From her beginnings as a disc jockey (DJ) three years ago to undergoing a total reset in her journey, the story of DJ Kitty is nothing short of astounding.
Senior liberal studies student Gabrielle Cain, better known as DJ Kitty, hails from Winston Salem, NC and originally attended Lenoir-Rhyne University before transferring to N.C. A&T in 2021.
Cain spoke about her initial experiences of immersing herself in the DJ scene with the help of a friend.
“I told one of my friends, DJ Primo, that I was interested in learning and he said he would give me my first lesson,” she said. “He just started taking me to gigs with him so I could start seeing how it was outside, and I started getting my name out there after my first DJ residency at Culture Lounge.”
With every song comes a different rhythm, and that’s no different for DJs. Not one aesthetic is the same and DJ Kitty brings her own unique look and sound that lets her stand out among her counterparts.
“My friends love to call me emo because of how I dress, but my style aesthetic doesn’t match my DJ aesthetic,” she said. “People are kind of thrown off when they hear my sets because I sound like an ‘HBCU DJ’ and I know how to turn up any club or school.”
Even among HBCU DJs, there are endless ways to use popular songs, while still putting a twist on it to surprise the crowd with a new vibe.
“I do a lot of hip-hop, trap, nola bounce, jersey stuff. That’s kind of my sound, it’s like a combination of all that,” she said.
However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for Cain as she underwent a sudden tragedy that most artists would struggle to recover from.
On Aug. 3, 2024 all of Cain’s equipment used in her set at an event in Winston-Salem had been stolen. She was left without any of her belongings and completely distraught after discovering new information about an individual involved in the incident.
“I never imagined something like that would happen to me and it happened at a party I had just finished playing. We had packed up the car to go home and it turns out one of the guys at the party [spiked] my drink,” she said.
As the substance started to kick in, Cain was pulled out of her friend’s car as someone else drove off with her equipment and the vehicle.
“It wasn’t something that I planned for financially, so while I raised enough money to get a laptop before the semester started, I have a long way to go.”
While DJing is her passion it also acts as a second source of income. Cain has a GoFundMe that is helping support her full comeback to her craft. She has a little over $1,100 raised out of her goal of $6,500, which matches the cost of her stolen equipment.
While Cain did file a police report, her friend’s car, along with her equipment, was never recovered.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the only struggle that Cain underwent in her time as a DJ. She explained the assumptions and stereotypes put onto her by her male counterparts.
“As a woman, guy DJs tend to think I have it easier than them,” she said. “They treat me as if I’m less than them because they assume that I get gigs because I’m cute until they actually hear me and then they become all surprised and shocked.”
From smaller clubs to events at well-known party venues, university events and most recently at the Black Hippie Festival in the summer, DJ Kitty has worked tirelessly to push her name to the front of the DJ scene both in and outside of A&T.
When asked about the future of her career as a DJ post-graduation, Cain didn’t hesitate to reassure fans that she has every intention to stay in the booth and has plenty to give to the community even as she grows.
“For the future of DJ Kitty, I definitely plan to keep expanding. I have been working with local artists on the come up and I like doing that, but I would keep DJing for A&T,” she said. “I have been teaching myself how to make beats. I want to be a producer, an engineer, a ghostwriter, and just be in music and entertainment in general.”
For more on DJ Kitty and details on how you can support her journey on the turntables, you can find her at @theedjkitty on Instagram.
