DJ SPOTLIGHT: MYKI We’d like to introduce you to Myki – Miknieah Shaw Tell us how you got started—what sparked your journey into DJing/producing?My story is probably the same as most, really. I was slowly getting into Daft Punk and the more electronic side of pop music at the time (shoutout Will.I.Am and the Black Eyed Peas) when a friend showed me Skrillex’s ‘Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites’, and of course the rest is history. Grabbed a tiny midi controller mixer for my birthday and a cracked copy of Ableton Live 8 and I’ve been on this journey since. What are you most proud of when it comes to your brand or artistry?Just being as honest and sincere as possible. It probably isn’t necessarily good from a brand perspective, but I don’t really play the social media game very well. If I have things to talk about and show you, I’ll talk about it and show you. If I don’t have anything, I’ll just be silent. I definitely wear my heart on my sleeve with everything I do. If I enjoy video games, I make my cover art with a video game engine. If I’m vibing with a certain genre recently, I make sure to throw some of it in my sets. My graphic logo is literally something I came up with in middle school and have it on almost everything I put out because I see it as a representation and extension of me. In fact, everything I do as an artist is an extension of me, and I don’t want to present myself as something I am not or don’t want to be, ever. What goals are you chasing right now as an artist?Honestly, I’m rather content where I am now. I’ve got a lot of accolades under my belt that I can be proud of. I’ve had releases on some major name labels, I’ve gone on tour with friends, I’ve had artists play out my music and I’ve met some incredible artists that call me friend. The landscape has changed so much for how a DJ/Producer can make it now and I’m not entirely sure I’m built for it. I’ve made peace with that, so now I’m just taking every opportunity I’m given with a very thankful heart. Though, I feel like I’m not the only one struggling in this landscape, and I kinda want to help, guide and stand up for those who are being taken advantage of or feel beaten down by the system. So I suppose my main goal is to stay content, look out for others and just keep making and playing music when and where possible. If it means making little ditties and tunes by myself in my cozy office without even setting them out into the world, that’s cool. If it means being a weird recluse that occasionally pops out to do a show, I honestly think that’s even cooler. Like an old legendary wizard stepping out from his tower for a minute to save the day in a desperate struggle. Any mixes, tracks, or recent releases you’d like people to hear?Brain Off is probably my most popular release. Most recently it was the soundtrack for Mike Tyson’s bare butt ass booty (thanks, Alison Wonderland) but it’s also gotten some play from artists like Chime, Ace Aura and Quix, to name a few. But also there’s my Deeplates series that was a sort of annual project I put out of more 140/Deep Dubstep oriented tunes. They are certainly my biggest personal projects that I put a decent amount of effort into and am really proud of every single one. Also shout outs to Woelock on Instagram for doing the art for almost all of the projects! Check out my whole Soundcloud, honestly. Why not? Links so we can follow and support you:LinktreeSoundCloudSpotifyInstagramTikTok If you could back‑to‑back with any Dallas DJ tomorrow, who would it be and what genre would you play?Millennial Trash and I always have great chemistry whenever we play together. We have the same tastes in Bass Music and he’s honestly always putting me on to cool artists and tracks. We definitely would play some Dubstep of all kinds from 140 to Riddim to Color Bass and Melodic stuff. I also played with Sora in Austin once for a bit a couple years ago and had a blast! I think he’s actually settled in Dallas now so I think it would be fun to link up again and do a crazy Riddim set! Best advice you’ve gotten from another artist?One time I was shouting into the void on social media freaking out about if people were going to like a set I was working on for a show and AFK replied and just simply like “you’re overthinking lol”. So now anytime I find myself freaking out and wondering if anyone is gonna like what I’m doing or putting out I just remind myself “you’re overthinking lol” because most of the time, I am. How do you discover new music to keep your sets fresh?Beatport charts, 1001 Tracklists setlists and charts, and looking through artist likes on SoundCloud. Although now, SoundCloud FINALLY made it to where you can hide people’s reposts on your feed so every week or so I just scroll through my following feed to see what I missed and even occasionally listen to some reposts to see if there’s any gold in there too! Get your tickets to MayHAM HERE