new playlist & visual this Friday.

1. What is your stagename?

Hu Dat, it comes from my last name which is Hu. I just tried to think of something clever with my name, and it ended up being more perfect than I thought because I realize I'm a minority in my scene. No one expects a small asian girl to be playing all this hard-ass trap music, so people be like "who that??" 

2. What is your favorite thing about Djing?

I love the rush and the energy it gives me. Energy transfers are real. When the crowd responds well and are positive and dancing, I can really feel that shit and get in a zone where I play back and forth with them. I play a song and give them energy, and in return they are also giving me back that energy and confidence to keep killing it and it's just one big vibe in the room where everyone is on the same page and for a moment we are stress-free and enjoying ourselves. 

3.How long have you been a DJ?

Around 5 years, I started for fun senior year of college and was DJing frat parties, house parties, and ratchet college clubs. Then I took it more seriously after I moved officially to NY. It didn't really get poppin til after I was in NY for 2 and half years, that's when all the connections I was making were starting to hit me up. 

4.What’s it like being a woman in the music industry?

It's super dope but there are definitely more hardships than advantages. The most common hardship that I've personally experienced as well as lot of my female friends in the industry is that we don't get the respect we deserve. In most cases we are still viewed as less than a man, so our opinions are not respected and we get overlooked. Then we also have the classic case of "oh she's hot let me pretend to help her out business-wise but really I'm just tryna hit." A lot of times guys don't take you seriously when in reality we just have the intention of working and learning, not sexually. Then the pay is also usually unequal between males and females, I can go on and on about this actually so I'll stop but I just want to say as females we need to support each other and lift each other up. We already go through a lot of bs as is so it's important that we don't bring each other down more but instead help each other. There's room for all of us to win. 

5.What was it like pursuing music coming from a family who is straight edge?

It wasn't easy. I'm very blessed to have very loving parents, so they love me no matter what I do. But they always remind me about other career options and that my career route is unrealistic and to have backups. I love them a lot so I do think about going back and doing what I majored in a lot, but music is such a passion of mine it's been impossible to let it go. 

6.How did you start off DJing?

I started just for fun while I was in college. I was very social and had a lot of friends so people were coming in and out of my apartment to hang and I would just be playing music in the back. My friends all loved my music taste and encouraged me to try DJing. It was never serious for me but I know I loved music so much I considered it my passion. So I thought about it a lot, then after college I moved to NY to intern for a promoter company called MeanRed and everything started falling into place eventually.

7.What made you finally call yourself a DJ?

When I got my first venue gig in NY! I opened for a house artist at Output club in Brooklyn, and at that time Output was one of the best clubs in NY. Diplo, Skrillex, deadmau5 every big name has DJed there before so that was when I was like "ok, I can call myself a DJ now." 

8.What advice do you have for women that want to pursue their DJing career?

Just go for it! Don't let anyone or anything discourage you. Be confident, and be patient too. Results will take some time to see, but you'll see them with consistent hard work. You won't get anywhere if you are comfortable, you have to push outside your comfort zone. I would love to see more lineups featuring equal females and males one day, with females getting the same font size as males and the same placements on the flyer. 

9. What difference do you want to make in your community?

I just hope to inspire people to go for their passion and also to push people's mindset about music. I've had a lot of girls come up to me and say that seeing me work at all these cool events inspire them to get into DJing, and that means sooo much to me. As for pushing people's mindset about music, I say that because there are still so many people who listen to only radio music. Which is fine, but it's kind of sad because there are so many great artists and music out there that don't make the radio. So I just hope to expand people's mind and encourage them to discover other artists and go out of the box. A lot of people say they secretly shazam my songs during my sets which I love hearing, because it feels like I'm more of a music educator than a DJ.

10. How often do you have shows?

It really depends, some weeks are hot some weeks are chill. But usually I DJ at least 2-3X a week. Sometimes I have 3 events one day, other times I only have 2 events a week. 

11. Where do you see your career going in the next few years?

I see it continuously going up and up and up! I'm always expanding and meeting cool new people, so the possibilities are endless. I want to do everything: I've been teaching myself how to produce, write songs, and create graphics. I would also be happy working at a dope label and helping artists and brands grow and succeed. So keep an eye out for me, my goal is to keep making positive impacts in the scene as well as in humanity! People can get caught up in this "clout" scene and forget that being genuine and kind to each other is what helps push the world to be a better place.