Proud Stories: Ayanna Brooks (She/Her)

Q: What kind of performance artist are you?
DJ
Q: When did you first know that you wanted to be a full-time artist?
I feel like I’ve always known but societal/familiar pressures pigeonholed me into a more traditional career path. When the pandemic started, I felt like it was now or never, so I took the time to finally invest in myself and learn to do something that I’ve been wanting to do since I was in my early twenties.
Q: How are you keeping yourself inspired to create during this unprecedented time?
What keeps me inspired is that you never know who’s watching. You don’t have to have hundreds and thousands of followers to catch the attention of the right person. I’ve been trying to stay consistent and keep putting myself out there. I know there are a lot of DJs in the world but when I watch other DJ’s I don’t see anyone who DJs the way I do nor do I see a DJ that puts the types of songs together that I do. That in itself keeps me inspired.
Q: What is the biggest obstacle you’ve had to overcome as an artist and how did you overcome it?
I think the biggest obstacle is just how late I’m starting as a DJ. I feel like all of my peers that are my age have been DJing for YEARS and I’m just now about to hit my one year milestone. I don’t let it discourage me though because I know everybody else’s timing doesn’t have anything to do with mine. I definitely feel like my time is now.
Q: What are you most proud of in your career thus far?
I’m most proud of being essentially self-taught. I’ve heard from people that have tried to DJ in the past that they were impressed at how I’ve managed to become so skilled in such a short time because when they attempted to learn it was difficult. It comes very natural and easily for me, I’m not very technical. I’m just proud of how far I’ve come in a year, during a pandemic at that. I’ve already done my first wedding!
Q: Is there anything you are working on now that can be shared and supported?
Please check out my SoundCloud here: DJNahFR! I post mixes weekly.
You can also follow me on Instagram @butnahfr, I post reels highlighting different songs every weekday.