Chad Hugo, and Ginuwine. She is a member of Soulection, the worldwide record label and collective. She mainly plays future bass, rap, hip hop, R&B, a little techno, a little house, a little indie, but her favorite genre of music is 90’s R&B.  

4. Bella Fiasco 

Bella Fiasco, a Long Beach and Lakewood native, came from a family of musicians. Her dad was the earliest and biggest influence in music. He taught her to play multiple instruments including the drums. Her dad surprised her with turntables to try for fun, which turned out to be her passion. At the age of 17, Bella fell in love with the craft.  

She is a self-taught DJ and has opened for artists such as Cardi B, Travis Scott, Lil Wayne, Skrillex, Snoh Alegra, Nipsey Hussle, G Eazy, and U2. She can be found spinning at The 444 Party all over California and Las Vegas. In an interview with Kababayan Weekly she shares her advice to others looking to pursue their passion: “If you believe in what you’re doing, you can excel in anything. Stick to your passion and don’t lose sight of what it’s all about.” 

5. DJ Umami

Jeanna Cruz was born and raised in East San Jose, California. She is a resident DJ for the San Francisco Giants, and was a rotating DJ for the Golden State Warriors from 2012-2021. She discovered music at a very young age – she used it as a form of escape from her rough childhood. In 2008, she started DJing and she became a founding member of all-women DJ collective, The Peaches Crew. In 2014, she had the opportunity to DJ the starting line for the Nike Women’s San Francisco Half Marathon. 

DJ Umami has opened for Dua Lipa, Anderson Paak, Questlove, Big Boi, Larry June, and LaRussell. She has performed at Outside Lands and SXSW. Being in a male dominated industry, she realizes that she is a role model for young girls and other women. In an interview with CBS News, DJ Umami shared that, “I didn’t realize stepping into this role, I would… have to be more of a feminist and push this narrative and work so hard to continue to inspire younger women to feel comfortable coming into roles like this”. 

6. DJ Cherish TheLuv

Cynthia Cherish Malaran was born and raised in the East Village of New York City. She is many things: a DJ, Composer, Sound Designer, Producer, Author, Educator, Multimedia Artist, and Public Speaker. Her creations can be heard on NBC, MTV, Fashion Week, and over 60 shows on Netflix. At the age of 39, she was diagnosed with triple positive breast cancer that changed the course of her life. She is a cancer survivor and can attest to the healing powers of music and art. While she was going through treatment, she discovered that she was allergic to the drug needed to help treat her. Immediately, she had to be taken off treatment and had to turn to keeping her immune system strong by doing all things that brought her joy. That’s why she continued with her music. She now uses her talent to give back by providing music for terminally ill patients in hospice. 

Throughout her career, she has DJed for megastars like Oprah Winfrey, Bono, Amy Schumer, and Talib Kweli. She has produced music, custom mixes and performed at weddings, events, and shows for Viacom, Comedy Central, TEDtalks, and other corporate events. She has taught DJing to children and adults up to the age of 86! 

DJs have a very difficult job! They have to please people and make sure they get the crowd going. It’s not an easy task to do this for hours on end! They have to put up with a lot – from drunk club goers to the annoying person requesting a song. Shout out to these ladies taking up the challenge! They’re taking spots in the limelight and controlling the crowd’s good vibes in any room they step in. This list features 7 talented individuals, but there are still more to share, which is amazing! We’ll have to do another feature on them in the future.