She's Uniique.

When the pandemic hit in March it was a bit rocky––I can’t lie. I'm always on the road and one of my tours was cancelled because of COVID-19. I was supposed to travel to Asia but I didn't because of all that went down. This year was tough to be a person of color, especially as a musician because the pandemic affected us so much financially. I lost the tour and money and I was missing community. But as time progressed, I decided to get creative at home and I'm very blessed to have the space to do so. 

I always make music in my bedroom, so that's nothing new. But these days, since we’re not going to shows and we don’t have that in-person exchange with people every weekend, I’ve been driven to make more digital content. During the summer, when the Newark curfew was lifted, I’d shoot music videos with friends; we’d have socially distanced dance competitions and make tracks together outdoors––like I never been at the park so much in my entire life. I had time to finally be home, connect with friends, and take a break. 

Ultimately, I’m in such a creative head space right now. I feel like since the industry got taken away, I’ve been in boss mode. I’ve learned to make art for me and not for the industry.

Uniiqu3

Ha, funny story. I hated live streaming initially, but as I began to take on more digital gigs, I became more comfortable being my own tech person and the whole process became a challenge I was willing to accept. 

Twitch is a dope platform because it provides gamers, DJs, performers, and creators of all types with the opportunity to have their own sort of television channel. I've always had the idea to create some type of Jersey club TV show, like Soul Train, except with club music dishing PB&J: Philly, Baltimore, and Jersey Club.

Club Chronicles is sort of like a newsletter where I keep people updated with my new tracks but also other people’s tracks. On Tuesday’s, it's a techie, geeky journey. People tune in as I make a track from scratch live. On Thursdays, I show love to everybody that supports me. I ask that people submit their music and I review it collectively with the chat. It's very interactive. 

Definitely. I like to pay attention to the chat. And make sure I give a shout out to everyone that tunes in. I guess that's equivalent to somebody getting down on the dance floor. It’s got a gamer feel to it, Club Chronicles. It’s like you’re watching someone play Call of Duty, except with music production, reviewing tracks and talking tech live. 

I got off Zoom super late one night while making “Rave in My Room.” I turned the lights off, tuned the bass up, locked my doors, and turned the fuck up––it really was a rave in my room. “Digital Diva,” is about my identity crisis on the internet and navigating between what's consumed on the internet and what's actually happening in real life.

I would definitely say I’m experimenting right now: my name is Uniiqu3 for a reason. I feel like I've always made a different kind of Jersey Club compared to my peers. I don’t consider this music a departure from Jersey Club, but an expansion of Uniiiqu3. Though people know me for Jersey Club, Jersey is a home for house music just as much as Chicago is or Detroit. So of course I heard house music growing up: “Follow Me” is low-key our anthem. 

Coming up, I’ve got an RnB, house-y project that will be released soon. I want to continue to grow as a producer and a vocalist and experiment with all different kinds of dance music, because I'm a musician first and not just the ‘Jersey Club Queen.’