“If you’re not inspired, you need to go get inspired. Now. Tonight. Tomorrow. It’s what is going to keep you happy and motivated to live a good life.”

Today we’ve got my awesome friend Jasmine Solano here who is a super talented, lady DJ. Jazz and I met a couple years ago. Funny thing is, I saw her spinning at a MILK gallery party and loved what she was spinning, then two days later she ended up on my set in a Nike shoot. We became fast friends from there and have collaborated on a handful of photo shoots.

Jasmine has a great story and great knowledge and appreciation for music. She gets the dance floor moving and is an all around hustler. Ironically, Jazz was on the semester at sea boat that almost went down in the pacific open. A life changing experience. She does many other things as part of her brand. She blogs as a Burton Girl, hosts a radio show for Radio Lily, broadcasted out of New York on Tuesdays, and has been hosting an MTV Iggy series. She has also created her own party called Electric Punany and has been on a world wide tour with it this last year. On this episode, we’ll learn the behind the scenes of what it takes to become a DJ, what it’s like to be a female in the industry, and the importance of having a passion for music knowledge.

So without further adieu, lets get into it!

“If you don’t have a passion, you’re not going to feel what it’s like to be alive.”

Some things we learn in this podcast:

• What it takes to spin for Khalifa, Beyonce, Talib Kweli  and many others.
• How she got her start as a world famous DJ
• Where her spark of entrepreneurial creativity came from
• About being raised in a family of music lovers
• Cultivating the creative hustle
• The Story of the Secret Spot and how she blew up the Sunday 11:00 pm – 1:00 am time slot
• The makeup of an 8-10 hour work day
• How to get thousands of people moving
• On the DJ craft
• Does a world class DJ still get nervous?
• On overcoming fear
• The balance of people pleasing vs. playing what you love
• How to find amazing music
• How pro-artists manage the finances
• Why everyone on earth should do a Semester at Sea
• On the Flip Side, the story of almost dying while on the Semester at Sea ship
• Transitioning from College to a big girl schedule
• What it takes to jump off the cliff and do work for yourself
• How important is it to invest in your own art?
• What to do to get the ball rolling on a life of inspiration
• Advice for getting started in the DJ game

Links mentioned:

• Pick up the iPhone accessory, Corners 4 – Promo Code: Onken20
• Learn more about Neo Soul
• Find some magic music on SoundCloud
• Learn more about Semester at Sea
• Jasmine thanks NinjaSonic and DJ Wonder of the Hip Hop Punk Rock Scene
• Develop your DJ SKILLS – DubSpot and ScratchAcademy

Last summer I went to an influencer party in the Hamptons with Jasmine, and she introduced me to this awesome iPhone case called Corners 4. They are metal bumper type things that go on the corners of your iPhone which prevent it from hitting the ground. I love them because not only do they protect the phone but they’ve been a great conversation piece. Check them out at corners4.com. Enter the code onken20 for a 20% discount through April 26th, 2014.

Connect with Jasmine: Instagram | Twitter | Website

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